Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Termination of Employment Convention, 1982 (No. 158) - Sweden (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO), the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (SACO), received on 21 September 2016.

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Adequate safeguards against recourse to contracts of employment for a specified period of time. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government concerning amendments to the Employment Protection Act (EPA), which came into force on 1 May 2016. The amendments introduced additional safeguards against recourse to employment contracts for a specified period of time. Pursuant to the 2016 amendments, the employment contract of a worker employed under successive fixed-term contracts for a period of more than two years over a five-year period will be converted into a contract for an indefinite period of time. This rule applies not only to general fixed-term employment contracts, but also to successive contracts of employment to replace another worker, as well as to contracts for seasonal employment. The Government adds that the EPA’s provisions on conversion of fixed-term contracts to contracts of indefinite duration do not apply to workers aged 67 and over. The Committee notes that under the amendments to the EPA, workers on fixed-term contracts are entitled to request written information from the employer relevant to facilitate a determination of whether the employee is entitled to conversion of his or her fixed-term contract into a contract of indefinite duration. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application in practice of the 2016 amendments to the Employment Protection Act establishing additional safeguards against abusive recourse to contracts of employment for a specified period of time, including information on the number of workers benefitting from these measures.

Article 5(c). Invalid reasons for termination. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government concerning the adoption of the Act on special protection for workers against reprisals for whistleblowing regarding serious irregularities, which entered into force on 1 January 2017. The Government indicates that, while workers with permanent contracts already enjoy considerable protection against unjustified dismissal, the Act extends protection against reprisals to employees engaged as temporary agency workers who denounce serious irregularities in the activities of the company that hires them. The Act entitles workers who have been subjected by their employer to reprisals for whistleblowing to lodge a claim against the employer for damages. Where the whistleblowing is in-house (relating to the company where the worker is engaged), it is sufficient for specific suspicions of irregularities to exist for protections against reprisals to apply. Where the whistleblowing is external (where the information is supplied for public disclosure or to a public authority), the worker is required to have good reason for making the allegations. The protection that the Act offers against reprisals does not apply where a worker has committed a crime by whistleblowing. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the reasons for the differentiated standard of protection against reprisals – including dismissals – for internal as opposed to external whistleblowers under the 2017 Act on special protection for workers against reprisals for whistleblowing regarding serious irregularities. The Committee further requests information on the number of complaints of unfair dismissal for whistleblowing, the applicable burden of proof, and extracts of relevant judicial decisions.

Article 12. Severance allowance and other income protection. The Committee notes the adoption of amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act, which entered into force on 1 September 2013. The Government indicates that the amendments extend the general conditions for entitlement to unemployment insurance fund benefits (section 9), and that the eligibility period in the case of a worker suspended from employment due to improper conduct, has been reduced from 60 to 45 days (section 43(b)(2)). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act are applied in practice.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, according to the Act Concerning Certain Measures to Promote Employment, employers are required to notify the Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) if the employer needs to implement reductions in activities that involve at least five employees in the county. In this regard, the Government indicates that, in the first half of 2016, the Employment Service received a total 19,509 notices of termination of employment, covering 10,083 workplaces. The Government further indicates that, between July 2011 and April 2016, the Equality Ombudsman received 500 reports concerning termination of employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed information on the manner in which the provisions of the Convention are applied in practice, including extracts of judicial decisions involving questions of principle relevant to the Convention, available statistics on the activities of the Labour Courts and of the Discrimination Ombudsman, as well as on the number of terminations for economic or similar reasons.