Employer and Employees
What is an Annual Work Unit, and How Many Hours Does It Represent?
An annual work unit expresses work effort as full-time equivalents. See why the number of hours varies and how to compare staffing correctly.
2 min read · Translated from Norwegian. Read the original
An annual work unit (årsverk) is the amount of work one full-time position represents over the course of a year. The term is used to compare capacity across full-time, part-time, and different businesses, but there isn't a single, universal number of hours that fits all purposes.
How Many Hours is an Annual Work Unit?
The answer depends on the definition, collective agreements, working hours, holidays, public holidays, absence, and whether one measures agreed, paid, or actually performed hours. Statistics Norway (Statistisk sentralbyrå - SSB), the Norwegian national statistical institute, has in some business statistics used 1,750 working hours as one full-time equivalent. This does not mean that 1,750 is the definitive figure for all salary, contract, or project calculations.
Always state which definition is being used. Otherwise, two correct calculations might appear to be in conflict.
How to Calculate Annual Work Units
For staffing analysis, you can sum relevant working hours and divide by the number of hours in the chosen annual work unit definition. Two people in a 50 percent position throughout the year normally correspond to approximately one agreed annual work unit. Absence and overtime can make the actually performed work effort different.
Employees and Annual Work Units are Not the Same
The number of employees counts individuals. Annual work units measure capacity. A business with many part-time employees may therefore have significantly more employees than annual work units. When comparing companies, the timing, source, and method must be consistent.
On Proffi
Proffi should display "number of employees" and "annual work units" as separate fields. If annual work units are estimated, the calculation method must be clearly marked and not presented as a publicly registered fact.
Source
Frequently asked questions
- Is one annual work unit always 1,750 hours?
- No. That is a definition used in parts of Statistics Norway's (SSB) business statistics, not a universal rule.
- Are two part-time employees one annual work unit?
- Two 50-percent positions over the same full period normally correspond to approximately one agreed annual work unit.
- Does an annual work unit include holidays?
- That depends on the definition. State whether you are measuring agreed, paid, or performed hours.