Country Guides

Sweden

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Capital

Stockholm

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Language

Swedish

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Remote workers

1,127,214

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Currency

kr Swedish krona (SEK)

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Working hours

40 hours per week

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Public holidays

13 days per year

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Minimum hourly salary

No minimum wage

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Tax year

Any 12-month period, but commonly the same as the calendar year

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Date format

DD/MM/YYYY

Misclassification penalties

Fines include backpay for statutory employee benefits and rights (vacation, overtime, etc), plus additional penalties for not fulfilling their employer obligations, presenting incorrect data and misclassification of the employee.

Fun fact

Sweden is the country with the highest number of patents per capita in Europe.

Employer contributions

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    Employer taxes: 31.42%
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    Social insurance: 31.42%, which includes General payroll contribution, Retirement, Health insurance, Labour market fee, Parental Insurance, Survivors Pension, and Work Injury

Employee contributions

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    Employee tax: 30%-50%
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    Pension: 7%

Income tax

Income: Up to SEK 613,900

National income tax: 0%

Income: More than SEK 613,900

National income tax: 20%

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Employer of Record in Sweden

What is an EOR?

While an Employer of Record is the most typical way for legally employing a worker in a different country where the company doesn’t have an entity, in Sweden we directly employ your worker. Doing this, we take care of all Sweden compliance aspects of employment, including payroll, taxes, statutory benefits, employment contracts and more.

EOR responsibilities

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    Ensuring their employment is compliant with local employment laws
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    Processing local payroll
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    Filing employment related taxes and returns
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    Issuing payslips to the employee
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    Distributing salary payments

How it works

  • Company

    Maintains a direct relationship with the employee, allocates them work tasks, and manages their performance.

  • Boundless

    Takes care of payroll, taxes, benefits, ensuring the employee and the company are compliant with all legal regulations.

  • Employee

    Signs an employment contract with Boundless and fulfils all of their obligations as a worker for the company.

Statutory benefits in Sweden

  • Pension

    In Sweden, all residents are entitled to a state-financed guaranteed minimum pension.

  • Workers' compensation insurance

    Swedish Employers are required to cover all employees from the possibility of suffering an injury in the workplace by setting up a workers’ compensation insurance fund.

Common non-mandatory benefits in Sweden

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    Private healthcare plan
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    Work flexibility
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    Sabbatical leave
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    Supplementary pension
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    Training
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    Relocation package
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    Gym membership
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    Flexible working hours
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    Fika break
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Written employment contract

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Payslip

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Equal pay

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Health & Safe working environment

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Reasonable accommodation

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Right to priority for re-employment

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Written job conditions

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Personal information protection

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Protection from harassment and discrimination

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Pay transparency

Paid time off

25 days + public holidays

Sick leave

The first 14 days are covered by the employer and the remainder by Försäkringskassan (the Swedish social insurance office), for which the employee has to apply

Maternity leave

14 weeks

Paternity leave

10 days

Parental leave

480 days

Probation

The probationary period in Sweden can be a maximum of six months.

Health and safety

Sweden’s Work Environment Act requires employers to manage risks through systematic work environment management (SAM), covering physical and psychosocial factors. The Work Environment Authority enforces compliance, with employee involvement via safety representatives.

Payment frequency

Sweden employees get paid monthly.

Payday

Standard payday is the 25th of each month.

Swedish companies must have objective grounds (not defined by law) in order to dismiss an employee.

Alongside a valid reason for termination, companies must also present the notice of dismissal in writing at least 2 weeks in advance, containing information regarding the existence of priority to re-employment and how the employee should proceed if they wish to challenge the termination.

Before a company can proceed with an employee’s termination, they must explore other employment alternatives, such as relocating or changing roles in case of redundancy.

Employees who become unemployed or partially unemployed are entitled to unemployment benefits (ersättning från a-kassa) for up to 300 days.

FAQs

Hiring in Sweden generally takes one of four routes. You can run payroll from your HQ for short-term cases, engage contractors for project-based work, set up a local entity to hire directly, or partner with an Employer of Record. Each route involves different compliance and operational effort, including alignment with collective bargaining agreements. An EOR in Sweden operates through a dedicated local entity.

Contractors work well when the relationship is project-based and the person serves multiple clients. If an individual gives their full and undivided attention to your company in Sweden, employment is the right structure under Swedish law, covering entitlements like paid annual leave, sick leave, and social security contributions. For project-based contractor engagements, Boundless’s Agent of Record (AOR) service handles classification, contracts, and payments compliantly in Sweden.

HR compliance in Sweden means your policies and procedures respect all applicable Swedish employment laws and regulations. When you hire in Sweden, this matters both to safeguard employee rights and to reduce employer risk. Compliance covers labour law, sick leave, annual leave (25 days), pay set by collective bargaining agreements, tax credits, and a 40-hour working week. Following these is fundamental for running the business well.

Sweden’s EOR model operates through a dedicated local entity, and Boundless has one. We are the legal employer of the individual for Swedish government, tax, and employment authorities, providing a locally compliant contract, running payroll, filing employment taxes, and administering statutory benefits such as 480 days of parental leave and 25 days of annual leave. You manage day-to-day work and fund payroll each cycle.

Boundless partners with employment lawyers and advisers in each country we operate in, including Sweden. They ensure employment contracts and onboarding documents comply with the local jurisdiction. We hold detailed discussions on specific norms such as payroll, social protection, data protection, notice periods, and work-from-home regulations. When a sensitive issue arises, our internal team engages the relevant firm promptly.

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