Teachers’ working conditions in Norway are regulated by law and collective agreements. Key legislation includes general employment laws, education‑specific acts for schools and adult education, and separate legislation for universities and university colleges. Collective agreements are negotiated between unions and the government, with teacher‑specific agreements handled by education authorities. Since 2003, local school owners (municipalities and counties) have been responsible for negotiations with teacher organisations, while higher education staff are covered by separate wage and working‑conditions agreements.

Planning policy

Norwegian authorities plan teacher supply and demand mainly through monitoring and long‑term projections, not through fixed staffing targets. Overall policy responsibility lies with the Ministry of Education and Research, while Statistics Norway (SSB) provides the main analytical basis. Municipalities and counties are responsible for local recruitment and staffing, but rely on national projections and statistics. The Directorate for Education and Training supplies detailed statistics on staffing, qualifications, and teacher density in schools and kindergartens.

Statistics in Norway cover current staffing levels, shortages (measured by the share of unqualified staff), teacher education admissions and completions, and long‑term forecasts. These data inform policy decisions but allow for local flexibility rather than central workforce control. The key planning tool is SSB’s LÆRERMOD, a projection model that estimates future teacher supply and demand based on demographics, retirement patterns, teacher education output, and teacher density. The model is used to assess trends and risks over time, not to set binding quotas.

Entry to the profession

Teaching positions are publicly advertised in an open recruitment. In primary and lower secondary schools, municipalities are the employers, while counties employ teachers in upper secondary schools. Applicants are ranked based on qualifications and experience, and appointments are made by the authorities. Schools have increasing autonomy over finances, and local authorities may use salary adjustments to attract teachers.

Induction

Norway has a national framework for professional guidance for newly employed teachers in kindergartens and schools, developed by the Ministry of Education and Research in cooperation with unions, employers, and teacher‑education institutions. The framework aims to ensure that all newly employed teachers are offered guidance, while allowing for local flexibility. The framework is part of a holistic system of professional development that is fully implemented from 2026.

The employer (municipality, county, or private owner) is responsible for organising the guidance locally. Guidance is typically provided during the first one to two years of employment and should be systematic, structured, and take place during working hours. Guidance is normally delivered by experienced teachers acting as mentors, preferably with formal training in supervision. The purpose is to support the transition from education to professional practice, strengthen professional judgement, and help new teachers integrate into the professional community.

Professional status

Teachers in Norwegian public schools and kindergartens are not employed for life, but they enjoy strong job protection under general employment law. Most are employed in permanent positions, which provides significant security. Their employment is mainly regulated by the Working Environment Act, the Education Act (schools), the Kindergarten Act, and collective agreements. Dismissal is only allowed with objective justification, such as serious misconduct, persistent underperformance (after corrective measures), or redundancy due to restructuring.

Public employers must follow strict procedures, document reasons carefully, and consider alternative solutions before dismissal. In cases of downsizing, teachers often have preferential rights to other suitable public positions, and the qualification principle applies.

Strong union representation further reinforces protection, offering legal support and negotiated safeguards. As a result, dismissals are rare in practice, and many teachers remain in their jobs until retirement—creating high stability, though without a legal guarantee of lifetime employment.

Replacement measures

For replacing teachers that will be absent for a few days or weeks, due to illness or training courses, schools usually contact a supply teacher from a list of those locally available. Depending on local labour market conditions, supply teachers may be qualified teachers that are retired, unemployed or recently graduated. Supply teachers may also not be fully qualified, with a university degree or as students. If supply teachers are not found, colleagues may have to assist.

For replacing teachers that will be absent for several months or a year, due to illness or maternity leave, a temporary position is advertised and a substitute teacher engaged. Applicants for temporary positions are mostly recent graduates.

Support measures

Teachers in Norway have access to a wide range of support schemes if they face difficulties. These include workplace adjustments and occupational health services through their employer, legal and professional support from their trade union, and financial, health and welfare assistance through the public system (such as sickness benefits, rehabilitation support and healthcare). The system emphasises early intervention, dialogue and coordinated support to help teachers remain in or return to work where possible.

Salaries

Minimum and maximum of gross annual statuary salaries at pre-primary, primary and secondary level, school-year 2025/2026:  

Teachers' salaries depend largely on the type of position and on seniority. A small proportion of the pay may however be a result of performance, this is decided locally. Positions depend on type of higher education and the number of years of studies. The main positions are for primary school teachers with 3-year teacher training college ('lærer'), primary or secondary school teachers with 4 years of studies ('adjunkt') and secondary school teachers with 5–6 years of studies (lektor).

The salary increases with the number of years of employment (seniority). The very highest salaries will be paid only if negotiated especially due to competence. When hiring new teachers, it is possible to start paying them more if they possess exceptional qualities or have competence especially needed by the school. Teachers will be paid extra if they have specific additional tasks, such as counselling, responsibility for a group or participation in camp school.

Working time and holidays

Different aspects of working conditions are stated in the working-time agreement with teaching personnel in educational institutions of pre-primary, primary and secondary education. Teachers at different levels up to and including upper secondary school have the following main working-time agreement from 2011/2012: Overall annual working time: Pre-primary: 37,5 hours per week. Annual teaching/working hours are not specified. Primary and secondary education: 1687.5 hours per year.

Mean weekly hours of teaching at the different levels of education:

• Pre-primary education: 33,5 hours
• Primary education: 19,5 hours
• Lower secondary education: 15,9/18,7 hours
• Upper secondary education: 12,2/16,9 hours

In primary and secondary education, the teaching lesson is 60 minutes and the teaching year is 38 weeks in primary and secondary education. In addition to the teaching time/days, teachers have to be present at school for six planning days. Secondly, teachers have a mandatory 559–683,5 hours at school, used for meetings, planning etc. The rest of the working time is at the teacher's free disposal, at school or at home. In pre-primary institutions teachers have four hours per week to plan pedagogical activities. Most teachers work full time, but a considerable number of teachers work part-time, especially in primary schools.

Promotion, advancement

Open positions for teachers and headmasters are advertised publicly. Selection is mainly based on the curriculum vitae. Applicants are evaluated and recommended by the schools. Staffs in schools (headmasters, deputy heads and advisers) are almost invariably professional teachers who, particularly in the case of administrators under the level of headmaster, continue to have responsibility for some teaching. There are limited opportunities for promotion to administrative posts. Only approximately 10% of the total workload in primary and secondary education is devoted to administrative functions.

Mobility and transfers

Teachers are free to apply for open positions. Mobility is fairly high among younger teachers in primary and secondary education, partly because permanent positions are difficult to obtain without previous teaching experience. But in general, teachers in Norway have low labour‑market mobility. Figures from Statistics Norway show that most teachers in Norway remain in the profession for many years. Over 90% of newly qualified teachers start working in schools, and more than 80% of primary school teachers are still teaching seven years after completing their education. Retention rates are similarly high for secondary school teachers, while slightly lower for early‑years (kindergarten) teachers.

Dismissal

Dismissal of teachers is extremely rare. Cases in the last thirty years are confined to flagrant misconduct, such as making the work environment impossible for colleagues and the propagation of fascist ideology. Only a limited number of teachers leave the profession as a result of dismissal.

Teachers working in the school sector are not likely to face the risk of unemployment. Those who are permanently employed will be guaranteed a new job in cases where the school is closed or reorganised. They may not be dismissed for reasons of shortage of work.

Retirement and pensions

Public sector teachers in Norway do not have a special retirement age. They follow the general public sector rules. Teachers may start drawing a pension from the age of 62, while 67 remains the standard retirement age in the national system. They are allowed to continue working until the age of 72, which is the mandatory upper age limit in the public sector. Pension and contractual early retirement pension ('AFP') rules vary depending on whether a person was born before or after 1963. Retirement does not have to coincide with stopping work, as it is possible to combine work and pension.

The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund ('Statens pensjonskasse') administers state pensions. State-employed teachers are automatic members, including those employed by municipalities or counties, provided they work at least 35% of full time, with contributions deducted from their salary.