Termination of employment

It is important that you contact an union representative as soon as possible, as a declaration of invalidity of a dismissal must normally be requested within the first fourteen calendar days.

Termination of employment can be based on:

• lay off
• dismissal due to personal reasons
• if they have grossly mismanaged their work

Lack of work (swedish: arbetsbrist)

Lack of work is a technical term that means that the employer wants to change the employment due to operational, organizational or financial reasons. The changes that the employer wants to implement can be, for example:

• cuts in the form of redundancies
• re-regulation of terms of employment or the scope of employment.

Changes based on a lack of work normally involve several employees, but can also include only one person.

Reasons for the lack of work may, for example, be that the management wants a greater proffit or that the business is given a changed objective which will require changes in the workforce. Since the employer leads and distributes the work, it is also the employer who ultimately has the right to make these assessments.

If it becomes relevant to dismiss employees due to lack of work, the employer must first investigate whether there are redeployment opportunities to a vacancy within the business.

Order of priority

If redundancies become necessary due to a lack of work, the employer and the union makes up a priority list for the positions that will remain in the business after the implemented change. 

The priority list is primarily based on the principle "last in, first out". This means that those with the longest employment period may stay while those who are newest to the business may leave.

If the company has a collective agreement, it may also be relevant with other aspects that are based on the needs of the business.

A prerequisite for being allowed to remain in the organization is that you meet the basic qualification requirements for the position in question.

Personal reasons

A dismissal due to personal reasons affects the individual personally and means that the employee is dismissed because he or she is unsuitable for his or her job. Dismissal for personal reasons may be relevant in the event of:

• lack of work capacity
• cooperation problems
• disloyal action
• illegal absence, etc.

Similarly to termination due to lack of work, the employer must first examine whether it is possible to reposistion the employee or not. In exceptional cases, the employer does not have to relocate the employee. This only applies where it is clear that a relocation is unlikely to solve the problem.

According to the law, the employer must notify the employee of the dismissal at least two weeks in advance and at the same time notify the employee's trade union. The employee and his trade union organization have the right to deliberation, ie a formal discussion, about the dismissal. Such a request must be made within one week after the notice of termination has been given. If a consultation is requested, the employer must wait with its decision.

Summary dismissal

If you are dismissed because you have grossly mismanaged your employment, you are not entitled to a notice period. However, the employer must inform the employee that they intends to dismiss him at least one week before the dismissal takes place.

In connection with this, the employer must also inform the trade union organization of the intended measure. Both the employee and the union are then entitled to deliberation if this is requested within one week after the notice was given. If requested, the employer may not execute the dismissal until the consultation with the trade union has ended.

Notice period

Where to find your notice period:

1. Primarily in your employment contract.
2. If it is not included in the employment contract, the notice period applies in accordance with the applicable collective agreement, if your workplace has one.
3. If your workplace does not have a collective agreement, it is the Employment Protection Act (LAS) that regulates your notice period.

LAS states that you have one month's notice period in the event of your own notice. If you are dismissed by the employer, you have one month's notice period when you start your employment, and an additional month is added to it every two years. After ten years, you have reached the maximum notice period of six months.

If there is a collective agreement, the notice period can be even longer than what is stated in the LAS in the event of termination due to lack of work.

Is the dismissal correct?

Possible reasons to question a dismissal may be:

• That the stated basis is a lack of work, but that there is much to suggest that the reasons are fabricated and that the real reason is personal reasons. This is called fictitious lack of work (swedish: fingerad arbetsbrist).
• If your dismissal is related to a ground of discrimination.
• If you have been fired even though there is a vacancy that you can be reassigned to.
• If the priority rules have been deviated from
• If the employer disregards the fact that you have sufficient qualifications to perform tasks that remain.

Negotiations with the employer can at best result in the notice being withdrawn or that you receive an extended notice period, severance pay or possible damages.