🇸🇪 Your rights in Sweden

Equal pay

The Discrimination Act (Diskrimineringslagen) prohibits pay discrimination based on sex, including for work of equal value. Employers must also work actively to promote equal pay.

• Employers must carry out regular pay surveys (lönekartläggning) to find and correct unjustified pay differences between women and men, and larger employers must document them.
• Unions with a collective agreement usually have the right to take part in this work.
• New EU pay transparency rules are being brought into Swedish law and should strengthen your right to pay information.

If you suspect pay discrimination, you can contact your union, which often represents members in pay disputes, or report it to the Equality Ombudsman. Time limits apply to bringing a claim, so act promptly.

Harassment at work

Sexual harassment and harassment related to sex are prohibited under the Discrimination Act. If your employer becomes aware that you have been harassed at work, they must investigate and take measures to stop it.

• Employers must also have guidelines and routines to prevent harassment and must not punish you for complaining (victimisation).
• Work environment rules require employers to prevent offensive treatment at work.

Keep a record of incidents and witnesses and report the harassment to your employer, manager or safety representative. You can get help from your union or report to the Equality Ombudsman. Serious incidents, such as sexual molestation, may also be crimes that you can report to the police.

Pregnancy and maternity

It is unlawful to treat you less favourably because of pregnancy or parental leave. Under the Parental Leave Act (Föräldraledighetslagen), you must not be dismissed or otherwise disadvantaged for reasons connected with parental leave.

• Parents are entitled to parental leave and to parental benefit (föräldrapenning) paid by Försäkringskassan, which can be shared between parents.
• Mothers have a right to full leave for a period around the birth and to breastfeeding leave.
• If your work is physically demanding or risky, you may be moved to other work or receive pregnancy benefit (graviditetspenning).

Tell your employer in advance when you plan to take leave. Your union can help if you are treated unfairly.

Flexible work

Sweden has no general right to work from home, but the Parental Leave Act gives parents of young children the right to reduce their normal working hours, and to take parental leave in parts, such as part-time days.

• You must notify your employer in advance about how you want to take leave or reduced hours.
• The leave should be arranged in consultation with your employer, so that it causes as little disruption as possible.
• Collective agreements and workplace policies often provide additional flexibility, including remote work.

The Discrimination Act requires employers to take active measures to make it easier to combine work and parenthood. Ask your union or HR department what your collective agreement provides.

Protection from domestic abuse

In Sweden, you can ask the police or prosecutor for a restraining order (kontaktförbud). The prosecutor can order a person not to visit, contact or follow you. An extended order can also cover your home, workplace or other places you usually go, and in serious cases it can include the shared home.

• Breaching a restraining order is a crime.
• Repeated violations of a partner's integrity can be prosecuted as gross violation of a woman's integrity (grov kvinnofridskränkning).
• Victims of violent and sexual crimes can usually get a free counsel for the injured party (målsägandebiträde).

Your municipality's social services must help victims of violence, and women's shelters and Kvinnofridslinjen offer support. In an emergency, call 112.

Separation and divorce

Swedish law allows either spouse to ask for a divorce without giving reasons. Applications are made to the district court.

• If you both want a divorce and have no children under 16 living with you, it can usually be granted directly.
• If you have children under 16, or only one of you wants a divorce, there is normally a reconsideration period (betänketid) of six months before the divorce can be finalised.
• After divorce, the couple's marital property is usually divided equally in a division of property (bodelning), unless you had a prenuptial agreement.
• Custody is usually joint, but courts decide based on the child's best interests, including the risk of violence.

Cohabitants (sambo) have more limited rights under the Cohabitees Act.

Legal aid and free legal help

Legal aid (rättshjälp) can help you pay for a lawyer if your income is below a set limit, but you usually must first use legal expenses insurance (rättsskydd), which is often included in home insurance. You pay part of the costs yourself depending on your income.

• Victims of violent or sexual crimes can usually get a free counsel for the injured party in criminal proceedings.
• Members of a trade union often get free legal help in workplace disputes.

Other help includes free or low-cost initial consultations offered by many lawyers, student legal clinics (juridikstudenternas rådgivning) in some cities, women's and girls' shelters, and municipal social services, which can explain your options.