Sweden is located in North Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak. Neighboring countries include Finland and Norway. It is a Scandinavian nation with thousands of coastal islands and inland lakes, along with vast boreal forests and glaciated mountains. Its principal cities, eastern capital Stockholm and southwestern Gothenburg and Malmö, are all coastal. With an area of 450,295 square kilometers, Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Sweden.
Capitale : Stockholm | Devise : Swedish krona (kr, SEK) | Langues parlées : Swedish |
Nombre d'habitants : 10.42 million (2021 est.) | Salaire minimum : No minimum wage | Index du coût de la vie : $$$$ (23 of 139 nations) |
Payroll Frequency : Monthly | Taux normal de la TVA : 25% | Croissance réelle du PIB : 4.8% (2021 est.) |
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2022.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Sweden is 4 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
Normal working hours in Sweden are a maximum of 40 hours a week. Monday is considered to be the first day of the week unless another arrangement is in place at the workplace. The contract of employment should give details of the working hours.
Overtime is limited to 48 hours over a four-week period or 50 hours over a period of one month. Total overtime may not exceed 200 hours in any 12-month period.
Overtime in excess of general overtime may be worked up to a maximum of 150 hours per employee over a calendar year if there are special grounds for doing so and no other reasonable solution has been possible (extra overtime).
A contract for probationary employment of limited duration may also be entered into, provided that the probationary period does not exceed six months.
Resignation
An employee who wishes to resign must give at least one month’s notice, although notice periods may be longer than this depending on any applicable collective agreement.
Termination by the Employer
The notice period for collective (and other) dismissals is presented in the table below.
| Tenure | Notice Period |
| During probation | 2 weeks |
| Less than 2 years | 1 month |
| 2 to 4 years | 2 months |
| 4 to 6 years | 3 months |
| 6 to 8 years | 4 months |
| 8 to 10 years | 5 months |
| Longer than 10 years | 6 months |
All employees are entitled to at least 25 days of paid leave (i.e. five weeks’ holiday) per year after one year of work at the company. Vacation is accrued for the following year, meaning that in the first year of employment with a new employer, the employee is not eligible for paid vacation.
Employees on sick leave receive sick pay from the employer from the first day up to and including day 14. From the sick pay, employers must make a waiting day deduction corresponding to 20% of the sick pay for an average week.
If the employee continues to be sick thereafter, they can obtain a sickness cash benefit from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The employer is required to notify the Social Insurance Agency in such a situation. Social insurance pays for sick leave starting on day 15.
Parents in Sweden are entitled to a total of 480 days of paid parental benefits leave when a child is born or adopted. Each parent – should they be two – is entitled to 240 of those days. In the case of multiple births, an additional 180 days are granted for each additional child. A single parent is entitled to a full 480 days. Parental leave benefits are funded by the social security system.
In Sweden, maternity leave is regulated under parental leave.
A female employee is entitled to time off in connection with childbirth for a continuous period of at least seven weeks prior to the estimated time for delivery and seven weeks after the delivery. Two weeks of this maternity leave is obligatory during the period prior to or after the delivery. Employers must be notified at least two months in advance.
The non-pregnant parent can receive compensation for 10 days of leave in connection with the birth of the child. This benefit is called temporary leave in connection with a child’s birth or adoption.
An employee is entitled to leave from employment for urgent family reasons related to illness or accident which makes the immediate presence of the employee absolutely necessary. A collective agreement may limit the number of leave days a year to a certain number of days for each occasion or to both.
Full-time employees with permanent jobs can apply for six months leave of absence from their work to take time off to do other things. Perhaps they may wish to study, try a different job, start their own business, or take care of a close relative. After the leave of absence, they have the right to return to work with the same conditions as before.
Mandatory employer social security contributions amount to 31.42% of gross salary, while employee social security contributions amount to 28.97%. The contributions are used to fund benefits such as an old-age pension, survivor’s pension, health insurance, occupational injury insurance, parental insurance, and unemployment insurance and also include a general payroll fee. Foreign employers who do not have a permanent establishment (PE) in Sweden must register for the payment of social security contributions.
Old-age pension contribution | 10.21% | 10.21% |
Survivor’s pension contribution | 0.60% | 0.60% |
Health insurance fee | 3.55% | 3.64% |
Occupational injury fee | 0.20% | 0.20% |
Parental insurance fee | 2.60% | 2.60% |
Labor market levy | 2.64% | 0.10% |
General payroll tax | 11.62% | 11.62% |
Total | 31.42% | 28.97% |
The employer contributes 3.55% towards health insurance, while the employee contributes 3.64%.
The majority of health and medical care in Sweden is publicly financed. Most healthcare institutions are under public management, but there is also publicly financed healthcare run under private management.
The employer and the employee each contribute 0.20% to the occupational injury fund.
If employees injure themselves at work or on their way to or from work, they can receive compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The same applies if employees become physically or mentally ill due to their work.
Employers pay a labor market levy of 2.64%, while employees pay 0.10%.
People who become unemployed in Sweden can receive unemployment benefits through the unemployment insurance scheme (ersättning från a-kassa). This benefit consists of two parts:
The employer and the employee each contribute 2.60% towards parental insurance.
Parental insurance is used to fund parental benefits for workers who take parental leave.
The employer and the employee each contribute 10.21% towards the retirement pension.
Under the Swedish Pensions Agency, people receive the public pension which is based on their pensionable income. Normally the higher an employee’s salary and the later they retire, the higher their pension will be. The guarantee pension is granted from the month one becomes 65 years of age.
Survivors’ Pension
The employer and employee each contribute 0.60% to the survivors’ pension.
There are three different kinds of public survivors’ pension: child pension, adjustment pension, and widow’s pension. This should cover part of the income that the deceased person contributed.
Children who have lost one or both parents can receive a child pension (barnpension). Women and men who have not yet turned 65 and have lost their partners can receive adjustment pensions (omställningspension). Women can also receive a widow’s pension (änkepension) if they were married before 1990.
The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.
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