Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

JOBS

Why Sweden doesn’t have a minimum wage and how to ensure you’re fairly paid

New arrivals to Sweden are often told how generous the country's working hours and benefits are, so it may come as a surprise that there's no minimum wage as such.

Published: 27 November 2019 14:51 CET
Updated: 24 January 2021 09:26 CET
Why Sweden doesn't have a minimum wage and how to ensure you're fairly paid
Large pay rises are unusual in Sweden, so follow these tips to ensure you're happy that your starting salary is fair. Photo: Lieselotte van der Meijs/imagebank.sweden.se
This article is available to Members of The Local. Read more Membership Exclusives here.

Most countries in Europe have some sort of minimum wage in place, after the first laws on minimum legal pay were implemented in New Zealand and Australia in the 1980s.

In Sweden however, there is no official minimum wage.

That doesn't mean salaries go entirely unregulated. Instead, they are agreed by negotiations between the employer and either the individual employee or a trade union which represents them (or often, both).

Trade unions agree collective bargaining agreements (kollektivavtal) which apply to different industries. These usually include minimum pay levels for different jobs within the industry, which might differentiate between employees with different levels of education. They usually require employers to conduct an annual performance and salary review, as well as an annual pay rise of at least around 2.5 percent.

The agreements cover other aspects of your working life beyond salary, which can have a big impact on your take-home pay and quality of life, so it's well worth finding out if your employer or prospective employer has one, and what it includes.

For example, a typical kollektivavtal will include provisions for overtime pay, pensions, sick pay and parental leave, vacation allowance. There are also often extra benefits such as training or 'fitness benefit' (friskvårdsbidrag) which is an annual sum of money you can spend on sport- or health-related expenses, like a gym membership or sports club.

Photo: Lieselotte van der Meijs/imagebank.sweden.se

As well as in kollektivavtal, another situation in which minimum wages apply is for third-country workers in Sweden. If you want to move to Sweden from a non-EU country for work, you must have an offer from a job that will allow you to earn a minimum of 13,000 kronor per month before tax. This is extremely important for self-employed people to be aware of. There have been several high-profile cases of successful entrepreneurs being deported from Sweden after choosing not to take a salary and instead investing the money back into their business and living off personal savings or a partner's salary, for example.

For many full-time work permit-holders, though, another of the requirements is more pertinent when it comes to salary. In order for a work permit to be approved, the employer must be offering the prospective worker a salary “that is at least on par with that set by Swedish collective agreements or which is customary within the occupation or industry”.

Around 90 percent of employees are covered by a kollektivavtal, but some companies, especially smaller businesses and startups, choose not to use them.

So when you're interviewing, how can you be confident if the wage you're being offered is fair?

If you're a member of a union, you'll have access to their salary statistics which give detail about the average pay for people in your industry. You can find out the market rate for someone in a similar position to you, in a similar location and with a similar level of experience and responsibility. 

Some unions will also offer advice over the phone or by email so that you can get help reviewing an employment contract or preparing for your salary review.

And even if you're not a union member, a lot of useful data is publicly available.

Websites such as Alla Studier, Lönestatistik, and SCB offer information on average salaries, which you can break down by length of experience, location, and education level. But be aware of any extra factors which can affect salaries in your industry, such as professional qualifications or language skills which might be a requirement to reach the higher end of the band. 

If you're at a larger company with a clear hierarchy and structure, it may well be possible to have a frank discussion with the hiring manager (for a new job) or your line manager (if you're already employed). Many companies have salary bands for different positions, and you can ask questions like what the salary band for your current position is, what you would need to do to be qualified for a higher level within the band, or what your options for career progression within the company are.

Something else to be aware of is that large pay rises are unusual in Sweden unless you're changing position, so it's best only to agree to a salary you're completely happy with, rather than settle for something lower and hope you'll be able to increase it later.

Member comments

  1. I think there is a typo here. The first minimum wage laws were passed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1890s, not the 1980s.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

READ ALSO:

Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

SHOW COMMENTS