What obligations does an employer have towards an employee on sick leave?

Hi, one of the employees from the installation team got sick leave for a few weeks, and i'm a bit confused. Do i just have to pay sick pay, or do i also need to arrange meetings and check what they're doing?

An employee's illness triggers financial, administrative and organisational obligations. Their scope changes depending on the length of the absence, so you need to keep track of both the first 16 calendar days and subsequent contact deadlines and cooperation with NAV.

In this article, we explain which documents to accept, when to pay the benefit, how to adjust work and where the limits of employee monitoring lie. The amounts and rules stated are valid as of 1 October 2026.

From reporting illness to accepting documentation

The obligations apply to every employer, including an AS and an ENK employing staff. An ENK owner is not an employee of their own business, while an AS owner employed by their company is subject to the standard rules for employees.

The employee should inform you about their illness as soon as possible. The right to a benefit from the employer arises no earlier than from the day the absence is reported, unless the employee was objectively unable to provide the information earlier.

The absence may be documented by:

• egenmelding - the employee's own declaration of illness,
• sykmelding - a sick leave certificate issued by an authorised doctor or other specialist.

The right to use egenmelding arises after at least 2 months of employment. The statutory minimum allows up to 3 calendar days at a time, no more than 4 times within 12 months. The company may grant broader rights, for example 8 days at a time and 24 days per year.

After the employee returns, you may require written confirmation of the egenmelding. You may also withdraw the right to use this arrangement if you have justified grounds. Before making a decision, you must allow the employee to present their position and reassess whether the restriction is justified after 6 months.

At the start of the absence, you should:

1. Record the date and method used to report the illness.
2. Verify the right to use egenmelding or review the received sykmelding.
3. Establish the first full day of absence.
4. Ask about the expected duration of the absence and the possibility of partial work, without requesting a diagnosis.
5. Protect health information from access by people who do not need it to perform their duties.

Payment of benefits and formalities with NAV

The employer pays sykepenger (sickness benefit) for the first 16 calendar days of continuous absence. This is the employer's period of responsibility. It includes weekends and other days off covered by the sick leave certificate, but you pay only for the days on which the employee would have received pay according to their schedule.

The right to a benefit from the employer generally requires at least 4 weeks of employment before the illness. We explain the exact division of funding in the article Who pays an employee's sick pay - the employer or NAV?

The basis for the benefit includes, among other things, basic salary, commissions, performance-based bonuses and shift allowances. Regular overtime pay and feriepenger generally do not increase this basis. A fixed overtime allowance may be included.

You calculate feriepenger on the sykepenger you pay yourself. We describe the calculation rules in more detail in the article Holidays and feriepenger from an employer's perspective - what are our obligations?

You report the payment in the a-melding together with the remaining payroll information. If the employee remains employed, you must continue to report an active employment relationship. You can read more about the report itself in the article What is an a-melding and when must it be submitted?

Obligations after the 16th day of illness

From the 17th day, funding of the benefit generally passes to NAV. You must submit an inntektsmelding (the employee's income statement), regardless of whether:

• NAV will pay the money directly to the employee, or
• the company will continue paying the benefit and apply for reimbursement.

The inntektsmelding must be submitted as soon as possible after the first 16 days have ended and the employee has applied for the benefit. Without this document, NAV cannot complete the processing of the application.

You have no general statutory obligation to continue funding payments after the 16th day. However, such an obligation may arise from the employment contract, a collective agreement or established company practice.

If you continue paying the employee, you can apply for reimbursement up to the limit of 6G, which is NOK 819,294 per year in 2026. The reimbursement may cover a period of up to 3 months before the month in which the claim is submitted. Delays may therefore result in the loss of part of the amount due.

Contact, return-to-work plan and work adjustments

Sick leave does not suspend the obligation to maintain appropriate contact with the employee. You should establish as early as possible whether they can perform some duties or return under modified work arrangements.

The obligation to adjust work may include:

• changing working hours or the work schedule,
• reducing the pace or scope of duties,
• temporarily assigning other tasks,
• adapting the workstation physically and ergonomically,
• providing suitable equipment,
• training or retraining,
• assessing whether other suitable work can be offered within the company.

Adjustments must not lead to an excessive deterioration in the working conditions of other employees or create a risk to the working environment. You should document the solutions considered, the measures implemented and the reasons for rejecting available options.

The plan prepared by week 4 should cover the employee's current ability to perform tasks, possible measures by the company, necessary assistance and the further schedule. No later than after 4 weeks, you must send it on your own initiative to the person who issued the sick leave certificate.

The plan is unnecessary if the employee will soon return without the need for work adjustments or if their health condition clearly rules out work-related measures. Even then, it is worth briefly documenting the reason for not preparing the plan.

Limits of monitoring and employment protection

What can the employer not monitor?

You cannot require the employee to disclose their diagnosis, treatment history or medical documentation. You also have no general right to carry out your own medical checks, make unannounced home visits or demand access to their home.

You may ask about:

• the ability to perform specific tasks,
• functional limitations relevant to work,
• the possibility of a partial return,
• necessary changes to hours, the workstation or duties,
• the expected duration of the absence.

The employee is required to cooperate in planning their return and describe which activities they can perform. They do not have to provide private medical information.

If you have specific, documented grounds, you may challenge the right to the benefit. Mere distrust, a conflict with the employee or activity on social media are not sufficient to automatically stop payment.

Before challenging the benefit, you must hold a meeting, prepare a note, inform the employee in writing and submit the justification to NAV. If the employee's entitlement is confirmed, the company may be required to pay the outstanding benefit with interest.

Protection against dismissal

For the first 12 months from the onset of incapacity for work, an employment contract cannot be terminated because of a full or partial absence caused by illness or an accident. A notice of termination given during this period is presumed to be related to the illness, unless the employer can demonstrate another lawful reason, for example a genuine workforce reduction.

After 12 months, dismissal does not automatically become permissible. You must assess the prospects of returning to work, the adjustments made and the possibility of offering other work. We discuss the detailed procedure in the article How can you legally dismiss an employee in Norway?

The expiry of the right to sykepenger after the standard period of up to 52 weeks also does not automatically end the employment relationship or the obligation to consider further adjustments.

FAQ - frequently asked questions

Summary

• Accept the report and documentation, then correctly establish the 16-day employer responsibility period.
• Pay the due sykepenger, calculate feriepenger, complete reporting and submit the inntektsmelding after the 16th day.
• Start contact without unnecessary delay, prepare the plan by week 4 and keep track of subsequent cooperation deadlines.
• Ask about work capacity and adjustment options, but do not request a diagnosis or medical documentation.

If you need help fulfilling employer obligations while an employee is on sick leave, call us: +47 21 38 38 21. We help employers in Norway properly organise their HR and payroll matters.

Article author: Marcin - marcin@efirma.no