The a-melding guide

Select the applicable employment type

Updated: 30 November 2021

Find the applicable employment type. The choice will affect the rights and obligations of the income recipient and the information that you must provide in the a-melding.

Four types of employment in the a-melding

In the a-melding there are four types of employment.

It is important that you specify the correct employment type because this will affect:

the information that you must provide
the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employee with respect to the Norwegian Tax Administration, NAV and other parties who use the information

Select from amongst the following types:

Ordinary employment (covers most employees)
Maritime employment
Freelancers, contractors and fee recipients, etc.
Pension or other benefits

1. Ordinary employment

Select this employment type if you have an employee who works for you (your business) and receives a salary or other remuneration; see Section 1-8 of the National Insurance Act.

This applies to:

most employees who receive a salary from a business or organisation
persons on labour market schemes with a salary

This does not apply:

if the work is performed at sea, on vessels or on mobile installations such as a drilling rig

The employment is registered in the Aa Register.

Examples of when you should select ordinary (or maritime) employment

Employee representative on a board of directors

Employee who receives temporary or permanentwage subsidy
When the employer/initiative organiser pays the employee a salary and NAV pays all or some of the amount as wage subsidy to the enterprise.

Employee and pensioner
Employee who receives remuneration both as an employee and as a pensioner from the same enterprise. You must specify this as combined employment.

Casual assistant, seasonal worker, etc.

Examples of when you should select ordinary employment

Offshore worker on fixed installation
Offshore worker who works on a fixed installation such as a drilling platform which is secured in position.

Support contacts and relief staff

2. Maritime employment

Select this employment type when you have an employee who works for you (your enterprise) and who receives a salary or other remuneration and the work is performed at sea, on a vessel or on a mobile installation such as a drilling rig; see Section 1-8 of the National Insurance Act.

The employment is registered in the Aa Register.

Examples of when you should select maritime (or ordinary) employment

Employee who receives a wage subsidy
When the employer/initiative organiser pays the employee a salary and NAV pays the enterprise a wage subsidy.

Employee representative on a board of directors

Employee and pensioner
Employee who receives remuneration both as an employee and as a pensioner from the same enterprise. Specify this as combined employment.

Casual assistant, seasonal worker, etc.

Examples of when you should select maritime employment

Offshore worker who works on a mobile installation/drilling rig

Note!
In the case of offshore workers who work on fixed installations, e.g. drilling platforms which are secured in position, you must select ordinary employment.

In the case of fishermen and hunters who are recorded in a census (fishermen's census), you must select pension or other non-employment benefits, or not specify the employment type at all.

3. Freelancers, contractors and fee recipients

Select this employment type when the person who works for you performs work or assignments for a salary or other non-employment remuneration (not as an employee).

This does not apply to:

Self-employed persons; Section 1-9 of the National Insurance Act
General practitioners and therapeutic health personnel who receive a public basic grant or operating subsidy

The employment is registered in the Aa Register.

Examples of when you must select freelancers, contractors and fee recipients

Freelancers
Professional groups such as musicians, scriptwriters, actors, journalists and translators are often considered to be freelancers/contractors.

Elected officials
Politicians in municipal authorities, county councils and the Norwegian Parliament who receive remuneration for their political work.

Foster parents and persons who receive care pay
Salary and other remuneration for helping persons with special needs or persons with care needs.

Positions of trust
Remuneration for work and reimbursement of expenses within voluntary and charitable organisations or other positions of trust.

Examples of positions of trust: participation in general meetings and other councils, committees and posts linked to the job.

Exceptions: Elected representatives and members of voluntary and charitable organisations who are only course participants but receive reimbursement for lost earnings. These must be reported with employment type pensions or other benefits.

Board members
Persons who only sit on the board of directors of a company and who are not an employee.

Exceptions: Employee representative on a board of directors. In this case, the employee is in ordinary or maritime employment and the board fees must be reported under the ordinary or maritime employment.

4. Pensions and other benefits (benefits from surrendered property, RF-1199)

Select this option if the payment concerns a pension or other benefit/remuneration to an income recipient, where the benefit is not linked to employment pursuant to the National Insurance Act.

Also applies to certain payments made to self-employed persons. For example, payments made to a childminder who minds children in the childminder's own home.

The employment is not registered in the Aa Register.

Examples of when you should select pensions or other benefits

Employment schemes
Payments of salaries or other benefits to a person who is part of an employment scheme, such as work training or other training, is not considered employment.

Employment that is not an ordinary or maritime employment or a freelancer/assignment relationship
Payment of pension or other benefits to a person who is not employed or on assignment is not considered employment. You do not register this as employment in the a-melding.

Fishermen and hunters who are recorded in a census (fishermen’s census)
Payments of salaries or other income to a person who is recorded by the Norwegian authorities as a professional fisherman is not considered employment.

Benefits from surrendered property/right of occupancy
By benefits derived from surrendered property (right of occupancy), we mean that the person who sells an agricultural property has the right to certain incomes for the rest of life as part of of the payment. Benefits derived from surrendered property can, for example, be in the form of cash, living in a residential property rent-free, or board. You myst report the benefits derived from surrendered property only once per year.

Benefits derived from surrendered property (right of occupancy) are not considered employment.

Crew share recipients and owners on-board fishing and hunting vessels
Share of catches is the income recipient’s share/part of the value of the fish/haul that has, or will be, caught.

A recipient of shares of catches is not considered an employee.

Assignments given to foreign contractors and employees on the contract
Assignments that are performed in Norway or on the Norwegian continental shelf by a foreign company or a foreign self-employed person, must be registered in the Assignment and employee register.

Information about the employment must not be repeated in the a-melding.

Incentive payments
Payments of salary or other income to a person who has a reduced work capacity and who is participating in work training schemes, such as adapted work, is not considered employment.

Pension
Payment of pension to a person who is not employed by you, is not considered employment.

Payments from NAV’s Wage Guarantee Fund
Bankruptcy estates which pay outstanding salaries to employees of an enterprise that has been declared bankrupt and received coverage from the Wage Guarantee Fund.

Salaries for employee who has left (holiday pay, retroactive payments, etc.)
Payments to a person who has left, such as holiday pay, bonuses or retroactive payments for overtime work, is not considered employment.

Course participants who receive reimbursement for lost earnings
If you are holding a course and are making a payment, such as wages for loss of income or other remuneration to a course participant who is not employed by you, this is not considered employment..

Persons only receiving expense allowance
Payments of expense allowances to a person who does not receive salary, fees or the like from you, is not considered employment.

Recently arrived refugees receiving introduction support
State employment type "pesions or other benefits" or no employment type at all for recently arrived refugees receiving introduction support.

Witnesses
State employment type "pesions or other benefits" or no employment type at all for people who are witnesses in court.

Persons who are neither employed by you nor have assignments for you
Payments to a person who is neither employed by you nor perform assignments for your enterprise, such as payments of travel allowances to a person who has interviewed for a job with you, is not considered employment.

Is it mandatory

Yes, it is mandatory to provide information on the employment type for ordinary and maritime employment, and for freelancers, contractors and fee recipients, with some exceptions.

For pensions and other non-employment benefits, it is mandatory if you submit the a-melding directly in Altinn (A01) or from a payroll system where you are required to provide information on the employment type.

What do we use the information for

NAV uses information on employment type to distinguish between ordinary and maritime employment. We also use the information to assess membership of the Norwegian National Insurance scheme. In addition, we use information concerning employment to calculate and retrospectively audit benefits. This applies for example to sickness benefit, unemployment benefit and parental benefits.

Statistics Norway (SSB) uses the information to prepare statistics concerning trends in salaries, employment and sickness absence

Information on ordinary, maritime employment and freelancers, contractors and fee recipients is transferred to the Aa Register. NAV distributes information concerning employment from the Aa Register to private and public sector companies and organisations that are permitted to receive it. Examples of such organisations are the Norwegian Tax Administration and the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.

Applicable regulations

These regulations are only available in Norwegian.