Employment contract in Sweden: Template, Key Clauses and Local Law (2026)

What a Swedish employment contract is, and the law behind it Employment in Sweden is governed mainly by the Employment Protection Act (Lag om anstallningsskydd, LAS, 1982:80), along with other statutes on working time, holidays and discrimination. A central feature of Swedish working life is the collective agreement (kollektivavtal): in many sectors the real terms on pay, notice and benefits come from the agreement between unions and employer organisations, which can set terms different from the statutory default. There is no statutory national minimum wage; pay floors come from collective agreements. LAS is largely protective. The parties can agree terms more favourable to the employee than LAS, but generally not less favourable, unless a collective agreement allows it. The default form of employment is permanent (tillsvidareanstallning); fixed-term and probationary forms are the exceptions and are regulated. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Have a Swedish employment lawyer or adviser review a contract, and check the applicable collective agreement, before you rely on it. ## What Swedish law requires in 2026 - Written information. While an oral contract can be binding, the employer must give the employee written information about the essential terms of employment within the period set by law, following the EU directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. In practice a written contract is standard.

• Form of employment. Permanent employment is the default. Fixed-term employment is allowed in defined forms and converts to permanent after set thresholds of accumulated time.
• Probation. A probationary employment (provanstallning) can last up to six months. It cannot be extended beyond six months by contract or collective agreement. Either side can end it, and if neither does, it rolls into permanent employment.
• Notice during probation. Unless a collective agreement says otherwise, ending a probationary employment generally requires about two weeks notice.
• Notice after probation. Employer notice scales with length of service: one month for under two years, rising by steps to a maximum of six months for ten years or more. An employee who resigns owes a statutory minimum of one month unless the contract provides a longer period. Collective agreements often adjust these.
• Grounds for dismissal. Dismissal by the employer needs objective grounds, either personal reasons or redundancy, and there are rules on order of selection in redundancies. Probation is the main window without full dismissal protection.
• Tax and contributions. The employer withholds income tax and pays social security contributions (arbetsgivaravgifter). ## Swedish employment contract template Copy the block below and fill the bracketed fields. Check the applicable collective agreement, which may override several points. ``` EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT (ANSTALLNINGSAVTAL) Made on [DATE] BETWEEN: [EMPLOYER NAME], [org. number] ("Employer") AND [EMPLOYEE NAME], [personal number] ("Employee") 1. FORM OF EMPLOYMENT [Permanent (tillsvidare) from [DATE] / Fixed term from [DATE] to [DATE] / Probationary (provanstallning) of up to 6 months from [DATE], then permanent unless ended]. 2. POSITION AND DUTIES Position: [title]. Duties: [summary]. Place of work: [location]. 3. WORKING HOURS [Full time, normally 40 hours per week / part time, state extent]. Any collective agreement on working time applies. 4. SALARY AND BENEFITS Monthly salary of [amount] SEK, paid on [date]. [Pension, insurance and other benefits per the applicable collective agreement.] 5. HOLIDAY Paid annual leave under the Holiday Act (Semesterlagen) [and any collective agreement]. 6. NOTICE Notice as set by LAS and any applicable collective agreement, scaling with length of service. 7. COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT The [name] collective agreement applies [if any] and prevails over this contract where it is more favourable or where it validly provides otherwise. 8. CONFIDENTIALITY AND OTHER TERMS The Employee keeps the Employer's information confidential. [Any non-compete is a separate, limited agreement.] Signed: Employer ____________ Employee ____________ Name / date Name / date

- **Collective agreement (clause 7).** In many Swedish workplaces the collective agreement sets pay, pension, notice and more, and prevails over the individual contract. Identify the applicable agreement and do not contradict it.
- **Notice (clause 6).** Tie notice to LAS and the collective agreement rather than fixing numbers, because employer notice scales with service up to six months and the agreement may change the figures.
- **Non-compete.** Post-employment non-competes in Sweden are narrowly enforced and often governed by a collective framework agreement; keep any such clause limited in time and scope and consider compensation. ## Red flags to avoid - Ignoring the applicable collective agreement, which can override the contract on pay, notice and benefits.
- A probation period written as longer than six months, which is not allowed.
- Treating a fixed-term contract as open-ended and missing the point at which it converts to permanent.
- Dismissing without objective grounds once probation has ended.
- A broad, uncompensated non-compete that Swedish courts are unlikely to enforce in full.
- Failing to give the written information about essential terms within the statutory period. ## Where a contract workspace helps A template gives you a workable Swedish employment contract. The ongoing work is aligning the contract with the right collective agreement, keeping probation within six months, watching when a fixed-term contract converts to permanent, and tracking notice windows across a team. Drafting or reviewing an employment contract, checking it against LAS and the collective agreement, editing a clause in plain language and tracking term and notice dates can sit in one AI contract workspace tuned to how your company hires. [Adira](https://adiralaw.com) is built around that shape: it drafts from a template, models the contract as linked clauses so it can flag a probation period over six months or a non-compete that is too broad, lets you edit by instruction, and keeps key dates on one timeline. Adira is India-first today, and deeper Sweden-specific coverage, including collective-agreement nuance, is on its roadmap rather than a settled claim, so use it for drafting and review and keep a Swedish adviser for the local-law call. The template above is enough to start a fair contract on its own. Last verified October 2026.