For employers
The page was last modified:Here you will find information and references to what applies if you have employees and your business is affected by the coronavirus.
On this page you will find information about:
- Overview of business support and rule
- Short-time working allowance
- If an employee gets sick
- Temporarily reduced employer contributions and self-employment contributions
- Temporary abolishment of fringe benefits tax
- Laying off employees
- General advice from the Public Health Agency of Sweden
- New rules for certain types of employment
- Urgent need for staff
Overview of business support and rule changes due to the coronavirus
In this overview you will find the support and rule changes made for businesses due to the coronavirus. In the pdf you can see what applies to sole traders and limited companies, and what applies if you are an employer or not. The information will be updated continuously.
Overview of business support and rule in pdf
Short-time working allowance
Short-time working means that an employee reduces working hours and wages instead of being laid off. This means that employers can reduce employees' working hours and receive financial support from the Government to compensate for a significant part of the costs for retaining the employee.
The support applies retroactively from 16 March 2020.
It is important that you prepare as much as possible before submitting your application in order for the processing to be quick. It is more important to be accurate in your application than to apply quickly. Make sure you are properly prepared by taking a quick test (in Swedish) to see if you are eligible for financial support . You can also use the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth's calculation tool to see how much support you can get if your application is granted. The support for short-time work allowance has been extended and the working hours can be reduced up to 80% for the months: May, June and July.
Short-time working allowance at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth
If an employee gets sick
Replacement for the qualifying deduction for sick pay
Replacement for the qualifying deduction for sick pay means the employers make the deduction for sick pay as usual and then the employee applies for it retroactively. Employees can apply for compensation from 7 April at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's website (Försäkringskassan).
If your employee falls sick again within five calendar days, you should not make a new deduction for sick pay. The days in the previous sick pay period shall be counted in the new sick period, so that the total number of days will be 14 at the most.
Information about the coronavirus at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
The state takes over the sick pay responsibility
This means that employers pay sick pay costs to employees as usual. The employers will then be reimbursed for the sick pay costs that they have reported in their employer declaration from April. The rules apply for the period April, May, June and July. A different calculation applies for the accounting period August–September, and the cost of sick pay is reimbursed according to different percentages, depending on the costs the you as an employer have had.
The requirements for doctor’s certificate are abolished
This means that those who have reported sick on 13 March or later do not need to have a doctor’s certificate until after they have been sick for 21 days (compared to previously 8 days to the employer and 14 days to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency). The Swedish Social Insurance Agency will be able to pay sickness benefit without doctor’s certificate for the first 21 days of a sick period.
Information about the coronavirus at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency
Temporarily reduced employer contributions and self-employment contributions
During the period from March to June 30 2020, you as an employer could receive reduced employer contributions for up to 30 of your employees with a salary up to SEK 25 0000. If you have lowered your employer contributions during the period, you must remember to check box 062 in the employer declaration, which must be submitted no later than 12 July 2020. From 1 July 2020, the usual rules apply and you can receive reduced employer contributions for one employee.
Temporarily reduced employer fees at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
The decision to reduce employers' contributions also apply to self-employment contributions, that is, the self-employed workers' equivalent to employers' contributions. This means that even if the employers report a surplus in their new preliminary income tax return, the social contributions will be lower than usual: 10.21 percent compared to the usual 28.97 percent. The lower social contributions apply for the whole of 2020 and up to a surplus of SEK 100,000, after which there will be ordinary contributions.
Temporarily reduced self-employment contributions at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
Temporary abolishment of fringe benefits tax
Tax exemption for free parking at your workplace
The Riksdag has approved the government's proposal for a temporary tax exemption for those who have access to free parking at their workplace. The decision is valid from 1 June and the rest of the year, for all professions and throughout the country.
Tax exemption for gifts
The Riksdag has approved the Government's proposal for a temporary tax exemption for gifts up to a value of SEK 1000 per employee, that employers can give to their employees. The tax exemption will apply in addition to the possibility of giving tax-free gifts that already exists today, for example in the form of Christmas gifts. The new rules apply from 1 June to 31 December 2020.
Laying off employees
Here you will find information about laying off staff at verksamt.se:
Information on what applies if you need to lay off staff
Termination of employment due to shortage of work
The Swedish Employment Agency has more information for employers concerning short-time working allowance and laying off staff because of the coronavirus.
General advice from the Public Health Agency of Sweden
All operations in Sweden are obliged, based on the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden, to take measures to reduce the risk of transmission of the coronavirus.
Employers should make sure that the employees and any visitors keep a distance and can regularly wash their hands with soap and water or antibacterial hand gel, that employees can work from home, avoid unnecessary travels and adjust working hours to avoid rush hour traffic.
Read the Public Health Agency's general advise
New rules for certain types of employment
The Government has decided to extend the period that your employees can have a new start job (nystartsjobb) or an introduction employment, by another year. This means that job-seekers can have an introduction employment for up to 26 months. The rules apply from 1 May to 31 December 2020.
The government has also decided to extend the period that your employees can have a new start job (nystartsjobb) another year. This applies to employers with ongoing decisions on support for new start jobs where the maximum period for support for the employee expires between 1 July and 31 December 2020.
Urgent need for staff
The Platsbanken at the Swedish Public Employment Service has a new page for advertisements for employers with an urgent need for staff: #jobbjustnu. You will also find information on quick interviews and how to conduct interviews.
Urgent need for staff at the Swedish Public Employment Service (in Swedish)
Responsible: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth