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Specific requirements apply to individual employment contracts in all employment relationships. The contract must comply with any applicable collective bargaining agreement and the mandatory provisions of the Norwegian Working Environment Act. It must be in writing, cf. Section 14-5 of the Working Environment Act. In addition, it must contain a minimum set of information as required by Section 14-6 of the Act.
In practice, an employment contract is often a contract of considerably greater significance than many of a company’s ordinary commercial agreements. Employers should therefore view an employment contract as a major contractual commitment and undertake the same level of preparation and diligence as they would for any other contract of comparable importance.
Minimum information required in an employment contract
Pursuant to Section 14-6 of the Working Environment Act, an employment contract must contain information concerning:
- The place of work
- A description of the work to be performed, or the employee’s title, position, or category of employment
- The date on which the employment relationship commences
- Any probationary period
- The applicable notice period
- Salary, working hours, and holiday entitlement
