Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

Download full Q1 2019 Global Guide Quarterly

Reasonable Notice Period for a Managing Director

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Anna Jerndorf, Partner – Advokatfirman Törngren Magnell KB

On February 20, 2019, the Labor Court granted an interim order prohibiting a former managing director who had resigned to compete with his former employer until the notice period expired. The court held that the managing director shall observe a reasonable notice period of six months since no notice period had been agreed upon between the parties. Managing directors are normally exempted from the Swedish Employment Protection Act, which contain statutory provisions on notice periods for both the employee and the employer. Instead, managing directors and their employers are free to agree upon the terms and conditions of employment in accordance with general principles of contract law. Based on this ruling, a six months’ notice period is reasonable in case a managing director wants to terminate the employment and no notice period has been agreed upon.

Labor Court Finds Director-General Wrongfully Terminated by the State

Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency

Author: Anna Jerndorf, Partner – Advokatfirman Törngren Magnell KB

In a case that has garnered much public scrutiny, on March 6, 2019, the Labor Court found that the state had wrongfully terminated Maria Ågren, the former director-general of the Swedish Transport Agency. Under Maria Ågren’s leadership, a foreign outsourcing IT company received access to confidential information without undergoing legally required security clearance checks. After admitting to a summary imposition of a fine (fine of SEK 70,000) for being “careless with secret information”, the state terminated her employment with immediate effect. Invalidating her termination, the Labor Court noted that Maria Ågren, without fault of her own, had been put in a difficult situation as a newly appointed director-general and that she had not breached her obligations in such serious way that it justifies a termination with immediate effect from her employment in the Government Offices.

New Guide by the Equality Ombudsman Regarding Active Measures

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Author: Anna Jerndorf, Partner – Advokatfirman Törngren Magnell KB

In January 2017, the rules regarding active measures in the Discrimination Act became stricter. The Equality Ombudsman is now launching a new digital guide to support employers’ work with active measures to prevent discrimination and promote equal rights and opportunities. The guide will give employers guidance on how to work with active measures and an insight into the various areas covered by the law. During 2019, the guide will be supplemented with more tips and examples.