The notice period for indefinite-term employees is calculated as follows:
The notice must be given in writing, given personally to the employee, and contain certain formalities (particularly, the reason for termination and how the employee should proceed if they wish to challenge the termination).
In the case of fixed-term employment contracts, when the contract of an employee employed for at least 12 months in the last 3 years ends and will not be renewed, the employer must provide at least 1 month's notice before the contract's expiry.
Citizens of countries outside the EU must have a work permit to work in Sweden. To obtain such a permit, a person must have a job offer from an employer in Sweden. The employer must have prepared the offer of employment and advertised the job in Sweden and the EU for at least 10 days (this applies to new recruitment). From June 14, 2026, the work permit salary requirement is at least 90% of the Swedish median wage, meaning SEK 34,470 per month. Certain roles are exempt from 90% median wage requirement, for example, engineers and technicians in the chemical industry, IT operations technicians, IT support technicians, system administrators, network and system technicians, whose salary must be at least 75% of the median salary. The terms of employment must be at least on par with those set by Swedish collective agreements or those customary within the occupation or industry. A work permit is valid for up to 1 year and is renewable.
The entry visa (D-visa) allows a person who has applied for an extension to their residence permit to go on a business trip outside Sweden during the processing time.
Third-country nationals who wish to work as highly qualified workers in Sweden for a period of more than 3 months can apply for an 'EU Blue Card.' The EU Blue Card is a combined work and residence permit designed for highly qualified non-EU nationals. It is valid for 9 months to 4 years when issued for the first time. They must have higher education or at least 5 years of experience, have an employment contract of at least 6 months for highly qualified work, and be offered an annual salary at least 1.25 times the average Swedish salary (SEK 53,625-SEK 52,000 per month). They must be able to prove the qualifications required for the job.
EU and EEA citizens do not require visas and may work in Sweden without work and residence permits. However, if they want to stay longer than 3 months, they must register with the Swedish Migration Board.
Employees are entitled to 25 days of paid annual leave per year, starting from the first year of employment. A worker may carry over 5 days of annual leave per year for up to 5 years to take a longer holiday in a given year.
Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays are not counted towards annual leave days unless the employee usually works on weekends and leave is shorter than 5 days.
Annual leave pay depends on how an employee is compensated. The same-pay rule applies with certain exceptions for employees paid weekly or monthly. The holiday supplement for weekly-paid employees is 1.82% of weekly pay. The holiday supplement for monthly-paid employees is 0.43% of monthly pay. If the employee has variable pay components, the holiday pay is 12% of the employee's aggregate variable pay that fell due during the annual leave year.
In Sweden, the normal working hours of full-time employees are 40 hours per week. If, due to the nature of the activity, an employee must be at the workplace waiting to carry out work as needed, the employee may claim on-call time to a maximum of 48 hours over four weeks or 50 hours per calendar month.
While Sweden does not have a specific legislation regarding remote working in place, the Work Environment Act states that employers are responsible for an employee's work environment even if they are working from home. Employers must do everything necessary to prevent the employee from being exposed to ill health or accidents. In addition to the statutory breaks, employees must be able to take shorter breaks that count towards working time.
Employers must maintain records concerning on-call time, overtime, and additional time in Sweden. Such records must be kept at the workplace during the calendar year to which they relate, and the two following calendar years.
Female employees are entitled to full leave in connection with their child's birth during a continuous period of at least 7 weeks before the estimated time for delivery and seven weeks after the delivery. An employer is not under an obligation to pay employees during maternity leave, in which case the Swedish Social Insurance Agency covers maternity benefits. Benefits are paid as 80% of income, up to a maximum of SEK 944 (Swedish krona) per day, up to the eleventh day before the expected delivery date.
Employees can also request to start the benefits 60 days before their estimated delivery date if they cannot carry out the job and cannot be transferred to any other job. If the employer has banned an employee from continuing work due to risks in the work environment, she can receive pregnancy benefits from the day the ban applies.
Both parents may receive parental benefit payments simultaneously for 60 days for the same child within 15 months of the birth or equivalent date. Parents may also transfer certain parental leave benefits to a family member, friend, or other caretaker who is insured for the benefit.
Sweden has no statutory minimum wages. Instead, the minimum wage is determined through collective bargaining agreements (overenskomster), which can vary by industry.
Wages are set taking into account the responsibility and level of difficulty of the work tasks, work environment, nature of tasks, skills required, independence in job, industry, and other factors.
The frequency of salary payment is determined by the individual employment contract.
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