Terminations in Sweden: A Guide for Overseas Employers

Similar to most European countries, Sweden does not have an ‘at will’ employment policy, and all terminations will need to follow statutory requirements. The Employment Protection Act details all notice and termination rules, applicable to any non-managerial employee.

This guide will cover the allowed justifications for termination and the notice process to both the employee and their union.

On what grounds can employers terminate an employee in Sweden?

In general, an employee can only be dismissed for justifiable reasons, either on the employer side or related to the employee’s conduct.  Terminations that don’t meet the standards in the Act will be considered invalid, and damage may be awarded equal to two to three years’ salary. 

For those reasons, employers new to Sweden will want to consider the rules carefully and engage professional counsel before initiating a termination.  Here are the categories of justifiable termination:

Terminations due to redundancy

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