Latest news with #SwedishPublicEmploymentService
Local Sweden
3 days ago
- Business
- Local Sweden
Almost 17,000 summer jobs still available in Sweden
If you're looking for a summer job in Sweden, don't give up just yet – there are still thousands of job openings in everything from the hospitality industry to healthcare. Advertisement 'There are almost 17,000 summer jobs available right now,' Alva Johansson, analyst at the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), told the TT newswire. A total of 130,314 summer job ads have been posted via the service's job site, Platsbanken, this spring, somewhat fewer than the 133,144 job ads last year. Although hiring for more permanent positions often grinds to a halt during the summer, it can also be an ideal period for breaking into the Swedish labour market. Full-time employees are legally entitled to four consecutive weeks off during June-August, so there are plenty of temporary substitute openings available on top of seasonal work. While many jobs require Swedish, the summer season often offers more opportunities than usual for those with limited Swedish skills. The majority of jobs are found in the healthcare and social services sector, but there are also plenty of openings at for example cafés and restaurants and in cleaning. Even if the summer job does not exactly match your level of experience or future career aspirations in Sweden, it can be an opportunity rather than a step down. In Sweden, seven out of ten jobs are obtained through personal connections, so using the summer to build networks and industry knowledge can be particularly useful for newcomers. Advertisement Seasonal jobs for English-speakers may for example be available in major cities or tourism destinations, where it is more important that you can communicate with international tourists than have fluent Swedish. In the healthcare industry, there may also be opportunities to work as a personal care assistant for someone whose native language you speak. Another option could be to look for entry-level jobs such as a cleaner. Although many foreigners in Sweden need a work permit to work in the country, EU citizens, as well as non-EU citizens here on other permits, such as student permits or permits as accompanying family members, are able to work without needing a work permit first.
Local Sweden
14-03-2025
- Business
- Local Sweden
What happens in Sweden when a company wants to make staff redundant?
How struggling companies can lay off staff Bankruptcy is a last resort. Companies usually start by reducing staff and closing down poorly performing units or business lines. Under Swedish employment law, companies cannot make people redundant without so-called sakliga skäl, or "objective reasons". Assuming the layoff has nothing to do with a worker's personal conduct, these reasons are classed as arbetsbrist. While this literally translates as "shortage of work", it is a legal concept that covers everything from financial problems, through a decision to move a unit overseas, to the sort of crisis faced by the battery company Northvolt, which laid off more than a thousand workers in 2024 (before filing for bankruptcy on March 12th, 2025). It is up to the company to decide how it organises its operations, so there's no need for it to be facing an actual crisis. If a company decides to close its offices in Sweden and move the jobs there to New York, it could cite arbetsbrist, even if it was posting record profits. Varsel When the company has decided to make layoffs, it issues a varsel, or "notice" to the Swedish Public Employment Service. This notice must contain information about the reasons for the planned redundancies, the number of employees intended to be made redundant and the period over which the redundancies are planned to take place. Union talks The union representatives at the workplace have a right to receive a copy of the notice, and the employer is then required to negotiate the redundancies with the unions under the so-called co-determination law or medbestämmandelagen. No redundancies can be finalised until the company has reached agreement with the union, and the union will make contact with any members whose jobs are threatened. As a general rule, a company cannot make an employee redundant if it has open positions which the person is qualified to do. This rule, called omplaceringsskyldighet (literally, "the duty to find new positions"). The union will also negotiate with the company over turordningsregler, Sweden's "last-in, first-out" rules under which workers have more protection the longer they have worked for the company. The company has the right to exempt three employees they believe are of particular importance for the continued operation. Once the company has agreed a list of employees to be made redundant, it then contacts those affected to give them their notice, or to negotiate waiving their notice. Both the company and employees is bound by the notice period agreed in employment contracts. Companies will sometimes strike an agreement allowing employees to stop working with immediate effect. Employees might then be paid what they would have received during the notice period, or else agree to a reduction in exchange for not having to work. A buy-out agreement, or voluntary redundancy If a company wants to avoid turordningsregler, cannot legally cite arbetsbrist, or wants to make an employee redundant even if there are no problems with performance or conduct, it might instead offer buyout agreement, or utköpsavtal. This is typically structured in such a way that the worker is offered the chance to receive their full salary and other benefits for an extended period while not having to work and being free to take another job. These deals are voluntary and employees are under no obligation to accept them, so if you are offered such an agreement, you should discuss it with your union before signing anything. The right to reemployment Anyone made redundant has a preferential right to new employment at the company for nine months from their last day of work. This is to prevent companies making staff redundant, then rehiring replacements on lower wages and with lower benefits. The three-month rule Non-EU citizens whose right to live and work in Sweden depends on a work permit, have three months to find a new job before they lose this right and have to leave the country. There are ways around this however, such as applying for a residency permit to live with a partner (a so-called sambo permit), or applying for a permit to study. Apply for benefits and income insurance Once an employee has been made redundant, an employer issues them with an arbetsgivarintyg, which you can then use to apply for payouts from your A-kassa, they company which pays out unemployment benefits. If you have salary insurance, or inkomstförsäkring, either privately or through your union, you can also apply for this, which will take your payments to the same level as your monthly pay when you were employed. Retraining Once you are unemployed, there is a lot of help available for getting a new job. The Swedish Labour Market Authority will help you, but there are also organisations which offer retraining and career advice. Trygghetsrådet, or TRR, gives career advice, advice on retraining or starting a business to white-collar workers and Trygghetsstiftelsen, or TSN, gives career advice and advice on retraining to blue-collar workers. They also offer financial support called omställningstöd, or "transition support", of up to 80 percent of your former salary, with a maximum level of 362,700 kronor a year in 2025.
