Fellesferie in Norway: The Summer Holiday Shutdown Explained

Fellesferie: a shared holiday, not a public holiday

Fellesferie is a period when a business stops wholly or partly and its staff take their holiday at the same time. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) uses it as its example of when an employer can order you to take holiday (for eksempel under fellesferien, "for example during the fellesferie") (arbeidstilsynet.no). NAV uses the same idea when it pays benefits to people on labour market schemes: a fellesferie must be documented and apply to the whole business (nav.no).

What the term does not have is a legal date. The Holiday Act (ferieloven) gives a summer window and leaves the exact weeks to each employer. If you are new to Norway, the useful split is between what the law guarantees and what is only custom at your workplace. This guide takes them in that order, then covers holiday pay and your first summer in a new job.

On timing, Statistics Norway (SSB) notes that the third quarter (July to September) includes the fellesferie and is the quarter when people in Norway travel most. It also notes that July is the only month of the year when more air passengers leave Norwegian airports for abroad than for domestic destinations (ssb.no).

What the Holiday Act says (law)

All of this is in the Holiday Act on Lovdata, with Arbeidstilsynet's plain-language summary on its holiday page.

Several of these rules can be varied by collective agreement or another agreement (§ 6 and § 7 say so for timing). Your employment contract or the collective agreement at your workplace may therefore set different arrangements. See our guide to employment contracts in Norway.

The shutdown rule

The rule behind fellesferie is the last sentence of § 5(5): if a business stops operating wholly or partly in connection with holidays, all employees affected by the stop can be required to take holiday of the same length (ferieloven § 5). Arbeidstilsynet puts it the same way: the employer can order you to take holiday if the business stops wholly or partly for holidays (arbeidstilsynet.no).

What is custom, not law

These are common, but they come from agreements and practice, not from the Holiday Act:

• The fifth week. Arbeidstilsynet says many employees have a fifth holiday week because of the collective agreement made in 2000/2001, which usually also raises holiday pay from 10.2 percent to 12 percent. It states that this was part of the wage settlement, not part of the Holiday Act (arbeidstilsynet.no). Lovdata's summary of the Act says the same: five weeks follows from a collective agreement, employment contract or workplace practice (lovdata.no).
• The exact weeks. The law gives a window of 1 June to 30 September. Which weeks your workplace closes, if it closes at all, is the employer's decision after discussion. Ask early.
• Holiday pay in May or June. Skatteetaten's guidance for employers says many employers settle holiday pay in one go in May or June (skatteetaten.no).

Holiday pay (feriepenger) and the June payslip

Arbeidstilsynet reminds employees that holiday is in principle unpaid time off, and that holiday pay (feriepenger) is there to replace the lost wages (arbeidstilsynet.no).

• How much: by law, 10.2 percent of your holiday pay base, which is the pay you received in the earning year, the previous calendar year (ferieloven § 10). Over 60 with the extra week, the rate rises by 2.3 percentage points, but that extra part is not paid on the share of the base above 6 times the National Insurance basic amount.
• When: on the last ordinary payday before your holiday. You can demand it at the latest 1 week before the holiday starts (§ 11).
• The one-month method: an employer can settle all holiday pay in one month and, in the same month, deduct salary for all your holiday days, whenever you take them (Skatteetaten). If you had little Norwegian pay last year, your holiday pay is small, because it is a percentage of last year's pay.
• Tax: no tax is withheld from holiday pay, but it is not tax-free. Skatteetaten explains that tax for the whole year is deducted over 10.5 months, so you pay a little more the rest of the year. Foreign employees on the source tax scheme for wages (kildeskatt på lønn) have the same deduction all year, so this break and the half tax before Christmas do not apply to them (skatteetaten.no). See our Norwegian tax guide for how tax cards and tax schemes for foreign workers work.

If you receive benefits from NAV, holiday pay from NAV is paid by the end of May in the year after it was earned, and the holiday supplement on unemployment benefit (dagpenger) by the end of June (nav.no).

Your first summer in a new job

This is where newcomers get caught. Three rules interact:

1. You still get the days. Arbeidstilsynet: if you were not in work the year before, you have not earned holiday pay, but you still have the right to holiday days. If you start by 30 September you have the right to full holiday, and three weeks in the main holiday period if you start by 15 August (arbeidstilsynet.no).
2. You can normally refuse unpaid holiday. You can refuse to take holiday to the extent that your holiday pay does not cover the lost wages (ferieloven § 5(5)).
3. Except in a shutdown. If the business stops wholly or partly for the holiday, all affected employees can be required to take holiday of the same length (§ 5(5)).

In plain terms: if your workplace closes for a fellesferie in your first year, you can be required to take that time off even if you have little or no holiday pay to cover it. Ask your employer in your first weeks whether the workplace closes in summer and for how long, and plan your budget for it.

Families: check your school calendar

Oslo's school calendar is a regulation set by the City of Oslo. Its calendar for 2026–2027 starts the school year on Monday 17 August 2026, has its last school day on Friday 18 June 2027, and the next school year starts on Monday 16 August 2027 (Oslo school calendar on Lovdata). If your children go to school outside Oslo, look up the school calendar (skolerute) where they go to school before you agree holiday weeks with your employer.

Common problems and fixes

• "My employer told me my holiday weeks a week before." You can demand notice at the latest 2 months before the holiday starts, unless special reasons prevent it. Ask for the holiday plan in spring.
• "I booked flights, then my employer moved my holiday." A notified holiday can only be moved for unforeseen events causing significant operational problems when no substitute can be found, and you can claim documented extra costs. Keep receipts.
• "My June pay was tiny." Check whether your employer settles holiday pay in one month and deducts salary for all holiday days at once. Holiday pay is a percentage of last year's pay, so a short first year means a small amount.
• "No tax in June, so I can leave it out of my tax return." No. Holiday pay is not tax-free. Skatteetaten warns that reducing the salary in your tax return by the holiday pay amount risks additional tax.
• "I was sick during my holiday." If you are fully (100 percent) sick-listed during the holiday, you can claim the days back later, with a doctor's note given to your employer as soon as possible after you return to work (arbeidstilsynet.no).

Your next step

Ask your manager now whether your workplace has a fellesferie, which weeks it covers, and whether your contract or collective agreement gives five weeks or four weeks and one day. Then check what holiday pay you have earned from last year's Norwegian pay, so a summer shutdown does not arrive as an unpaid surprise.