New regulations on overseas postings and service abroad

Employees of state agencies who are will be stationed and carry out their duties abroad are covered by an agreement on overseas contracts and guidelines on employment conditions for service abroad, the URA agreement.

On January 1, 2020, new provisions came into force under the URA agreement with regard to regarding employees who are posted abroad by a state agency and are or become pregnant or will take parental leave. In short, the provisions mean that it will be possible for the employee to return to Sweden and work under the terms of the URA agreement if they so wish. Employees can also choose to remain where they are stationed, and there is now an expanded URA insurance policy that covers maternity care and childbirth. Employees need to discuss this with their employer well in advance and check that are covered by the insurance.

However, if you remain abroad where you are stationed during your parental leave, you must make sure that you obtain supplementary insurance for yourself, the child and any accompanying family members. If you return to Sweden and work under the terms of the URA agreement, please bear in mind that certain conditions in your individual URA contract may no longer apply, e.g. tax-free supplements, and that supplementary parental leave payments cannot be paid if this is not specifically agreed. If you are on leave from employment in Sweden, you can instead return to that when you go back to work. In that case, the usual conditions apply when working in Sweden.

Further information

You can read more about the insurance and the conditions on the website of Kammarkollegiet, the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency.

If you have other questions, you are welcome to contact our members’ support service.