SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

WHAT CHANGES IN SWEDEN

KEY POINTS: Everything that changes in Sweden in October 2022

A new government, new employment rules, new vaccine and a visit from the Dutch royals. Here's what's changing in Sweden in October.

KEY POINTS: Everything that changes in Sweden in October 2022
Dutch King William Alexander and Queen Maxima their glasses during a dinner with 150 Dutchmen of fifty-years-old who were invited on the occasion to mark the 50th birthday of the king on April 28, 2017 at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. (Photo by Remko de Waal / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT

Sweden gets a new government 

Judging by the optimistic statements made by Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson, it looks like an agreement could be reached over Sweden’s next government sooner rather than later, with Kristersson installed as Prime Minister well before Halloween at the end of this month. 

The Sweden Democrats are getting eight of the sixteen chairmanships and deputy chairmanships of parliamentary committees the right-bloc is entitled to, which suggests that far-right party will be a powerful support party rather than part of the ruling coalition. Whether the Liberal Party will be included in the government, with party leader Johan Pehrson as education minister, remains to be seen.

The new government will have to get straight to work on the budget for 2023. Outside of an election year, a Swedish government would submit its budget to the parliament by the end of September. It will also have to quickly get to work on convincing Turkey and its parliament to ratify Swedish Nato membership.  

In the election campaign, the Moderate Party also promised to have a system of “high-cost protection” for electricity consumers in place by November 1st. If it is to have a chance of meeting this pledge, it will have to move rapidly.

Swedish delegation goes to Turkey for Nato meeting 

On October 5th a delegation from Sweden’s Justice Department is travelling to Turkey for a meeting Turkey’s Anadolu news agency is calling a meeting on “the extradition of criminal terrorists”. 

Sweden’s outgoing foreign minister Ann Linde said on September 27th that the talks with Turkey were “moving along nicely”. 

“My judgement is that Turkey will say ‘yes’ to Swedish Nato membership, however I don’t know when that is going to be.”

Changes to Sweden’s first-in, last-out employment rules come into force

The reform to Sweden’s Employment Protection Law, lagen om anställningsskydd or LAS, comes into force on October 1st. The reform was one of the key policies the Centre Party drove through as part of the price for supporting the outgoing Social Democrat-led government. 

Under the reform, employers who need to slim down their workforce during a business downturn gain the right to lay off three employees outside of the old first-in, last-out employment rules. These require employers to lay off those employed more recently before those who have worked for the employer for a long time. 

In exchange for the looser rules, a new system will also come into force giving employees the right to education to improve their skills so they can find a new job, perhaps in a different industry. The new system is expected to cost the government between six and nine billion kronor a year. 

Employees will be able to apply for support for studies to learn new skills from October 1st for courses starting from January 2023. 

Sweden to start using the new BA.4 and BA.5 Comirnaty vaccine 

Sweden’s Public Health Agency expects to take delivery of the new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine adapted to target the new BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the Covid-19 virus. The vaccine will be distributed to Sweden’s regional health authorities to be given out as part of the höstdosen, or autumn dose, which is offered for all citizens over the age of 18 (but only actively recommended to those in a risk group or over the age of 65). 

State visit by Dutch King and Queen 

The Netherlands’ King William-Alexander and Queen Maxima are visiting Sweden on a state visit from October 11th to October 13th. The state visit is, according to a press release from Sweden’s Royal Court intended to “strengthen the long-running and excellent connections between Sweden and The Netherlands which go back to the 1600s”. 

Reforms to which agency is responsible for Sweden in a crisis

From October 1st, Sweden is reforming its crisis preparedness system, with 60 agencies now classified as “crisis preparedness agencies”.

All of these agencies are required to work together with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish Armed Forces to prepare for crisis situations or war, and to coordinate if a crisis or war actually happens. 

Sweden’s 21 regional governments will also be grouped into six new “civil areas” or civilområde, with the governments of Norrbotten, Örebro, Stockholm, Östergötland, Västra Götaland, and Skåne each taking charge of their surrounding area in the event of a war. 

Prisoners on early release can be returned to jail more rapidly if they do not behave

From October 1st, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service will gain greater powers to put prisoners on early release back behind bars without having to first have the decision approved by a judge at the supervisory board or Övervakningsnämnden. Currently, a decision by a judge is required before the service can dispatch police to apprehend a prisoner. 

The prison service has complained that the delay can cause problems when prisoners, for example, visit or stalk the victim of their crime, particularly in domestic violence cases. 

Member comments

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

WHAT CHANGES IN SWEDEN

New laws, events and a ministerial pay rise: What changes in Sweden in July

New Swedish laws often come into force at six month intervals in January or July, so there are more changes than usual this month.

New laws, events and a ministerial pay rise: What changes in Sweden in July

NEW LAWS:

Increased powers to locate people evading prosecution

This new law, due to come into force on July 1st, will make it possible for authorities to secretly monitor electronic communication and data if it is deemed necessary in order to find a wanted individual, as well as making it easier for authorities to find foreigners who they deem to be a risk to Swedish security.

It can only be used to aid the enforcement of sentences for people who have been sentenced to prison, forensic psychiatric care or closed youth care.

Better support for students with special needs

Schools who teach students with special educational needs are currently eligible for a so-called tilläggsbelopp or supplementary amount, an extra subsidy on top of the basic funds paid by the municipality to the school, which varies depending on the need of the pupil.

Currently, the application process is often complicated and many students in need of support have to fight to be granted it. 

This new law aims to make the application process more streamlined and equal, cutting down on admin for schools, pupils and municipalities.

It’s due to come into force on July 1st, but it won’t be applied in schools until the autumn term.

Abolishing requirement for business owners to keep original accounting records

Another law due to come into force on July 1st will abolish the requirement for businesses to keep the originals of any paper accounting documents. From next month, businesses will no longer need to do this if documents have been digitalised.

It will also remove the rule stipulating that a company must hire the same auditing form to carry out both accounting and auditing tasks, instead allowing companies to hire auditors while using separate technical solutions for their own accounting.

Temporary increase in the ROT deduction

Sweden’s so-called ROT deduction offers tax reductions for the labour cost of repairs, conversion or extension work. It is closely linked to the RUT deduction, which offers similar discounts for domestic work, like cleaning, garden work, childminding or laundry services.

Currently, the ROT deduction capped at 50,000 kronor, with a combined cap of 75,000 kronor for both RUT and ROT combined.

From July 1st until December 31st, this cap will be temporarily raised and instead of a combined cap of 75,000 kronor for RUT and ROT together, individual caps will be introduced. This means that taxpayers will be able to deduct a maximum of 75,000 kronor for RUT and a further 75,000 kronor for ROT work for 2024 as a whole.

Changes to school law to provide better access to paper textbooks

Another law due to come into force on July 1st will change the school law to require that students have free access to textbooks, as well as any other learning materials and tools they need for their studies.

This is part of a larger government goal to reduce the use of screens in schools, invest in school librarians and give schools more funding to buy physical books.

OTHER NEWS:

Pay rise for Swedish ministers

Swedish government ministers are getting paid more from the start of July. Their monthly salaries have been raised 3.7 percent, according to a decision by parliament’s Ministerial Remunerations Board.

The pay review, which happens every year, means that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson gets a 7,000 kronor pay rise, with his monthly salary going up to 198,000 kronor. The other ministers’ salaries have been raised by 5,500 kronor to 156,000 kronor.

Schoolchildren (and most adults) on holiday throughout Sweden 

With schools across Sweden finishing the school year in the last two weeks of June, almost all children in Sweden are on holiday throughout July. Most adults in Sweden also take at least three weeks off in the summer, starting either in the first or second week of July.

So if you’re not taking time off, be warned: it can be difficult to get any responses from people you work with, either inside your own company, or in other companies in July. 

EVENTS THIS MONTH:

Sthlm Fields

Sthlm Fields festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. The event will see top artists, both national and international, play at Gärdet in Stockholm. The performers will include Toto, Doja Cat and Molly Sandén. Bars, food stalls and merchandise stands will be located within the grounds, too.

There are no spaces for camping on the festival grounds, so you’ll have to find somewhere to stay in Stockholm during the festival.

Daily tickets start from 795 kronor and the full access ticket starts at 2,595 kronor.

Where: Central Stockholm

When: June 28th-July 7th

Dansbandsveckan

If you want to really experience Swedish culture, consider visiting Dansbandsveckan. This festival of the hugely popular Dansband genre attracts nearly 100,000 visitors over seven evenings, with six dance floors and 82 dance bands.

The festival will include dance classes, a musical summer evening, a fairground, axe throwing, a car exhibition and much more.

Evening tickets are priced at 350 kronor and a weekly ticket costs 2,300 kronor.

Where: Malung, Dalarna County

When: July 14th- 20th

Classic Car Week

The long-running Classic Car Week event will take place in Rättvik. The week will include music, events for children, a vintage market, a demolition derby, classic car parade and much more.

Tickets for the event cost 900 kronor if booked before April 30th, or 1,000 kronor after May 1st.

Where: Rättvik, Dalarna County

When: July 26th-August 1st

SHOW COMMENTS