The Swedish Labour Market

In Sweden, all the grown-up members of a family
usually work and bring in money to the family.

The Swedish labour market
is companies and the people who work in the companies.

Private people can own companies
the state can own companies
and municipalities can own companies.

Companies are employers
and the people who
work there are employees.

Employers and employees
have organisations that work for them
and what is best for them.

Employees have labour unions
and the employers have employer organisations.

The organisations and the labour unions
work together on wages and working environment.

General agreements (Kollektivavtal)


In Sweden, the labour market members,
which are the employer organisations and labour unions,
negotiate (talk about and agree) on the rules in the labour market.
They negotiate about wages and working hours.

Employer organisations and labour unions
sign collective agreements.
These are agreements that apply to everybody
that has the same occupation.
Sometimes, the labour market members can not agree.
Then there is a strike.

Organisations for employees (Organisationer för arbetstagarna)


The Trades Union Council (Landsorganisationen, LO),
has 15 different labour unions
and 1.7 million people as members.
They have occupations like staff nurses,
skilled tradesmen, industrial workers and miners.

Tjänstemännens Centralorganisationen, TCO
is 16 different labour unions that work for people
like engineers, policemen, accountants,
teachers and nurses
who are paid once a month.
TCO has about 1.2 million members

Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation, SACO
was formed by university graduates, it contains
24 different labour unions
and has about 600 thousand members.
All them have professional occupations
like doctors, lawyers and psychologists.

Organisations for employers (Organisationer för arbesgivarna)


Arbetsgivarverket
is an organisation for employers in public administration.

Föreningen Svenskt Näringsliv
is for small and medium-sized companies.
 
Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, SKL,
is the employer of Sweden´s 290 municipalities
and 18 county councils.

Företagarna
works for 700,000 private companies in Sweden.

Företagarförbundet
works for small companies with less than 9 employees.

Labour market law (Arbetsrätt)


The labour market in Sweden is guided by laws and general agreements
The most important laws are:

The Co-determination law
(Lag om medbestämmande i arbetslivet, MBL,)
which says that labour unions always have the right
to negotiate with the employer about things
that have to do with work in the company.

The Employment Protection Law
(Lag om anställningsskydd, LAS,)
which has rules for what happens when
people are hired and fired.

The Working Hours Restriction Act
(Arbetstidslagen)
This says how long you can work each
day and each week
A full working week is 40 hours.

The Working Environment Act
(Arbetsmiljölagen )
which will protect you at your work place
and make sure the working environment is good.

The Discrimination Act
(Diskrimineringslagen )
which gives everybody the same right
to work and look for work.

Kinds of employment (Anställningsformer)


You can have a job in two different ways in Sweden
Permanent tenure (tillsvidareanställning) and
Fixed-term employment (tidsbegränsad anställning)

Permanent tenure is when you have a job
with no time limit (fast anställning)
This is the usual kind of job.

Fixed-term employment
can be:

  • General fixed-term employment
You and the employer sign a contract
that you will work for a fixed time.
  • Deputy
You work instead of somebody who
could be on holiday or is ill.
  • Seasonal work
You pick berries in summer
or clear snow in winter
for example
  • Trial employment
A company can give you trial employment
for up to 6 months
to see if you suit the job.

Work experience (Praktik)


Getting work experience at a workplace
is a good way to learn how to work
but also to show an employer what you can do.

You can learn more about a trade
or a workplace when you get work experience.
It is also good if you have never worked in Sweden
or if you do not know what you want to work with.

Work experience is also a good way to practice
speaking Swedish.

A work experience person must not work instead of
somebody who is already at the workplace.
You must not be a work experience person for so
long that the employer can make use of your work.

Work experience is a way for you to get a job
at the workplace where you are getting experience
or at another workplace.

How to find a job (Så här söker du jobb)


You can find jobs from vacancy advertisements.
A vacancy is when there is a job somebody can get.
There are vacancy advertisements at the Job Centre
(Arbetsförmedlingen), newspapers, the Internet,
or on the noticeboard at the shop where you buy food.

When you ask for a job
it is best to phone the employer.
It is a good idea to ask more about the job
and also get the employer to want to meet you.
You can also ask an employer if
they have any available jobs.

CV


Everybody who looks for a job must be able to show a CV
This is an abbreviation of the Latin words curriculum vitae,
and means a list of what you have done in your life.
The CV is a list of the schools you have gone to,
the training courses you have had,
and the jobs you have had.

You can put your CV in various databases at
the Job Centre and other staff agencies.
Employers who are looking for people look at these databases.

Application (Ansökan)


You must write an application (Ansökan).
This is when you say you want a job.
The application is very important.
You can read more on the Internet
about how to write a good application.

References (Referenser)


References are important when you ask for a job
You write the name of people
who can give you references.
The employer can phone the people
who give you a reference
and ask what you are like as a person
and how good you are when you work.

Interview (Intervju)


If the employer is interested in hiring you
you can come to an interview.
This is when you meet the employer
and talk to them.
The employer will often decide
after this meeting
if you get a job or not.

Before you go to the interview
it is a good idea to find out
as much as possible about the company.
It is also good if you take with you your
school certificates and reports from other jobs
when you go to the interview.

You can read more about asking for a job
at the Job Centre web site:
www.arbetsformedling.se

The Job Centre (Arbetsförmedlingen)


The Job Centre (Arbetsformedling) is a public authority
that brings together people who want a job
with people who look for workers.

The Job Centre has to give most help to people
who find it difficult to get a job.
The Job Centre has several labour market policy programmes
that can help you:

  • Entry job (Instegsjobb)
The Job Centre can pay 75 percent of the wages
of newly arrived immigrants
who get a job at a company 
The newly arrived immigrant
must study Swedish for Immigrants, SfI
and must not have had a residence permit for more than 36 months.
  • New start job (Nystartjobb)
The employer can have lower costs
if they give a job to somebody
who has not had a job for a long time.
Among other things, the employer does not
have to pay social insurance costs for the person.

Start your own company (Starta eget företag)

Write a business plan (Skriv en affärsplan)


If you start your own company
you have to have a business plan.
The business plan describes your
business idea and what you are going to do.

Your business plan has to answer:

  • What are you going to sell?
  • Who will buy what you sell?
  • What other companies sell the same things?
  • What does your company have that others do not have?
  • How are you going to get money?
  • Are you going to borrow money?
  • Do you need a permit or licence?

Write a budget and a calculation in your business plan.
The budget and calculation show
how you thought you will get money in
and what costs you will have.

You must be able to show your business plan
to people who might put in money
or be customers
or for the Job Centre
or other people you want to work with.

Choose the type of company and register it (Registrera och välj företagsform)


You have to register your company
with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket)
and sometimes with the Swedish
Companies Registration Office (Boverket).

You can also choose the type of company you want
The company can be a:

  • Sole trader (Enskilt företag)
  • Partnership (Handelsbolag)
  • Limited Partnership (Kommanditbolag)
  • Limited Company (Aktiebolag)
  • Cooperative Society (Ekonomisk förening)

Support and help (Stöd och hjälp)


It can be difficult to run a company
and it means a lot of work.

You have to account for Value Added Tax (Moms)
You have to prepare a tax return and annual accounts
You have to pay wages
and look after your personnel the right way.

You can get help and support
from organisations and public authorities
like the Job Centre, Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and the
National Board for Industrial and Technical Development (Nutek)
You can also go to courses
in running a business and accounting.

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