Nytt sätt att lagstifta om saklig grund
(2025) JURM02 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- In 2022, a major reform of Swedish labour law was implemented, with one of its key objectives being the modernisation of the Employment Protection Act (LAS). The reform originated from the 2019 January Agreement and granted certain labour market organisations an active and norm-setting role in the drafting of legislative proposals. The government committed to presenting legislative initiatives in line with any agreement reached between the parties, which ultimately resulted in the adoption of a new Main Agreement (Huvud-avtalet), that formed the foundation for the legislative amendments. This legislative method marked a departure from traditional legislative procedures and instead introduced a tripartite process involving the state and the... (More)
- In 2022, a major reform of Swedish labour law was implemented, with one of its key objectives being the modernisation of the Employment Protection Act (LAS). The reform originated from the 2019 January Agreement and granted certain labour market organisations an active and norm-setting role in the drafting of legislative proposals. The government committed to presenting legislative initiatives in line with any agreement reached between the parties, which ultimately resulted in the adoption of a new Main Agreement (Huvud-avtalet), that formed the foundation for the legislative amendments. This legislative method marked a departure from traditional legislative procedures and instead introduced a tripartite process involving the state and the central labour market organisations. This thesis explores what this development means for collective autonomy in Swedish labour law, namely, the ability and responsibility of the social partners to independently regulate terms and conditions of employment without state intervention.
One of the most significant legal changes resulting from the reform was the amendment of Section 7 LAS. The previous concept of ”just cause” (saklig grund) was replaced by ”objective reasons” (sakliga skäl), and it was further stipulated that an employer's obligation to offer redeployment is deemed fulfilled after one such offer. The provision also became dispositive at the level of national labour organisations, allowing deviations through collective agreements. The thesis analyses how these changes influence the legal assessment of dismissals on personal grounds. Three recent decisions from the Swedish Labour Court (AD) are examined, all concerning poor work performance, repeated breaches of duty, or general misconduct. In each case, the court focused on the factual circumstances rather than the employee’s prospects for improvement or personal situation, as indicated in the preparatory works. The reform has arguably made it easier for employers to lawfully terminate employment, provided that expectations were clearly communicated and the employee’s misconduct properly documented.
At the same time, the reform has created a dual legal framework, whereby the applicable rules depend on whether the employee is covered by the Main Agreement or statutory law. This fragmentation risks undermining legal predictability for the individual employee-contrary to the stated aim of the reform. The thesis concludes by discussing how employment protection may have been weakened but should be understood within the context of the broader reform package, which also introduced publicly funded transition study sup-port and enhanced tools for career change. These elements reflect a shift from traditional job security towards a model that prioritises adaptability and life-long learning. While the reform has increased legal clarity in certain respects, it has also resulted in a less uniform and more affiliation-dependent system of protection for employees. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- År 2022 genomfördes en omfattande reform av den svenska arbetsrätten, med fokus på bland annat att modernisera lag (1982:80) om anställningsskydd (LAS). Reformen utgick från januariavtalet 2019 där regeringen åtog sig att lägga fram lagstiftningsförslag som stämde överens med en eventuell partsöverenskommelse framtagen av arbetsmarknadens parter vilket resulterade i ett nytt Huvudavtal som blev grunden för lagändringarna. Denna lagstiftnings-teknik innebär en förskjutning från traditionell lagstiftning till ett trepartssamarbete mellan staten och centrala arbetsmarknadsparter. Uppsatsen undersöker vad detta innebär för partsautonomin inom arbetsrätten, det vill säga arbetsmarknadens parters självbestämmande och ansvar för att reglera... (More)
- År 2022 genomfördes en omfattande reform av den svenska arbetsrätten, med fokus på bland annat att modernisera lag (1982:80) om anställningsskydd (LAS). Reformen utgick från januariavtalet 2019 där regeringen åtog sig att lägga fram lagstiftningsförslag som stämde överens med en eventuell partsöverenskommelse framtagen av arbetsmarknadens parter vilket resulterade i ett nytt Huvudavtal som blev grunden för lagändringarna. Denna lagstiftnings-teknik innebär en förskjutning från traditionell lagstiftning till ett trepartssamarbete mellan staten och centrala arbetsmarknadsparter. Uppsatsen undersöker vad detta innebär för partsautonomin inom arbetsrätten, det vill säga arbetsmarknadens parters självbestämmande och ansvar för att reglera arbetsvillkor utan statlig inblandning. Analysen visar att partsautonomin förstärkts i viss mån men också att modellen lett till en ökad centralisering och utelämning av vissa aktörer, särskilt mindre organisationer och den offentliga sektorn.
En viktig förändring som kom av reformen är att 7 § LAS numera är dispositiv och att begreppet ”saklig grund” har ersatts av ”sakliga skäl”. Dessutom lagstadgades att en arbetsgivares omplaceringsskyldighet som huvudregel är uppfylld efter en omplacering. Samtidigt blev bestämmelsen dispositiv på huvudorganisationsnivå vilket innebär att vissa kollektivavtal kan ersätta lagens regler. Uppsatsen analyserar hur detta påverkar bedömningen av uppsägningar av personliga skäl. Tre aktuella avgöranden från Arbetsdomstolen analyseras som berör bland annat låg arbetsprestation, upprepade regelbrott och misskötsamhet. Liksom avsikten med lagändringen var, lägger domstolen i samtliga rättsfall vikt vid vad som faktiskt har inträffat, snarare än på arbetstagarens framtida möjligheter till bättring eller personliga omständigheter. Re-formen kan ses ha medfört en lättnad för arbetsgivare att säga upp arbetstagare, åtminstone så länge det finns tydlig dokumentation av arbetstagarens misskötsamhet och att arbetsgivaren gjort det tydligt vad som förväntas av arbetstagaren. Samtidigt har reformen medfört ett dubbelt rättsläge där olika regler gäller för olika arbetstagare beroende på om de omfattas av Huvudavtalets eller lagens reglering. Detta riskerar att minska förutsebarheten för en en-skild arbetstagare, till skillnad från reformens syfte.
Uppsatsen diskuterar slutligen hur anställningsskyddet kan anses ha försvagats genom reformen, men att det ska ses i samband med hela reformpaketet där arbetstagare har kompenserats av andra tryggheter, såsom införandet av ett offentligt finansierat omställningsstudiestöd och förstärkta omställningsmöjligheter. Dessa inslag representerar ett skifte från traditionell anställnings-trygghet till en modell som i högre grad betonar individens möjlighet till om-ställning och kompetensutveckling. Slutsatsen är att reformen lett till viss ökad förutsebarhet i rättstillämpningen men också till en mer ojämlik reglering där arbetstagarens rättigheter i högre grad beror på partsanslutning än på lagens generella skydd. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9188842
- author
- Thermaenius, Felicia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- A New Way to Legislate on Just Cause
- course
- JURM02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Arbetsrätt (Labour law)
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9188842
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-05 14:11:54
- date last changed
- 2025-06-05 14:11:54
@misc{9188842,
abstract = {{In 2022, a major reform of Swedish labour law was implemented, with one of its key objectives being the modernisation of the Employment Protection Act (LAS). The reform originated from the 2019 January Agreement and granted certain labour market organisations an active and norm-setting role in the drafting of legislative proposals. The government committed to presenting legislative initiatives in line with any agreement reached between the parties, which ultimately resulted in the adoption of a new Main Agreement (Huvud-avtalet), that formed the foundation for the legislative amendments. This legislative method marked a departure from traditional legislative procedures and instead introduced a tripartite process involving the state and the central labour market organisations. This thesis explores what this development means for collective autonomy in Swedish labour law, namely, the ability and responsibility of the social partners to independently regulate terms and conditions of employment without state intervention.
One of the most significant legal changes resulting from the reform was the amendment of Section 7 LAS. The previous concept of ”just cause” (saklig grund) was replaced by ”objective reasons” (sakliga skäl), and it was further stipulated that an employer's obligation to offer redeployment is deemed fulfilled after one such offer. The provision also became dispositive at the level of national labour organisations, allowing deviations through collective agreements. The thesis analyses how these changes influence the legal assessment of dismissals on personal grounds. Three recent decisions from the Swedish Labour Court (AD) are examined, all concerning poor work performance, repeated breaches of duty, or general misconduct. In each case, the court focused on the factual circumstances rather than the employee’s prospects for improvement or personal situation, as indicated in the preparatory works. The reform has arguably made it easier for employers to lawfully terminate employment, provided that expectations were clearly communicated and the employee’s misconduct properly documented.
At the same time, the reform has created a dual legal framework, whereby the applicable rules depend on whether the employee is covered by the Main Agreement or statutory law. This fragmentation risks undermining legal predictability for the individual employee-contrary to the stated aim of the reform. The thesis concludes by discussing how employment protection may have been weakened but should be understood within the context of the broader reform package, which also introduced publicly funded transition study sup-port and enhanced tools for career change. These elements reflect a shift from traditional job security towards a model that prioritises adaptability and life-long learning. While the reform has increased legal clarity in certain respects, it has also resulted in a less uniform and more affiliation-dependent system of protection for employees.}},
author = {{Thermaenius, Felicia}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Nytt sätt att lagstifta om saklig grund}},
year = {{2025}},
}