Changes to the Swedish Employment Protection Act (LAS)

The government has proposed new legislation in line with the agreement on security, transition and employment protection that the social partners reached in December.

On Monday, the results of the three government investigations that were a prerequisite for this autumn’s agreement on employment protection and transition in the private sector to be applicable were presented. There will be changes to employment protection rules for all, and employment transition support will be made available also for those not covered by a collective agreement. To support lifelong learning, state adult study support will be introduced for the entire labour market.

Jan Gladh, SULF's chief negotiator for the private sector, commented on the proposals. “It is positive that we have now taken another step towards being able to implement an important reform in the Swedish labour market. There is now a government proposal based on the agreement between the social partners. Together with the main agreement, this will give Sweden a completely new system for security, transition and employment protection, covering the entire chain from notice of redundancy to employment transition support - education and opportunities to find new employment. That we have come this far is a testament to the strength of the Swedish model. But it is important that SULF now safeguards the interests of our members in the state sector.”

The next step is that the proposals will now be submitted for consultation. After that, the parliament must pass the bills into law, which is a prerequisite for the parties to sign a new central agreement.

More information

More information can be found on the PTK website (in Swedish).