Work

Steps

1. Look for a job on Platsbanken, the vacancies site of the Arbetsförmedlingen (the public employment service, in Swedish), and on the European EURES portal; the Arbetsförmedlingen has a section for citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.
2. Check whether your profession is regulated (health, teaching, electrical installation contractor, estate agent, lawyer, accountant, taxi driver…): you then need authorisation from the competent authority (list kept by the UHR, the Swedish ENIC-NARIC centre).
3. For a health profession (doctor, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, midwife): apply for your legitimation (licence to practise) from the Socialstyrelsen (the national board of health and welfare). Recognition is in principle automatic for these five professions harmonised in the EU, but you must prove sufficient command of Swedish, Danish or Norwegian.
4. For a non-regulated profession, you can have your foreign qualification assessed by the UHR (Universitets- och högskolerådet, the council for higher education) to present to employers.
5. Read your contract: the employer must give you your terms of employment in writing no later than the 7th calendar day after your first day of work for the essential information (parties, duties, type of contract and notice, pay, working time), and no later than one month afterwards for the rest (training, leave, rules on the end of the contract, social security, collective agreement) (LAS, section 6 c). Check the form of the contract, the gross salary, the notice, the leave and the applicable collective agreement.
6. Register in the population register and with the social insurance fund (see SE-SEJOUR-TOUS-001, SE-ADMINISTRATIONS-TOUS-001), and think about the a-kassa (voluntary unemployment insurance, see SE-TRAVAIL-TOUS-002).

Documents

• Identity document and personnummer or samordningsnummer (see SE-NIF-TOUS-001).
• Diplomas and employment certificates, translated if necessary (for the Socialstyrelsen, documents in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English do not need translation; otherwise, translation by an authorised translator into Swedish or English).
• Health professions: application form, copy of the identity document, diploma and annexes, Certificate of Good Standing (certificate of professional good conduct), Certificate of Conformity (conformity of the training with EU directives), language certificate.

Costs and timelines

• Temporary contracts allowed (LAS, section 5): särskild visstidsanställning (fixed-term contract without a stated reason, which replaced the allmän visstidsanställning with the reform of October 2022), replacement (vikariat) and seasonal work.
• Conversion into a permanent contract (LAS, section 5 a): a särskild visstidsanställning becomes a permanent contract after more than 12 cumulative months over five years; a replacement, after more than 2 years over five years.
• Probationary period (LAS, section 6): 6 months at most; without notice of termination at its end, it becomes a permanent contract.
• Dismissal (LAS, section 7): an objective reason (sakliga skäl) is required: lack of work or reasons related to you.
• Notice (LAS, section 11): 1 month minimum for both parties; the notice the employer owes you rises to 2 months after 2 years of seniority and goes up to 6 months after 10 years.
• Working time (arbetstidslagen): 40 hours a week at most; "general" overtime (allmän övertid) limited to 48 hours over 4 weeks (or 50 hours a month) and 200 hours a year, with up to 150 more hours a year in case of special reasons (extra övertid), without exceeding in total the same ceilings of 48 hours over 4 weeks or 50 hours a month; 48 hours a week on average at most, overtime included; 11 consecutive hours of rest per 24 hours, 36 hours a week; a break no later than after 5 hours of work.
• Leave (semesterlagen): 25 working days a year; leave year from 1 April to 31 March; at least 4 weeks in a row between June and August unless otherwise agreed; if you start after 31 August, only 5 days in the first year. Pay: 12% of the salary of the reference year, or continued salary plus 0.43% of the monthly salary per day of leave. Beyond 20 days, you can carry days over for up to 5 years.
• Sickness: the employer pays 80% of salary for the first 14 days, less a qualifying-day deduction; medical certificate after 7 days (Informationsverige).
• Salary: no legal minimum; ask which kollektivavtal applies and what salary it provides for your post.

Common pitfalls

• Believing there is no minimum. Without a legal minimum wage, it is the collective agreement that protects you: an employer without an agreement can offer less. The trade unions (fackförbund) advise their members on pay.
• Confusing the union and the a-kassa. Membership of an a-kassa (unemployment fund) is separate from union membership; it is the one that counts for unemployment benefit (see SE-TRAVAIL-TOUS-002).
• Signing temporary contracts repeatedly. Count your months: beyond 12 months of särskild visstidsanställning over five years, you move to a permanent contract.
• Starting a health profession without a legitimation. It is mandatory to practise under the protected title; also plan for proof of your command of Swedish at level C1 of the European framework (or of Danish or Norwegian), even if you are a Nordic citizen: C1 level certificate, svenska 3 (or Swedish as a foreign language level 3) from Komvux (adult education), a certificate giving access to higher education in Sweden, or a statement from your healthcare employer. The application costs 990 SEK; the Socialstyrelsen aims to start the examination within 4 weeks and must decide within 3 to 4 months once the file is complete.
• Collective agreements change everything. They may depart from the law on working time or leave (within the limits of EU law): it is the text to read with your contract.
• Over 69: LAS protection ends at the end of the month you turn 69 (notice of one month at most, no reason required).

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: no work permit; recognition of regulated professions under Directive 2005/36/EC.
• Nordic citizens (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway): no permit either; command of Danish or Norwegian is also enough for a healthcare legitimation.
• British citizens (Scots included): since Brexit, a work permit or a resident status linked to the withdrawal agreement is needed (Migrationsverket); for health professions, the Socialstyrelsen treats a British diploma issued before 1 January 2021 as an EU diploma, and one issued since as a non-EU diploma (procedure with assessment of the training). For other regulated professions, ask the competent authority indicated by the UHR.