Sick-pay for self-employed persons
Sick-pay is intended to compensate for the loss of income for people who are unable to work due to illness or injury. As a self-employed person (i.e. you run your own sole proprietorship or are a partner in a general partnership/partnership with joint liability), your sick-pay cover will be less than it will be for employees. However, you can take out insurance in order to obtain better cover.
Sick-pay entitlements for the self-employed
As a self-employed person, you will receive 80 percent of the sick-pay basis from the 17th day of illness onwards. The 16 days are counted from the date on which you see a doctor or the date on which NAV is notified of your incapacity. No sick-pay will be calculated on income in excess of 6G (currently NOK 711,720).
Sickness benefits for self-employed and freelancers (in Norwegian only)
The National Insurance Act on sick-pay for self-employed persons (in Norwegian only)
Calculating the sick-pay basis for self-employed persons
When NAV pays sick-pay, a basis for the sick-pay must be determined. This is normally calculated based on your average pension credits for the past three years for which you have received a tax assessment. The basis for sick-pay is limited to a maximum of six times the National Insurance basic amount (6 G - NOK 711,720). If your business was established less than three years ago or its income changes permanently by more than 25% relative to the calculated sick-pay basis, the sick-pay basis will be determined on a discretionary basis.
If you have both salary income and income as a sole proprietor, the sick-pay is calculated according to the rules for employees.
Voluntary sick-pay insurance
In order to obtain better sick-pay cover than 80 percent from the 17th sick day, you have to take out voluntary sick-pay insurance through NAV. There are three alternative insurance schemes.
| Type of sick-pay scheme | Insurance premiums |
|---|---|
| Ordinary sick-pay scheme with 80% of sick-pay cover from the 17th day of sickness | None |
| Voluntary sick-pay insurance with 80% of sick-pay cover from the 1st day of sickness | 3 % of expected annual income |
| Voluntary sick-pay insurance with 100% of sick-pay cover from the 17th day of sickness | 1.3 % of expected annual income |
| Voluntary sick-pay insurance with 100% of sick-pay cover from the 1st day of sickness | 11 % of expected annual income |
There is also an upper limit for the sick-pay basis of six times the basic amount (G) for the voluntary sick-pay insurance schemes, which means that the insurance will not cover you for income above 6G.
The premium for voluntary sick-pay insurance can be deducted in the tax return.
NAV on sick-pay insurance for self-employed persons (in Norwegian only)
Voluntary occupational injury insurance
Sole proprietors must take out an occupational injury insurance through NAV in order to be entitled to special benefits in the event of an occupational injury.
