Employment Law News – What’s new in Swedish Employment Law (Second Quarter 2018)

The parties of the labor market present a bill on a restriction of the right to take industrial actions

In response to an ongoing review of the right to take industrial actions and possible implementation of restrictions assigned by the government to a special investigator, the parties of the Swedish labor market (i.e. employers’ associations and trade unions) have agreed upon a restriction and presented a bill to the government. According to the bill, it shall no longer be permitted to take industrial actions that are not intended to achieve a collective bargaining agreement. The Swedish Minister for Employment and Integration has described the bill as well-balanced and announced that the government plans to go forward with it.

Exemption from discrimination regulations for small-scale businesses are withdrawn

When inadequate accessibility was initially established as a form of discrimination under the Swedish Discrimination Act (2008:567) in 2015, businesses within the areas of retail and services with less than ten employees were exempted. As of 1 May 2018, this exemption is withdrawn, with the consequence that these small-scale businesses now have an obligation under law to adapt their services and premises to ensure accessibility for persons with impairments.

The right to perform inspections at the workplace by the police is extended

Through an amendment to the Swedish Aliens Act (2005:716), the Police Authority’s right to perform workplace inspections to check that employers do not employ individuals without required permits is extended. The workplace inspections do not require a concrete suspicion but is limited to industries where there is a greater risk of such employments. The fine for hiring individuals without required permits have also been increased. The amendments entered into force on 1 July 2018.

New requirements on rehabilitation plans

As of 1 July 2018, employers with an employee who can be expected to be absent from work for more than 60 days due to sickness are obligated to prepare a written plan for the employee’s return to work (a “rehabilitation plan”). Such plan shall be prepared within 30 days calculated from the first day of the employee’s sick leave, however, failure to prepare a rehabilitation plan is not associated with any specific sanction. The purpose of the rehabilitation plan is to support the work carried out in the workplace to enable the employee to return to work.

Cecilia Bergman, Associate

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