The employer period for sick leave: what the business must cover itself

When an employee falls ill, it’s the employer who covers the sick pay for the first 16 calendar days – known as the employer period. Here’s an overview of how the period is calculated, when NAV takes over, and how the reimbursement should be booked correctly.

What is the employer period?

The employer period covers the first 16 calendar days of a sick leave, during which the employer – not NAV – pays the sick pay. The period is counted from the first full day of absence, whether the employee is fully or partially certified as sick, or is using self-certification (egenmelding). Sick pay is calculated based on scheduled working days within the period, not calendar days the employee would otherwise have worked.

How is the sick pay calculated?

The monthly income is set as an average of the income reported to the a-ordningen for the three calendar months before the absence started. The daily rate is calculated from this monthly income, and the employee must normally have worked for the employer for at least 4 weeks before the employer period applies in full. Lawful absence such as holiday or leave counts toward the qualifying period, as long as there was at least one working day first.

Self-certification or a medical certificate – both count

Both self-certification and a doctor’s sick note start the employer period in the same way. Self-certification can be used for full days of absence within the limits the business and any IA agreement allow, while a doctor’s certificate can be either full or graded. Regardless of the type of documentation, it’s the employer who covers the cost for the first 16 calendar days.

When does NAV take over?

Once the 16-calendar-day employer period is over, the employee can apply for sick pay from NAV for the rest of the sick leave. The employer must then submit an income report (inntektsmelding) to NAV so the case can be processed and the correct reimbursement paid out. Special rules apply for employees between 67 and 70 – among them a requirement of an annual income of at least 2 times the National Insurance basic amount (as of May 1, 2026 that’s 273,098 kroner) – while employees over 70 have no right to sick pay.

How to book the reimbursement

When NAV takes over and later reimburses the sick pay the employer has advanced for the period after the employer period, the reimbursement should be booked against the correct payroll account and allocated to the same month as the salary payment it relates to. Set up fixed routines for reconciling sick pay reimbursements on an ongoing basis – whether you keep your books in Tripletex, Conta, PowerOffice Go, Fiken or eAccounting – so no reimbursement is left forgotten in the system.