How do you terminate an employee in Sweden in 2026?

Employee resignation notice is a minimum of 30 days regardless of tenure. Collective agreements, common in Sweden across approximately 700 sector agreements, may extend employer notice further and in some sectors require up to 3 months' employee notice. Always check the applicable collective agreement before setting contractual terms.

Probation notice and the conversion risk

Probation (provanstallning) under LAS s.6 must be agreed in writing. Without a written agreement, employment is permanent from day one, and full LAS protection applies immediately. The maximum probation length is 6 months. Either party may end probationary employment on 14 days notice without needing objective grounds, though discrimination and protected-activity reasons (union membership, parental leave, whistleblowing) are prohibited even during probation. When probation expires without notice, the contract converts to permanent automatically and the full banded notice schedule applies from that day forward.

Shortage of work (redundancy)

The employer decides which roles are surplus. Where multiple roles are affected, the last-in-first-out (turordning) rule applies: the employee with the shortest tenure is made redundant first. Since the 2022 LAS reform, employers with fewer than 10 employees may exempt up to two employees from the turordning list on the basis of particular importance to the business.

Before any redundancy notice, the employer must offer redeployment (omplacering) to any available position within the business that the employee can perform with reasonable training. Skipping the redeployment step is a common trigger for successful unfair-dismissal claims.

Personal reasons (conduct or capability)

A personal-reasons dismissal must be well-documented, with prior warnings, an opportunity to improve, and a recorded review process. Gross misconduct (such as theft, violence, or serious breach of trust) can justify summary dismissal without notice, but the threshold is high and contested dismissals typically reach the Labour Court.

Protected categories

Dismissal is prohibited or automatically invalid when driven by pregnancy, parental leave, union activity, whistleblowing, disability, ethnicity, religion, sex, age, or sexual orientation. These categories are protected under the Discrimination Act (SFS 2008:567) and relevant chapters of LAS. Where a dismissal coincides with a protected event, the employer carries the burden of proof that the two are unconnected.

The 2022 LAS reform: what changed

The Employment Protection Act amendments effective 1 October 2022 raised the standard for personal-reasons dismissal, requiring documented grounds more thoroughly than under the pre-2022 regime, while also giving employers more flexibility in exempting key staff from the turordning in smaller companies. The overall direction: more procedure, not less, for individual dismissals; slightly more flexibility on selection in small-company redundancies.

1. Confirm objective grounds exist

   Identify whether the dismissal rests on shortage of work or personal reasons. Personal-reasons dismissals require documented warnings, an improvement period, and a recorded review before notice can be served.

2. Offer redeployment first

   Before serving notice, you must offer any available position the employee can perform with reasonable training. Document the assessment and outcome. Skipping this step is the single most common trigger for a successful LAS challenge.

3. Negotiate with recognised trade unions

   Under the Co-Determination at Work Act (MBL), notify and negotiate with any recognised union before finalising the decision. Allow genuine time for discussion and document the outcome.

4. Serve written notice with grounds

   Notice must be in writing, state the grounds, and be served personally or by registered post. The notice period starts from the date of service, not the date of posting.

5. File with Arbetsformedlingen if collective

   If the redundancy affects the collective threshold, file the advance notification with Arbetsformedlingen before the first departure. Lead times range from two to six months depending on headcount.

Compensation for unlawful dismissal

Where a dismissal is found unlawful, the primary remedy under LAS is reinstatement. If the employer refuses to comply with a reinstatement order, the court awards compensation in lieu. The compensation cap is tenure-banded: up to 16 months' salary for under 5 years of service, up to 24 months for 5 to 10 years, and up to 32 months for 10 or more years. These figures are the maximum court award; actual amounts depend on the specific circumstances and the Labour Court's assessment.

In addition, unlawful termination carries a separate punitive element called allmantt skadestand. Reported amounts for the 2022-onward LAS regime typically range from approximately SEK 135,000 for unlawful notice to approximately SEK 190,000 for unlawful dismissal on personal grounds, but these amounts are set by the Labour Court and are not fixed by statute. Do not treat them as caps; treat them as reported norms.

Severance via collective agreement or social plan

Many Swedish collective agreements, and many social plans negotiated with trade unions in larger restructurings, include severance terms that go beyond the statutory notice entitlement. These range from outplacement support and transitional allowances to formula-based payments of one to several months' salary per year of service. What applies to your employees depends entirely on the applicable agreement. Check the relevant sectoral collective agreement or negotiate a social plan with the union before announcing the redundancy.

Notice pay and accrued holiday

Salary and benefits continue throughout the statutory notice period. Holiday pay accrues at 12% of gross salary under the Annual Leave Act (Semesterlagen SFS 1977:480); any accrued holiday not taken at termination is paid out in the final settlement. The leave year runs 1 April to 31 March, so the timing of termination affects the accrued holiday balance.

For redundancies affecting between 25 and 100 employees, the advance notice period is 4 months, sitting between the two statutory bands. The Promotional Measures Act (SFS 1974:13) governs the notification obligations and the penalty for non-compliance.

Union co-determination rights

Separately from the Arbetsformedlingen notification, Sweden's Co-Determination at Work Act (Medbestammandelagen, MBL) requires the employer to negotiate with any recognised trade union before making a decision that materially affects union members. This includes collective redundancies. The union negotiation is a prior step: the employer must reach out, allow time for a substantive discussion, and document the negotiation before the decision is finalised. Failing to negotiate does not automatically invalidate the dismissals, but the union may seek an injunction and damages.

Employee representation: Trygghetsradet

Many Swedish collective agreements include participation in Trygghetsradet (TRR), an outplacement fund jointly funded by employers and employees. Where TRR applies, affected employees get access to career counselling and transitional support funded through the collective agreement, not by the employer directly. This significantly reduces the practical cost and reputational risk of large-scale restructurings compared with unilateral redundancy programmes in markets without such infrastructure.

Mutual termination agreements are common in Sweden for senior exits, contested performance situations, and where a procedurally clean termination is uncertain. The employee signs away LAS rights; the employer provides agreed compensation. Neither party can unilaterally rescind a properly executed agreement.

Typical components of a Swedish separation agreement:

• Notice pay: salary continues through the statutory or contractual notice period, or a PILON equivalent is agreed
• Transitional payment: a sum in addition to notice pay, often expressed as months of salary, negotiated case by case
• Accrued holiday pay: calculated and paid at agreed rates
• Reference clause: agreed wording to which both parties commit
• Non-disparagement and confidentiality: standard in senior exits
• Garden leave or restricted activity clause: common for senior roles with competitive sensitivity

One important Swedish distinction: employees who resign voluntarily or agree to termination may affect their entitlement to unemployment benefit (a-kassa). The Swedish Unemployment Insurance Fund (IAF) imposes a disqualification period for voluntary departures. Where an employee negotiates a mutual termination for financial reasons, structuring the agreement so that it reads as employer-initiated (with the employee accepting) can preserve a-kassa entitlement. This is a nuanced point that needs legal review specific to the individual situation and the applicable a-kassa fund.

Where the employment is covered by a collective agreement, and most Swedish employment is, the union's Trygghetsradet or equivalent body may provide transition support that makes the separation agreement more straightforward for both sides.

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The split of responsibilities under EOR for Sweden terminations:

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Key sources: Verksamt.se, Termination of employment and Arbetsformedlingen, notice of redundancies.