--- title: "Hiring in Sweden 2026 | Employer of Record Guide" description: "Hire in Sweden through Teamed's EOR. 31.42% employer social contribution, 25 days statutory leave, 480-day shared parental leave, no statutory severance. The Sweden guides, one per layer." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/sweden --- Sweden · Country overview Served by Teamed via a Sweden-licensed EOR entity # What do you need to know to hire in *Sweden*? Sweden's employer social contribution is 31.42% of gross salary, statutory leave is 25 days per year, and parents share 480 days of paid parental leave per child. There is no statutory national minimum wage and no automatic severance pay on dismissal. Each guide below takes one layer. Last reviewed 13 June 2026 · Sweden guide ## How does Teamed handle Swedish hiring for you? Teamed becomes your legal [employer of record](/lp/employer-of-record) in Sweden for [**from $599 per employee per month**](/pricing), with **zero FX mark-up** in any currency. Payroll, contracts, and the full Swedish employment law stack run on **one platform**. **Real HR and legal experts** manage every Swedish hire, from the first offer letter to the final settlement. **An actual person**, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, handles your Swedish team alongside EOR, contractor onboarding, and entity payroll on **one platform**. There is **no setup fee** and **no exit fee**. Employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice. A Swedish contractor who converts to payroll keeps their record, and that same employee can **graduate** from EOR to your own Swedish entity without re-onboarding. Run the [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) to see the month the model flips. EOR is the right model for a first Swedish hire, **until it isn't**. Three things you won't find on any other Sweden EOR guide - **Sweden has no statutory national minimum wage.** Pay floors are set by roughly 700 sector-specific collective agreements covering about 90 percent of the workforce. There is no single legal hourly rate you can cite as the floor. [The hiring guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/hiring-guide) covers how collective agreements affect your first Swedish offer letter. - **There is no automatic severance pay when you dismiss a Swedish employee.** Unlike most European countries, Swedish law does not require a statutory redundancy payment on termination. Notice runs to 4 weeks for under two years of service and scales to six months at 10 or more years. [The termination guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/termination-and-severance) explains the LAS dismissal rules in full. - **Sweden's employer social contribution at 31.42% is one of the highest headline rates in Europe.** It is a single bundled rate on gross salary, not a split across separate insurance branches as in Germany or France. The cost breakdown guide shows what that figure looks like against typical Stockholm tech salaries. Answer.cite this Hiring in Sweden adds 31.42% of gross salary in employer social contributions. That is the full cost on top of pay. There is no employer pension to add separately: it is already included in the 31.42% rate. Sweden pays monthly, with the payroll filing due by the 12 daysth of the following month. Annual leave is 25 days per year, counted separately from 13 public holidays. Teamed runs Swedish payroll, contracts, and compliance through an EOR entity holding the required Swedish registrations. This page is the map. Each guide below is the detail. At a glance · Sweden SEK · Swedish · Monthly payroll Currency SEK Employer social contribution 31.42% arbetsgivaravgift, on gross salary Annual leave 25 days Semesterlagen, plus public holidays separately Public holidays 13 nationwide Parental leave 480 days per child, shared between parents Minimum notice 4 weeks under 2 years service Top income tax 52% national 20% + average municipal 32% Statutory severance None no automatic severance pay on dismissal ![A wide illustration of Stockholm at golden hour: the Gamla Stan old town and City Hall tower in the foreground, the waters of Lake Malaren reflecting amber light, and a clear Nordic sky above the skyline.](/images/country-guides/sweden-hiring.webp) Sweden · per employee · per month · flat $ 599 Zero FX. No setup fees. 48-hour onboarding. The price your finance team can forecast against without an asterisk. Zero FX Fixed No setup fee No exit fee 48-hour onboard ## How much does it cost to hire an employee in Sweden in 2026? A Swedish hire costs roughly 131 percent of gross salary once you add the employer social contribution. The employer social contribution (arbetsgivaravgift) is 31.42% of gross salary. It is a single bundled rate. No additional pension or health contribution sits on top. Sweden's cost story is simpler than most European countries. One rate: 31.42% of gross salary, payable monthly to Skatteverket. The pension component is already inside that rate (10.21 percentage points). There is no statutory holiday bonus or 13th-month salary required by law, though collective agreements in some sectors include them. Teamed's Sweden fee sits inside the total cost envelope. Teamed's Sweden price is a starting rate, with zero FX in any currency pairing. No setup fees. No exit fees. Salaries, taxes, and benefits passed through at cost on every invoice. The full breakdown, with worked examples at current statutory rates, is in the cost guide. [Read the full Sweden cost breakdown](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/cost-breakdown) ## Do you need a Swedish entity to hire employees in Sweden? No. An Employer of Record runs Swedish payroll and contracts from day one. Your own Swedish entity becomes cheaper than EOR somewhere around 5 to 8 employees, depending on salary. Registering a Swedish aktiebolag (AB) takes several weeks and requires SEK 25,000 in share capital, registration with Bolagsverket, and ongoing accounting and Skatteverket filings once live. An [Employer of Record](/lp/employer-of-record) is faster and cheaper at low headcount. Teamed runs Swedish payroll, contracts, and compliance the day you sign. The crossover point depends on Swedish salary levels and your accounting costs. For most tech roles it lands around 5 to 8 employees. The EOR vs entity guide runs those numbers. Most EOR providers will not tell you when you have crossed it. We do, and we help you move. You progress from contractor to EOR to your own Swedish entity on **one platform** under Teamed's Graduation Model, with tenure preserved. [Read the full Sweden EOR vs entity guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/eor-vs-entity) ## What are the key employment law rules in Sweden in 2026? Sweden has no national minimum wage. Pay floors come from collective agreements, which cover roughly 90 percent of Swedish workers. LAS (Employment Protection Act) gives employees dismissal protection from the start of employment. There is no qualifying period. The Employment Protection Act (LAS, SFS 1982:80) governs dismissals, notice, and probation. Probation runs up to 6 months under LAS Section 6, with 14 days notice required by either side during the probationary period. After probation ends, dismissal requires objective grounds: personal reasons or shortage of work. LAS protection applies from day one of employment. The Nachweisgesetz-equivalent in Sweden is the Employment Contracts Act. Written contract terms must be provided before the employee starts work. The hiring guide covers the day-one contract requirements in detail. [Read the full Sweden hiring guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/hiring-guide) ## What benefits must you provide Swedish employees in 2026? The statutory floor is 25 days of paid annual leave, 14 days of employer-paid sick pay at 80% of lost wages, and access to shared parental leave. Annual leave and public holidays are counted separately in Sweden. The 13 public holidays sit on top of the 25 days leave entitlement. Annual leave is 25 days per year under the Semesterlagen (Annual Leave Act). Employer-paid sick pay covers the first 14 days of illness at 80% of lost wages, starting from day two (day one is a qualifying day with no pay). After 14 days days, Forsakringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) takes over. Parental leave is 480 days per child, shared between both parents. 10 days of that entitlement are reserved for the non-birthing parent in connection with the birth. The remaining days can be split flexibly. Parental benefit is paid by Forsakringskassan, not by the employer. The benefits guide covers leave, sick pay, and parental entitlements in full. [Read the full Sweden benefits guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/benefits) ## What are payroll taxes in Sweden in 2026? Employer social contribution (arbetsgivaravgift) is 31.42% of gross salary, paid monthly to Skatteverket. Employees pay a gross pension fee of 7% of earned income, but this is fully tax-creditable and the effective net cost to the employee is approximately zero. The 31.42% employer contribution bundles old-age pension (10.21 percent), sickness insurance, parental insurance, labour market contribution, and the general wage contribution into one rate. Employees have no separate social insurance deduction on their payslip. The employee-side pension fee of 7% is offset by a full tax credit on their personal tax return. Income tax is split between a national tax and a municipal tax. Below SEK 643,000 of annual income, employees pay municipal tax only, averaging 32%. Above that threshold, a 20 percent national tax applies on top, bringing the combined rate to 52%. Employer payroll filings (Arbetsgivardeklaration) are due by the 12 daysth of the month following payroll. The tax and payroll guide sets out every band and threshold. [Read the full Sweden tax and payroll guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/tax-and-payroll) ## How do you terminate an employee in Sweden? Sweden's statutory notice starts at 4 weeks for employees under two years of service. Notice then scales with tenure under LAS Section 11, reaching six months at 10 or more years of service. Dismissal in Sweden requires objective grounds from day one of employment. You can dismiss on personal grounds (conduct or capability) or for shortage of work (redundancy). Sweden has no qualifying service period for LAS protection. Notice bands under LAS Section 11 run from one month for under two years, two months for two to four years, three months for four to six years, four months for six to eight years, and up to six months for ten or more years. Sweden has no statutory severance pay on dismissal. There is no automatic redundancy payment. If a dismissal is found to be unlawful, the court can award compensation of up to 32 monthly salaries for an employee with ten or more years of service. Collective redundancy rules require advance notice to Arbetsformedlingen for five or more employees within a 90 days-day window. The termination guide covers the full LAS process. [Read the full Sweden termination and severance guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/termination-and-severance) ## What should you know before hiring in Sweden? Two things catch US buyers out. The first is that there is no national minimum wage to anchor your salary benchmarking. The second is that the 31.42% employer contribution looks alarming until you understand it replaces all the separate employer charges you pay in Germany or the UK. **No national minimum wage means collective agreement exposure.** Sweden's roughly 700 sector collective agreements set the real pay floor in most industries. If your Swedish employee falls under one, that agreement applies even if you did not sign it. Getting this wrong costs back pay for the entire employment period. The hiring guide explains how to check which agreement covers your role. **The 31.42% rate is simpler than it looks.** In Germany you add up pension, health, unemployment, long-term care, and insolvency separately. In Sweden you pay one rate. The cost is high but the administration is straightforward. Most US buyers are surprised the rate is a feature, not a bug. Run the cost calculator to see the SEK number against your planned salary. [Read the full Sweden hiring guide](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/hiring-guide) ## Frequently asked questions How much does it cost to hire an employee in Sweden? Plan on roughly 131 percent of gross salary once the employer social contribution (arbetsgivaravgift) at 31.42% is added. This is a single bundled rate covering pension, health, and other social insurance. There is no separate pension charge on top. Teamed's Sweden fee is one flat number per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up. The cost breakdown guide has worked examples. Can a US company hire in Sweden without an entity? Yes. An Employer of Record like Teamed runs Swedish payroll, contracts, and compliance through its own registered entity. You direct the work. Teamed becomes the legal employer of record. Setup takes 48 hours once terms are confirmed. Registering your own Swedish aktiebolag takes several weeks and requires SEK 25,000 in share capital. What is the minimum wage in Sweden in 2026? Sweden has no statutory national minimum wage. Pay floors are set by collective agreements, of which there are roughly 700 covering about 90 percent of the Swedish workforce. The relevant agreement for your role depends on the industry and occupation. Teamed's Sweden team checks which agreement applies before drafting the first offer letter. What are Swedish statutory notice periods? Under LAS Section 11, the minimum employer notice is 4 weeks for employees with less than two years of service. Notice scales with tenure: two months for two to four years, three months for four to six years, four months for six to eight years, and six months for 10 or more years. During probation, either side may give 14 days notice. Is there statutory severance pay in Sweden? No. Sweden has no automatic statutory severance pay on dismissal. Notice pay runs through the full notice period, but there is no mandatory redundancy payment. If a dismissal is found to be unlawful under LAS, a court can award compensation of up to 32 monthly salaries for employees with ten or more years of service. What is the minimum annual leave for a Swedish employee? Statutory minimum paid annual leave is 25 days per year under the Semesterlagen (Annual Leave Act). Sweden counts annual leave and public holidays separately. There are 13 public holidays per year. Employers can grant more leave by contract or collective agreement. Teamed Legal Operations Sweden reads as a high-cost, high-protection labour market and on employer contributions it is. But the termination rules are more predictable than Germany once you accept there is no automatic severance. The mistake most US buyers make is assuming a minimum wage exists and that they can terminate on performance without a documented process. LAS protection starts on day one. The guides exist so that first Swedish hire does not become the first Swedish labour court claim. A note from Tom Price-Daniel Sweden has one social contribution rate: 31.42% of gross salary. No separate pension. No health insurance line. One number. The cost is real. The rules are clear. LAS dismissal protection starts on day one and there is no automatic severance to budget for. Read the right Sweden guide before the first hire, not after the first labour dispute. Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed ## Keep reading - [Sweden hiring guide, offer to payslip](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/hiring-guide)guide - [Sweden employer cost breakdown 2026](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/cost-breakdown)guide - [EOR vs entity in Sweden](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/eor-vs-entity)guide - [Sweden termination and severance](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/termination-and-severance)guide - [Sweden tax and payroll](/country-hiring-guides/sweden/tax-and-payroll)guide - [Employer of Record overview](/lp/employer-of-record)core - The Graduation Modelcore - [Teamed pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core - [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator/sweden)tool - [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA A note on this page. This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules change and vary by jurisdiction. Verify current requirements with Skatteverket, Forsakringskassan, and Arbetsformedlingen for Sweden, or speak to a qualified professional, before relying on any specific framework.