Collective Agreements and Swedish Work Permits: What HR Must Understand

Why collective agreements are central to Swedish work permits

Sweden does not have a statutory national minimum wage. Instead, wages and employment conditions are set through collective agreements (kollektivavtal) negotiated between employer organisations and trade unions. When Migrationsverket assesses a work permit application, it checks whether the offered salary and conditions are at least as favourable as the relevant collective agreement — even if the employer is not formally bound by one.

This means collective agreements function as a de facto floor for all work permit applications in Sweden, regardless of whether the employer has signed a union agreement.

How to identify the applicable agreement

The relevant collective agreement is determined by two factors:

1. Industry sector: Different agreements apply to different industries. The Teknikavtalet covers engineering and manufacturing; Handelsavtalet covers retail; IT&Telekomavtalet covers technology companies; Medieavtalet covers media and publishing. There are hundreds of agreements in total.
2. Role type (SSYK code): Within an industry, different agreements or schedules apply to different occupational categories. A software engineer and a warehouse worker at the same company are covered by different agreements.

The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv) maintain searchable databases of agreements. For specific guidance, Almega (the service sector employer organisation) and Teknikföretagen (engineering) publish agreement summaries.

What the agreement sets

Collective agreements in Sweden typically specify:

• Minimum monthly salary by experience level and role category
• Normal working hours (usually 40 hours per week)
• Overtime pay rates
• Annual leave entitlement (minimum 25 days, many agreements give more)
• Notice periods by length of service
• Pension contribution rates (typically ITP or equivalent)

For work permit purposes, Migrationsverket focuses on the salary and working hours. All other conditions must also be met, but the salary check is the most common point of failure.

What if the employer has no collective agreement?

Approximately 20% of Swedish employers are not covered by a collective agreement. For work permit applications, Migrationsverket still applies the standard of "at least as favourable as the collective agreement that would apply to the role". This means HR at non-unionised companies must identify and document the equivalent agreement for each permit application.

Failing to do this — or incorrectly asserting that no agreement applies — is a common cause of refusal for smaller and technology companies that have not historically engaged with Sweden's collective agreement system.

Agreement changes mid-permit

Collective agreements are typically renegotiated every 1–3 years. If a new agreement comes into force during an employee's permit period and raises the applicable salary minimum above what the employee is currently earning, the employer must increase the salary to maintain compliance. Failing to act creates an audit risk: if Migrationsverket checks the permit conditions and finds the employee's salary now falls below the renegotiated minimum, the permit can be revoked.

HR action checklist

• ✓ Identify the SSYK code for each work permit role before application
• ✓ Map the SSYK code to the applicable collective agreement or equivalent
• ✓ Document the applicable agreement in the case file alongside the permit application
• ✓ Set a reminder to review salary compliance whenever the applicable agreement is renegotiated
• ✓ For non-unionised employers: confirm in writing which agreement you are benchmarking against and keep that document with the permit file