FTC regulated: Yes

Valid reasons for FTC use: no limitation

Remarks

According to sec. 5 EPA, a contract of employment for a fixed-term may be concluded: 1) for a general fixed-term employment, 2) for a temporary substitute employment, 3) for a seasonal employment, 4) when the employee has attained the age of 67.

FTC for the purpose of 'general fixed-term employment' can be concluded with no valid reason.

Maximum number of successive FTCs: no limitation

Maximum cumulative duration of successive FTCs: 24month(s)

Remarks

Sec. 5 EPA : An employee may only be employed for a maximum of two years during a five-years period under FCT concluded for a general fixed-term employment or for a substitute employment. If this time limit is exceeded, the employment contract automatically converts into an indefinite-term contract.

% of workforce under FTC: 17

Remarks

Source: Eurostat, as of third semester 2012.
The figure refers to the percentage of employee with a contract of limited duration (= temporary job) of total number of employee aged 15-74 years.
Eurostat data are based on the following definition:
"A job may be considered temporary if employer and employee agree that its end is determined by objective conditions such as a specific date, the completion of a task or the return of another employee who has been temporarily replaced (usually stated in a work contract of limited duration). Typical cases are: (a) persons with seasonal employment; (b) persons engaged by an agency or employment exchange and hired to a third party to perform a specific task (unless there is a written work contract of unlimited duration); (c) persons with specific training contracts."

Maximum probationary (trial) period (in months): 6 month(s)

Remarks

Sec. 6 EPA.
Refers to the possibility to conclude "contract for probationary employment, provided that the probationary period does not exceed 6 months".

Obligation to provide reasons to the employee: Yes

Remarks

Sec. 9 EPA: The employer is obliged, upon request by the employee, to state the circumstances on which notice is based.

In case summary dismissals (without notice), the employer is also obliged to state the reasons behind the dismissal upon request of the employee: sec. 19 EPA.

Valid grounds (justified dismissal): any fair reasons

Remarks

Sec. 7 EPA: Notice of termination must be based on objective grounds.
Those grounds can be linked to economic circumstances or circumstances relating to the employee personally.

Prohibited grounds: pregnancy, maternity leave, family responsibilities, colour, sex, sexual orientation, nationality/national origin, age, trade union membership and activities, disability, performing military or civil service, parental leave, gender identity, exercise of the right to educational leave, ethnic origin

Remarks

- Discrimination Act, 2008: sec. 1 and 5
- Parental Leave Act, 1995: sec. 16 (covers both maternity leave and parental leave)
Note: pregnancy is not mentioned as such, but has been interpreted as being included under sexual discrimination
- Trade Union Representatives (Status at the Workplace) Act, 1974: sec. 4
- Employee's Right to Educational Leave Act, 1974 : sec. 8
- The study of the European Commission on termination of employment relationships (2006) also mentions care for dependants (family responsibilities), and military or civil service (p. 54)

Workers enjoying special protection: workers' representatives

Remarks

See for example, sec. 8 of the Trade Union Representatives (Status at the Workplace) Act, 1974 on priority to continued employment in connection with redundancies.
See also sec. 30 EPA on the obligation to inform the worker's representatives for individual dismissals of trade union members.
NOTE: About 70% of the workers in Sweden are union members.

Notification to the worker to be dismissed: written

Remarks

Sec. 8 EPA

Notice period:

Remarks

Sec. 11 EPA:
- The minimum notice period is 1 month.
- The notice period shall be:
* 2 months for tenure of at least 2 years but less than 4 years;
* 3 months for tenure of at least 4 years but less than 6 years;
* 4 months for tenure of at least 6 years but less than 8 years;
* 5 months for tenure of at least 8 years but less than 10 years;
* 6 months for tenure of at least 10 years.

tenure ≥ 6 months:

  • All: 1 month(s).

tenure ≥ 9 months:

  • All: 1 month(s).

tenure ≥ 2 years:

  • All: 2 month(s).

tenure ≥ 4 years:

  • All: 3 month(s).

tenure ≥ 5 years:

  • All: 3 month(s).

tenure ≥ 10 years:

  • All: 6 month(s).

tenure ≥ 20 years:

  • All: 6 month(s).

Pay in lieu of notice: No

Notification to the public administration: No

Notification to workers' representatives: No

Remarks

Exception as provided in sec. 30 EPA: workers' representatives must be notified when the employee is a union member. This obligation of notification applies both in case of a dismissal with notice and a summary dismissal.

Approval by public administration or judicial bodies: No

Approval by workers' representatives: No

Definition of collective dismissal (number of employees concerned): No statutory definition of collective dismissal.
However, the employer is obliged to notify the Swedish Public Employment Service of cutbacks in operations that will affect:
- at least five employees, or
- at least 20 employees over a period of 90 days.

Remarks

According to the website of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (last update 29.01.09), provisions on notification to the labour administration in case of collective dismissals are contained in the Act on Certain Employment Promoting Measures (not available in English):
"The employer is obliged to notify the Swedish Public Employment Service of cutbacks in operations that will affect at least five employees. The Swedish Public Employment Service shall be notified:
· at least two months before a cutback in operations that affects at least 25 employees,
· at least four months before a cutback in operations that affects more than 25 but no more than 100 employees,
· at least six months before a cutback in operations that affects more than 100 employees."
(http://www.lo.se/home/lo/home.nsf/unidView/C07E6B9BFBAA279DC1256E6000355512)

Prior consultations with trade unions (workers' representatives): Yes

Remarks

Sec 29 EPA, referring to sec. 11-14 of the Employment (Co-determination) in the Workplace Act.

Notification to the public administration: Yes

Remarks

According to the website of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (last update 29.01.09), provisions on notification to the labour administration in case of collective dismissals are contained in the Act on Certain Employment Promoting Measures (not available in English):
"The employer is obliged to notify the Swedish Public Employment Service of cutbacks in operations that will affect at least five employees. The Swedish Public Employment Service shall be notified:
u00b7 at least two months before a cutback in operations that affects at least 25 employees,
u00b7 at least four months before a cutback in operations that affects more than 25 but no more than 100 employees,
u00b7 at least six months before a cutback in operations that affects more than 100 employees."
(http://www.lo.se/home/lo/home.nsf/unidView/C07E6B9BFBAA279DC1256E6000355512)

Notification to workers' representatives: Yes

Remarks

Sec 29 EPA, referring to the Employment (Co-determination) in the Workplace Act. See in particular sec. 15 of the Employment (Co-determination) in the Workplace Act:
In conjunction with negotiations regarding a decision to terminate employment due to shortage of work, the employer shall in good time notify the other party in writing of the following matters:
1. the reason for the planned termination;
2. the number of employees who will be affected by the termination and the employment categories to which they belong;
3. the number of employees who are normally employed and the employment categories to which they belong;
4. the time period during which it is planned to carry out the termination; and
5. the method of calculation of any compensation to be paid in conjunction with termination in addition to that which is required by to law or applicable collective bargaining agreements.
The employer shall also provide the other party with a copy of any notices that have been filed with the Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) under the first and second paragraphs of Section 2 a of the Act (1974:13) Concerning Certain Measures to Promote Employment. (SFS 2007:402)

Approval by public administration or judicial bodies: No

Approval by workers' representatives: No

Priority rules for collective dismissals (social considerations, age, job tenure): Yes

Remarks

The EPA establishes mandatory priority rules for the employers: length of service, then age and then qualifications are the criteria taken into consideration. However, workers with reduced working capacity shall be given priority.

Sec. 22 EPA: “In the event of notice of termination on the grounds of shortage of work, the employer shall observe the following rules on priority. Before order of termination is determined, an employer with at most ten employees, irrespective of the number of in the group subject to order of priority rules, may exempt at most two employees who, in the opinion of the employer, are of particular importance for the future activities. When computing the number of employees at the employer, employees referred to in Section 1 are not included. The employee or those employees who are exempted have priority for continued employment. Where the employer has several operational units, the order of termination shall be determined separately within each unit. The circumstance alone that one employee has his workplace at his home, does not mean that the workplace comprises a separate operational unit. If the employer is, or is usually, bound by a collective bargaining agreement, a special order of termination shall be established for each agreement sector. Where, under circumstances as mentioned above, there are several production units in the same locality, a single order of termination shall be drawn up for all the units in the locality that fall within the agreement sector of an organisation of employees, provided the organisation makes a request to this effect not later than the time for negotiations under Section 29. The order of termination for those employees who are not exempted is determined on the basis of each employee's total time of employment with the employer. Employees with longer employment times shall have priority over employees with shorter employment times. In the event of equal employment times, priority shall be given to the older employee. Where it is only possible to offer continued work to an employee with the employer following a re-location of the employee, priority shall be contingent on the employee possessing satisfactory qualifications for the continued work (SFS 2000:763)u201d.

Sec. 23 EPA: “An employee who has reduced working capacity and who has, therefore, been given special duties by the employer shall be given priority for continued work, notwithstanding the rules on priority, where such can be accomplished without serious inconvenience to the employeru201d.

Employer's obligation to consider alternatives to dismissal (transfers, retraining...): Yes

Remarks

An employer is according to sec. 7 para. 2 EPA required to provide other work in his service for the employee before establishing an order of priority in connection with termination of employment in sec. 22 EPA. Sec. 7 para 2 EPA provides that: "Objective grounds for notice of termination do not exist where it is reasonable to require the employer to provide other work in his service for the employee."

Priority rules for re-employment: Yes

Remarks

Sec. 25- 27 EPA cover rights to re-employment, etc.

Sec. 25 para 1: “Employees whose employment has been terminated as a consequence of shortage of work shall have rights of priority for re-employment in the business in which they were previously employed. The above-mentioned rights shall also apply with respect to employees who have been employed for a fixed term as provided in Section 5 and who have not been given continued employment due to a shortage of work. The right to priority, however, shall be contingent upon the employee having been employed by the employer for a total of more than twelve months during the last three years or, in the case of a former seasonal employee's right to priority for new seasonal employment, six months during the past two years, provided the employee is sufficiently qualified for the new employmentu201d.

Sec. 25 para 2: “The right to priority shall apply from time of the notice of termination or when notice was given or should have been given under Section 15, first paragraph, and thereafter until nine months from the date that the employment ceased. With respect to seasonal employment, rights of priority shall instead apply from the time when notice was given or should have been given under Section 15, second paragraph, and thereafter until nine months have elapsed from the commencement of the new season. Where during the above-mentioned periods of time the undertaking, the business or the part of the business in which the activities are conducted has been transferred to a new Non-official translation employer by such a transfer as is subject to Section 6 b, the right to priority shall apply with respect to the new employer. Rights of priority shall also apply in circumstances where the previous employer was put into bankruptcyu201d.

tenure ≥ 6 months: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 9 months: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 1 year: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 4 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 5 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 10 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 20 years: 0 month(s)

Redundancy payment:

tenure ≥ 6 months: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 9 months: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 1 year: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 2 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 4 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 5 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 10 years: 0 month(s)

tenure ≥ 20 years: 0 month(s)

Notes / Remarks

Notes

No statutory severance pay or redundancy pay, but generally provided in collective agreements.

Compensation for unfair dismissal - free determination by court: No

Compensation for unfair dismissal - Legal limits (ceiling in months or calculation method): 1) Dismissal is invalid:

Compensation for losses in respect of the period following the cessation of employment may not exceed 6 months' pay for less than 6 years of service, 16 months' pay for less than 5 years of service, 24 months' pay for at least 5 years and less than 10 years, 32 months' pay for ten years of service or more."

2) Dismissal is invalid and the employer refuses to comply with the court decision: employment is terminated and damages shall amount to 6 months' pay for less than 6 years of service, 16 months' pay for less than 5 years of service, 24 months' pay for at least 5 years and less than 10 years, 32 months' pay for ten years of service or more.

Remarks

Sec. 38 EPA: “An employer who violates this Act shall be liable for damages for loss suffered by the employee as well as pay and other employment benefits to which the employee may be entitled. An employee who fails to comply with the notice obligations mentioned in Section 11, first paragraph, shall be liable for damages to the employer.
Damages under the first paragraph may comprise both compensation for losses sustained and for violation of the Act. Compensation for losses in respect of the period following the cessation of employment may not, under any circumstances, exceed the amount mentioned in Section 39. Where reasonable, damages may be reduced, in whole or in partu201d.

Sec. 39 EPA: “Where an employer refuses to comply with a court order that notice of termination or a summary dismissal is invalid, or that a fixed-term employment shall be valid for an indefinite term, the employment relationship shall be deemed to have been dissolved. As a consequence of the employer's refusal to comply with the court order, the employer shall pay damages to the employee under the following provisions.
Damages are to be determined according to the employee's total period of employment with the employer at the time of dissolution of the employment relationship, and shall correspond to the following amounts:
-16 months' pay for less than five years of employment;
-24 months' pay for at least five years but less than ten years of employment;
- 32 months' pay for ten or more years of employment;
Damages may not be determined, however, in such a manner that such damages are calculated on the basis of a greater number of months than have actually been commenced with the employer. Where the employee has been employed by the employer for less than six months, the amount assessed shall correspond to six months' pay. SFS (2007:389)u201d.

Reinstatement available: Yes

Remarks

If an employee has been dismissed, without the dismissal being justified by an objective reason, the employee is according to sec. 34 EPA upon request, entitled to have the dismissal annulled. If the court rules that the dismissal is invalid, the employment continues on the same terms as before. Sec. 37 EPA states that if the Court has ruled that the dismissal is invalid, the employer may not suspend the employee from work as a consequence of the circumstances that caused the notice of termination or summary dismissal.

Preliminary mandatory conciliation: Yes

Remarks

Labour Disputes Act 1974, Sect. 7: "An action may not be considered by the Labour Court before such negotiations in respect of the issue in dispute as may be requested under the Employment (Co-determination in the Workplace) Act (1976:580) or as are provided for in a collective bargaining agreement, have taken place". Note that negotiations can only take place between the employer and the employee's union that represents him. Individuals do not have the right to negotiate.

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2004/03/tfeature/se0403102t.htm:
For a dispute to be referred to the Labour Court, there must have been a failed attempt to resolve it through negotiations among the social partners at local or sectoral level or through some kind of arbitration.

Competent court(s) / tribunal(s): ordinary courts

Remarks

Labour Disputes Act, 1974
The Labour Court has jurisdiction over labour disputes provided that the parties are bound by collective agreements and that they are members of an employers' association or a trade union.
If individual workers want to bring a case on their own, without support from their trade union or because they do not belong to a union, they can only do so in a district court.
Note that in Sweden, around 70 % of workers are union members.

Existing arbitration: Yes

Remarks

• Labour disputes may be settled through arbitration by agreement. However, certain restrictions apply, such as the restrictions set out in ch.1 sec.3 of the Labour Disputes Act (1974:371).
• Ch.1. sec.3 of the Labour Disputes Act (1974:371): “Disputes to be dealt with under this Act may by agreement be referred for determination by an arbitrator instead. However, this shall not apply to cases referred to in Section 31, first or third paragraph, of the Employment (Co-determination in the Workplace) Act (1976:580). Nor shall any agreement that was concluded prior to the dispute whereby any dispute should be determined by an arbitrator without reservation of the right of the parties to challenge the arbitral award be applied in disputes concerning the right of association or in disputes under
– the Prohibition of Discrimination of Employees Working Part Time and Employees with Fixed-term Employment Act (2002:293); or
– the Discrimination Act (2008:567). (SFS 2008:574)u201d.

• Sec. 31 of the Employment (Co-determination in the Workplace) Act (1976:580): “Where an employer, employee or organisation bound by a collective bargaining agreement has committed a gross breach of such an agreement or of this Act and where such provisions have a fundamental significance on the contractual relationship as a whole, a court may, upon motion of the other party, declare that a collective bargaining agreement by which the parties are bound is no longer applicable to such parties.

Where a collective bargaining agreement has been concluded by several parties on either side or on both sides and where a declaratory judgment has been made under the first paragraph of this Section in respect of only some of them, any other party may, within three weeks thereafter, terminate the agreement on its own behalf with immediate effect.

Where a court determines that particular actions are contrary to a collective bargaining agreement or to this Act, it may, upon application, release an employer, employee or organisation from its obligations under the collective bargaining agreement or this Act, to the extent it cannot be reasonably required that such obligations be fulfilled (SFS 1977:532)u201d.

Length of procedure: 6month(s)

Remarks

Statistics for 2002.
This figure refers to all the cases brought to the labour court acting as a first instance.
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2004/03/tfeature/se0403102t.htm