Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in Norway

What is a PEO?

A professional employer organization (PEO) is a service provider that functions as both a human resources (HR) and legal team. They essentially help to support startups as well as small to medium-sized businesses looking to hire remote workers from all over the world. 

They do this by taking on the tedious administrative tasks such as managing payroll, designing and distributing competitive employee benefits packages, and ensuring that your business remains compliant with the local labor laws wherever your employees are living while working for you.

Not only do PEOs assume these time-consuming tasks, but they also save you money and manpower by acting as your business’s legal entity. So, when you enlist the help of a PEO in Norway, you can start building your global team with a full HR and legal team without having to overspend or put effort into creating your own in-house team.

Want to learn more about PEO services and how they can support your business? Get in touch with a team member at Skuad today to get all your questions answered.

What are the benefits of using a PEO provider in Norway?

Working with a PEO in Norway can open up all kinds of new opportunities for businesses of all sizes — including enterprise-level businesses. As you’ll see from the list of advantages below, a PEO can be a startup’s best friend.

Hire from the best of the Norwegian and global talent pool

In today’s digital world of remote work, the best thing for your business is to really see what’s out there regarding top candidates for your open job positions.

Norway is a country that offers fair wages and has a low unemployment rate. However, many skilled professionals have a hard time finding employment, which is often due to being immigrants. This leaves a rather sizable talent pool to pull from, and working with a PEO can help you tap into that talent pool with much less competition.

Become a globally competitive employer

Speaking of competition, there’s nothing like being globally recognized as a company and employer.

A PEO operating in Norway will have a firm understanding of local legislation and will be able to help you put together a very attractive benefits package to get the attention of the most qualified candidates in the country. 

Save on exorbitant costs

Hiring talent outside of your home country without a PEO service at your disposal will come with some significant expenses. To put things into perspective, even large corporations choose to work with a PEO simply to cut out unnecessary costs as it’s much cheaper and less time-consuming to do so.

Without a PEO, you would have to build your own HR and legal teams from scratch to ensure you can manage your Norwegian employees’ payroll needs while remaining compliant with local legislation. 

Gain in-depth insights into new global markets

Norway is generally categorized as having a mixed economy. Being that the country is situated in Western Europe makes its location ideal for connecting with surrounding markets throughout the rest of Europe as well as the Middle East and Asia.

Your Norwegian employees can help you gain firsthand insights into these markets. This unique information is what can help you continue to expand internationally among the aforementioned neighboring markets.

Avoid setting up your own legal entity in Norway

Remember those exorbitant costs we mentioned avoiding earlier? Well, if you don’t work with a PEO to take on Norwegian employees, you’ll need to establish your own legal entity within the country — which is where these exceedingly high costs begin.

Not only is it expensive to form your own legal entity, but it can also take months for the incorporation to be completed. Not to mention, you’ll need to put together a local legal team to help you with said incorporation.

You’ll also need to factor in the cost of your travel and accommodations since you’ll need to be physically present for the entire process. 

Using a PEO in Norway means completely bypassing the need to form an entire entity. This is because PEO services in Norway already have a legal entity established, which you can use as your own.

They can also act as your employer of record in Norway. An EOR in Norway can handle the hiring of your Norwegian employees as well as assign job roles and take on other management duties for your business.

Become culturally aware

When it comes to doing business in Norway or any other country, it’s critical to understand the cultural differences so you can maintain a respectful and professional relationship with your new employees.

As your PEO service in Norway, Skuad can ensure you’re informed of the various cultural practices as an employer.

For example, did you know that Norwegians are more motivated by personal development, positive working relationships, and a healthy working environment rather than financial or other quantitative rewards? They also believe that employers should be motivated to work for the common good rather than garnering personal fame or a sizable fortune.

Remain compliant

Every country will have a different set of legal requirements for what employees are entitled to regarding statutory benefits and other laws. If you don’t comply with these laws regularly, you could end up facing some harsh penalties, including business bans.

These laws include everything from payroll compliance to ensure you’re contributing the right amount to Norway’s social security system and more.

Let’s get into some of the specifics about hiring in Norway:

Payroll:

• The currency that Norwegian employees are paid in is the Norwegian Krone/Kronar (NOK).
• Norwegian employees are subject to a six-month probation period.
• There are no mandatory 13-month salary bonuses in Norway. However, performance-based bonuses may be granted at the employer's discretion.
• There is no mandate for severance pay upon terminating employees in Norway. However, employers must provide one month’s notice in writing for the grounds of termination.
• Full-time employees typically work 40 hours per week divided up by 9 hours per day over a 7-day period. Overtime compensation is set at 140% of the employee’s regular wages, with maximum overtime hours ranging from 10 hours in 7 days, 13 hours within 24 hours, and so on. 

Tax and employer contributions:

Norway’s income tax rate for employees is a flat 22% with an additional “top tax rate” that ranges from:

• 1.7% on NOK 184,000 - 260,000
• 4% on NOK 260,100 - 651,250
• 13.2% on NOK 651,250 - 1,021,550 and
• 16.2% on NOK 1,021,550 and above

Norway’s corporate tax rate is also set at 22%.

As for social security contributions, employers must contribute 14.1% of the salary while employees must contribute up to 8.2%.

Paid leave:

• Employees are entitled to up to 16 days of paid sick leave
• Women are entitled to a maximum of 59 weeks of paid maternity leave
• Men are entitled to up to 15 days of paid paternity leave
• Employees are entitled to up to 25 working days of paid vacation, and that salary is “accrued” from their previous year of work

Want to learn more about how Skuad’s PEO services can help your business to grow? Book a demo!

What does it cost to build a team in Norway?

If you were to form your own legal entity in Norway, you can expect to pay NOK 45,937.77 in the first year. The total incorporation costs, depending on the type of entity you choose to form, plus government fees and opening a bank account can run you an additional NOK 150,645.08.

When you partner with a PEO in Norway, the prices will vary among the different providers. Skuad allows businesses to get started for free and cancel at any time, no questions asked.

Our PEO services allow you to immediately start onboarding and paying international employees with packages starting at $19 per month — a more than fair cost of doing business in Norway.

We also offer EOR services as well as custom pricing for enterprise-level businesses. You can call us at any time for a personalized quote.

When you’re ready to start onboarding and paying employees in Norway, we’re ready to help. Book a demo of Skuad’s PEO services today to see what we’re all about!