Employee Rights in Sweden: Contracts, LAS, Kollektivavtal and Unions

This article is for anyone who works, or is about to work, as an employee in Sweden: work-permit holders, EU movers, a partner who has started a job, and every other employee. It explains the system before the detail. It is not for visitors, who should start with planning a trip, or for someone on a study permit who has not started working, who should start with studying in Sweden. It is also not a guide to running your own business: the law described here covers employees, so if you invoice clients as a sole trader, start with F-skatt registration.

Employee rights in Sweden do not sit in one rulebook. They sit in three layers that stack: statute, your own employment contract and, where your employer has one, a kollektivavtal. This guide opens with the layers, because every rule only makes sense once you know which layer it comes from and who can change it.

Who is covered, and what you need before this applies

LAS opens by saying who it protects. Per Lag (1982:80) om anställningsskydd, 1 §: "Denna lag gäller arbetstagare i allmän eller enskild tjänst." The law applies to arbetstagare (employees) in public or private service. The coverage test is whether you are an employee. The section names no nationality condition and no permit condition. A work-permit holder, an EU mover and a Swedish citizen in the same job are covered by the same text.

The same section lists a few exceptions, so if your job is unusual, read 1 § itself.

Prerequisites before the rest of this guide applies to you:

• You work for an employer under an anställningsavtal, as an employee rather than as a business owner.
• If you needed a work permit (arbetstillstånd), your permit is valid and you work in the job it is tied to: in the first two years one employer and one occupation, after two years' total permit time the occupation only. What a change needs is covered at the end of this article. For permit detail, see the permits section.
• For a-kassa, you also need prior work income. That comes later in this article.

The laws

The Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) writes the statutes, and the full text sits on riksdagen.se. Five laws carry most of what an employee needs:

Three agencies sit alongside the statutes in this guide. Arbetsmiljöverket explains the safety-representative rules. Medlingsinstitutet publishes the figures on collective-agreement coverage. Migrationsverket is the authority for what a job change does to a work permit.

Your employment contract and its forms

LAS sets the default. Per 4 §: "Anställningsavtal gäller tills vidare. Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning får dock träffas i de fall som anges i 5 och 6 §§." An employment contract runs until further notice, and a time-limited one is allowed only in the cases listed in sections 5 and 6. That default is tillsvidareanställning: employment with no end date.

The exceptions are tidsbegränsad anställning (time-limited employment). Section 5 lists the first three forms: "Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning får träffas 1. för särskild visstidsanställning, 2. för vikariat, eller 3. för säsongsarbete." Section 6 adds the fourth: "Avtal får även träffas om tidsbegränsad provanställning, om prövotiden är högst sex månader."

Visstidsanställning is the everyday word for a fixed-term job. In the statute the umbrella term is tidsbegränsad anställning, and särskild visstidsanställning is one specific form of it.

The conversion rule is the one that surprises people. Per 5 a §: "En särskild visstidsanställning övergår till en tillsvidareanställning när arbetstagaren har varit anställd hos arbetsgivaren i särskild visstidsanställning i sammanlagt mer än tolv månader". The section then names two ways to reach that total: within a five-year period, or across fixed-term jobs that follow one another. Example: someone with two särskild visstid contracts of 7 months each at the same employer, within five years, reaches 14 months in total, and the employment becomes permanent once the total passes 12 months, during the second contract. For cover jobs the same section sets a longer limit: "Ett vikariat övergår till en tillsvidareanställning när en arbetstagare har varit anställd hos arbetsgivaren i vikariat i sammanlagt mer än två år under en femårsperiod."

Provanställning has its own rules. If nobody speaks up by the end of the trial, the job continues as a permanent one. Per 6 §: "Vill inte arbetsgivaren eller arbetstagaren att anställningen skall fortsätta efter det att prövotiden har löpt ut, skall besked om detta lämnas till motparten senast vid prövotidens utgång." The same paragraph closes: "Görs inte detta, övergår provanställningen i en tillsvidareanställning." Either side can also end it early unless the parties agreed otherwise: "Om inte annat har avtalats, får en provanställning avbrytas även före prövotidens utgång."

What your employer must tell you in writing

Your employer owes you the terms in writing. Per 6 c §: "En arbetsgivare ska lämna skriftlig information till en arbetstagare om alla villkor som är av väsentlig betydelse för anställningsförhållandet." The core items are due "senast den sjunde kalenderdagen efter det att arbetstagaren har börjat arbeta", the seventh calendar day after you start. The later group is due "senast en månad efter det att arbetstagaren har börjat arbeta", one month after you start. If you have worked a week with nothing in writing, ask for it.

Notice, dismissal and the right to be re-hired

The employer's right to end your job is limited. Per 7 §: "Uppsägning från arbetsgivarens sida ska grunda sig på sakliga skäl." Notice from the employer's side must rest on sakliga skäl (objective grounds). If a dismissal lacks them, 34 § says: "Om en arbetstagare sägs upp utan sakliga skäl, ska uppsägningen förklaras ogiltig på yrkande av arbetstagaren."

Uppsägningstid (notice period) starts at one month for both sides. Per 11 §: "För både arbetsgivare och arbetstagare gäller en minsta uppsägningstid av en månad." The same section then sets out what the employee has the right to as service grows ("Arbetstagaren har rätt till en uppsägningstid av"). If you are the one resigning, check your contract and any kollektivavtal for your own notice period; the minimum for you is one month.

The thresholds are those of 11 §: for example "två månader, om den sammanlagda anställningstiden hos arbetsgivaren är minst två år men kortare än fyra år". During the notice period your pay stays. Per 12 §: "En arbetstagare som har blivit uppsagd har rätt att under uppsägningstiden behålla sin lön och andra anställningsförmåner även om arbetstagaren inte får några arbetsuppgifter alls eller får andra arbetsuppgifter än tidigare."

When a job is cut for arbetsbrist (lack of work), turordning (order of priority) decides who goes first. Before the order is set, an employer may pick out a few people: an employer may "undanta högst tre arbetstagare" who are of special importance to the business, per 22 §. Everyone else is ranked by service: "Arbetstagare med längre anställningstid har företräde framför arbetstagare med kortare anställningstid." If you are let go for lack of work, 25 § gives you a företrädesrätt (right of priority) to be re-hired: "Arbetstagare som har sagts upp på grund av arbetsbrist har företrädesrätt till återanställning i den verksamhet där de tidigare har varit sysselsatta." The right has conditions. You must have worked there more than 12 months in total in the last three years (nine months if you were on särskild visstidsanställning, six for seasonal work), it lasts only nine months after the job ends, and you must tell the employer you claim it (25 §, 27 §). A newcomer with less service than that has no right of priority at all.

Deadlines are short, and 42 § says what happens if you miss them: "Lämnas inte underrättelse eller väcks inte talan inom den tid som föreskrivs i 40 eller 41 §, har parten förlorat sin talan." Per 40 §: "En arbetstagare som avser att yrka ogiltigförklaring av en uppsägning eller ett avskedande, skall underrätta arbetsgivaren om detta senast två veckor efter det att uppsägningen eller avskedandet skedde." If your employer never told you how to challenge the dismissal, the first limit is one month from your last day instead. A claim that a fixed-term contract broke 4 § must likewise be notified within one month of the day it ended. Then you must go to court within two weeks after negotiations end (40 § third paragraph). For damages or other money claims under LAS, 41 § sets four months: a party must "underrätta motparten om detta inom fyra månader" of the harmful act or the due date. Two weeks is short, so if you think you were dismissed wrongly, act at once. A worked case: for notice given on 1 March, the 40 § two-week limit runs out on 15 March.

Kollektivavtal, and what it adds

A kollektivavtal (collective agreement) is a written agreement between employer side and union side. MBL defines it in 23 §: "Med kollektivavtal avses skriftligt avtal mellan arbetsgivarorganisation eller arbetsgivare och arbetstagarorganisation om anställningsvillkor för arbetstagare eller om förhållandet i övrigt mellan arbetsgivare och arbetstagare." The right to join a union sits in 7 § of the same law: "Med föreningsrätt avses rätt för arbetsgivare och arbetstagare att tillhöra arbetsgivar- eller arbetstagarorganisation, att utnyttja medlemskapet och att verka för organisationen eller för att sådan bildas."

What does an agreement add? Two things, and the law itself spells out the first. LAS lets agreements replace parts of the statute. Per 2 b §: "Genom ett kollektivavtal får det göras avvikelser från 5 och 5 a §§, 6 § andra och tredje styckena, 7 a, 7 b, 22, 25-27 och 33 d §§." The fixed-term rules, the probation notice and early-termination rules, and the priority rules can all be different under an agreement. So the LAS rules in this article are the default, and an agreement at your workplace can change several of them. Ask which kollektivavtal applies to you, and read the agreement as well as the law.

The second thing is the content of the agreement itself: MBL 23 § describes it as an agreement on anställningsvillkor (terms of employment). Medlingsinstitutet's coverage figures show how common this is: "Under 2025 omfattades 88 procent av alla anställda i Sverige av kollektivavtal", and in the private sector "Där låg täckningsgraden på 83 procent 2025." Most employees are therefore covered by one, but not all. Ask your employer whether one applies to you.

The union side has rights in the law as well. Per MBL 10 §: "Arbetstagarorganisation har rätt till förhandling med arbetsgivare" about matters between the employer and a member of that organisation. On safety, Arbetsmiljöverket explains: "Arbetstagarnas representant är skyddsombudet, eller arbetsmiljöombudet som det också kallas." And: "Normalt utses skyddsombud på tre år av den fackliga organisation som har eller brukar ha kollektivavtal med arbetsgivaren." For how this plays out in practice at work, see Swedish work culture for foreigners.

Unions and a-kassa are two different things

A fackförbund (trade union) negotiates and supports you at work. An a-kassa (arbetslöshetskassa, an unemployment insurance fund) pays income-related benefit if you lose your job. They are separate memberships. A union a-kassa states it plainly: "Nej, du behöver inte vara med i facket för att vara med i a-kassan." You can be in an a-kassa without a union.

The link is the insurance that some unions sell on top. The same FAQ continues: "Men en del fackförbund, till exempel Unionen, har en inkomstförsäkring som är ett bra komplement till ersättningen från oss om du skulle bli arbetslös." An income insurance is a complement to the a-kassa payment, not a replacement for it.

What a-kassa membership changes sits in the unemployment insurance law, Lag (2024:506), which has applied since 1 October 2025. Per 5 kap. 4 §: "Ersättningsnivån ska vara 80 procent av den ersättningsgrundande inkomsten om sökanden har varit medlem i eller ansluten till en arbetslöshetskassa under hela ramtiden". The ramtid (the reference window) is the twelve months before the month you apply (Lag 2024:506, 3 kap. 12 §). For 80 percent the membership must also have lasted at least 12 months without a break, and you must still be a member in the month you apply. The level is 60 percent if you were a member for at least the last six continuous months of the ramtid, earned the monthly income amount in at least four of those months, and are still a member in the month you apply (5 kap. 5 §). Otherwise it is 50 percent (5 kap. 6 §), so leaving your fund after losing your job drops you to 50 percent. A claim also needs work income, and the income test looks at the same ramtid: in that window you need SEK 120,000 in total and at least SEK 11,000 in at least four of the months (Arbetsförmedlingen). That is why employment, and a-kassa membership during it, matter before you lose a job. The a-kassa guides on this site cover the steps: how a-kassa works, how to join an a-kassa as a foreign worker, the income requirement and income-related a-kassa versus Alfa-kassan.

Other floors the law sets for every employee

Three more laws set rules for every employee.

• Semester (paid holiday). Per semesterlagen 4 §: "En arbetstagare har rätt till tjugofem semesterdagar varje semesterår." If employment begins after 31 August in the semesterår, the same section limits you to "endast fem semesterdagar" for that year. The 25 days are a right to time off; they are paid only to the extent you earned holiday pay the year before (4 § second paragraph, 7 §). In your first year many of the days may be unpaid.
• Work environment. Per Arbetsmiljölagen 1 kap. 2 §: "Denna lag gäller varje verksamhet i vilken arbetstagare utför arbete för en arbetsgivares räkning." And per 3 kap. 2 §: "Arbetsgivaren skall vidta alla åtgärder som behövs för att förebygga att arbetstagaren utsätts för ohälsa eller olycksfall."
• Discrimination. Per Diskrimineringslagen 2 kap. 1 §: "En arbetsgivare får inte diskriminera den som hos arbetsgivaren 1. är arbetstagare, 2. gör en förfrågan om eller söker arbete". The ban also covers trainees and hired-in labour.

Your first paycheck also depends on tax registration; see skattsedel before your first paycheck.

What changes when you lose or change a job

For an employee, losing a job starts the notice rules above and, if you have an a-kassa, the claim process. For a work-permit holder there is an extra step, because the permit is tied to the job.

Migrationsverket states it directly: "Om du avslutar din anställning i förtid, till exempel för att du blir uppsagd eller för att du själv säger upp dig, uppfyller du inte längre kraven för det arbetstillstånd du har fått. Du har ändå möjlighet att stanna kvar i Sverige i tre månader efter din sista arbetsdag för att söka nytt arbete, förutsatt att ditt arbetstillstånd fortfarande är giltigt under den perioden." You may stay up to three months after your last working day to look for new work, but only while your permit is still valid: if it expires sooner, your right to stay ends with it. The clock starts on your last working day. If you hold an EU Blue Card, you must also report changes in your employment to Migrationsverket; Migrationsverket warns that failing to report can lead to a refused application or extension, or to the permit being revoked.

A new job needs a new decision. Per Migrationsverket: "Om du får en ny anställning hos en annan arbetsgivare, eller om du byter yrke eller får helt nya arbetsuppgifter, behöver du ansöka om ett nytt arbetstillstånd." That applies while the permit is tied to one employer. After two years' total permit time it is tied to the occupation only (Utlänningslagen 6 kap. 2 a §), and then: "Om du får en ny anställning inom samma yrke som ditt arbetstillstånd är begränsat till, behöver du inte ansöka om ett nytt arbetstillstånd." Your permit decision and residence-permit card show which kind you have. You do not have to wait for the answer before you start, provided you apply in time: "När du har lämnat in din ansökan kan du börja arbeta hos din nya arbetsgivare eller inom ditt nya yrke innan du har fått beslut från Migrationsverket, förutsatt att du har ansökt innan ditt tidigare arbetstillstånd har slutat gälla." Apply before your old permit runs out, not after.

Two limits to this section. The three-month rule is a Migrationsverket rule for people who hold a work permit. This guide does not cover what EU residence rights allow after a job loss, which is a separate question for Migrationsverket. And the salary level and employer requirements for a permit are set by Migrationsverket; check the permits section and Migrationsverket's own pages before you rely on them.

What to do first

1. Ask your employer for your terms in writing if you have not received them within the 6 c § deadlines.
2. Find out whether your employer has a kollektivavtal, and which one.
3. Check whether your contract is tillsvidare or a fixed-term form, and note the dates if it is fixed-term.
4. Join an a-kassa while you are working. Do not wait until you are unemployed.
5. If you hold a work permit and your job is at risk, read the Migrationsverket rules above and apply for a new permit before the old one ends.
6. If you think a dismissal is wrong, act within the two-week and four-month deadlines in 40 and 41 §§.

For how to find a new job quickly, see finding a job in Sweden as a foreign national.