Norway pay transparency reporting law guide
Introduction
Effective Jan.1, 2018, Norway's Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act replaced four previous statutes with the goal of preventing discrimination based on gender, and promoting equality. Part of the Act's requirements was the publication of an annual gender equality statement by applicable employers. From Jan. 1, 2020, the Act was amended to incorporate a biennial gender pay gap review.
Public and private employers with more than 50 employees are required to comply. Private sector organizations with 20-49 employees may also report if asked to do so by employee or union representatives.
Norway is one of the most gender-equal nations, ranked second in the World Economic Forum's 2023 Global Gender Gap Report. Its gender pay gap hovers around 12%, however, and progress toward pay equity has slowed.
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Norway Reporting Requirements
Who Needs to Report?
All private and public sector companies with 50 or more employees. Smaller private sector organizations (20-49 employees) may need to carry out a pay equity analysis if requested by employee or union representatives. Organizations with 20-49 employees may also voluntarily conduct an analysis.
What to Report?
Applicable employers must report as follows:
Gender Equality Statement: An annual statement is required on the employer’s gender equality status. Data must include gender distribution across the workplace, a breakdown of part-time workers by gender, the proportion of temporary workers, and employees who have taken parental leave. Employers are also required to identify the risks of discrimination and other barriers to inequality, implement measures to address those risks and promote greater equality and diversity, and report on progress made.
Pay Equity Analysis: In addition, every two years, companies must carry out a gender pay review and map the use of "involuntary part-time workers" based on gender. "Involuntary part-time work," per the English translation of the law, is defined as work where the employee wants to, and can, work more hours. Gender pay gap reporting should be anonymized and encompass all employees and types of compensation.
Women and men are to be grouped by the same work or work of equal value. The analysis should define the criteria for equal work and work of equal value.
Where and When to Report?
Regulatory Filing
While there is no regulatory filing, employers must publish an annual statement on the status of gender equality in the company and detail the steps taken to prevent workplace discrimination. Statements are to be included in an annual report or other document and made available to the public.
No reporting is required for the biennial pay equity analysis, but this can be incorporated in the employer’s annual statement.
Internal Disclosure
No internal disclosure is required; however, statements must be made available upon request to employees, their representatives, the Norwegian Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Equality and Discrimination Ombudsman, and researchers, if pay discrimination is alleged.
Deadlines and Cadence
Cadence of reporting is annual for gender equality reports, and biannually for pay equity analyses.
Norway Pay Transparency Requirements
There are currently no legal requirements for employers to post salary details to applicants or employees in Norway regarding specific positions.
Employment equity standards
Employees must receive equal pay for the same work or work of equal value, without regard to gender. The law applies regardless of whether the work is carried out on a different site or if a different wage agreement applies. Companies must consider expertise, effort, responsibility, working conditions and other relevant factors when determining work of equal value.
Pay is defined as "ordinary remuneration for work plus all other supplements, advantages and other benefits provided by the employer."
In addition, the Act prohibits discrimination in all areas of the workplace, including promotion, skills development, pay and working conditions. Employers are also required to implement efforts to promote equality, in areas including hiring, pay, working conditions, promotion, development opportunities, accommodation, and in work-life balance.
The Risks of Non-Compliance
Enforcement is overseen by Norway's Anti-Discrimination Tribunal and the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsman. Fines and penalties are not outlined in the Act.
How Can Trusaic Assist with Norway Gender Equality & Pay Equity Analysis Reporting Compliance?
1. Comply - Use Trusaic’s RAPTR solution to complete required reporting by compliance deadlines:
Applicability Determination: Perform an accurate assessment of your applicability, according to jurisdictional specific definitions and regulatory frameworks so you can understand your reporting obligations across the globe.
Deadline Management: Prepare ahead of time with project timelines, timely notifications, and reminders, to keep you on track to meeting jurisdictional deadlines.
Expert Legal Guidance and Support: Benefit from the expertise of our trusted pay equity attorneys, so you understand your compliance requirements across a diverse global regulatory landscape. Receive world-class customer support, including assistance throughout the compliance process.
Streamlined Data Extraction: Collect the necessary data for analysis and submission with a simple click of a button; powered by certified data integrations with the world’s largest HCM, HR and Payroll platforms, including Workday, SAP, UKG and ADP. Provide data through Trusaic’s Workplace Equity platform, a SOC 2 Type II and GDPR-compliant tool for data transmission.
Data Quality Assurance: Trusaic performs data validations to ensure your collected data and information aligns with the standards and definitions provided by each jurisdiction.
Compliant Report Outputs: Take away the burden of reporting by effortlessly generating outputs containing necessary compliance information.
Reporting Checklist: Follow step-by-step guidance on where, when and how to report to any jurisdiction’s regulatory body, as well as your required internal disclosure and public posting obligations.
2. Correct - Use PayParity and OpportunityParity to understand, explain and resolve pay disparities:
Risk Assessments: Stay aware of any potential exposure to any government audit or litigation. Our cross-functional team of data scientists, statisticians, and government regulatory compliance experts have rigorously worked to reverse-engineer the calculations that will be used by jurisdictions to estimate pay disparities, so you can prepare in advance.
Understand your Pay Gaps: Leverage Trusaic’s pay equity software solution to explain your pay gaps so you can understand the root causes and safeguard from equal pay claims and legal action.
Resolve Pay Disparities: Make pay adjustments where applicable so you can eliminate pay disparities and show improvements in your reported pay gaps from one year to the next.
Identify Barriers to Professional Growth: Ensure workforce diversity and equity with hiring, promotion, retention, and opportunity analytics using opportunity equity software solution.
3. Communicate - Use Trusaic’s Workplace Equity Solution to communicate narratives and share salary ranges with confidence:
Workplace Equity Narrative: Communicate the sources of your pay gaps, progress objectives, and corrective measures to employees and internal stakeholders with Trusaic’s Workplace Equity product suite. Show data-backed progress in your pay gaps over time.
Salary Range Explainability: Use Salary Range Finder to establish and post competitive and equitable pay ranges to confidently comply with pay transparency laws.
Mitigate Risk of Recurrent Pay Disparities: Ensure new hires receive fair pay offers with the use of external labor market data and internal pay equity analytics to reduce unplanned and expensive pay remediations.
The EU Directive
Norway is an EEA member and part of the EU's single market. Norwegian organizations with operations in EU member states will be required to comply with gender pay gap reporting in those countries per the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
Trusaic is GDPR compliant and can assist any organization in any EU state in meeting its obligations under both the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the EU Pay Transparency Directive.