Institute for Social Private Law

An inclusive and sustainable Swedish labour law – the way ahead

The Swedish labour law model with its characteristics – an extremely high collective agreement coverage without government intervention and independent trade unions and employers’ organizations – has been well suited to handle rapid development and change. The model has long delivered both economic growth and good employment conditions.

 

In recent times, however, it has been shown to have shortcomings. More and more employees fall outside the protection afforded by Swedish labour law. The shortcomings become particularly clear for groups where the degree of trade unionism is low, such as for young workers and labour migrants.

In this research project, we analyze how this development is expressed in three specific labour law fields: pay, particularly the minimum wage, psychosocial work environment, and working conditions for foreign workers. We will integrate these three Swedish studies in a comparative study between Sweden and the United Kingdom in a fourth part.

One purpose of this is to investigate whether similar mechanisms that formed the basis for the British decision to leave the EU can be discerned in Swedish law. The comparative part highlights the dangers of a polarized labour market where more people end up outside labour law protection.

The purpose of the research project is to explain why current labour law cannot provide comprehensive protection in the three areas studied and propose alternative legal solutions to create an inclusive and sustainable labour law that is adapted to a changing labour market.

The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council. It has been going on for three years and will be completed in 2021.

 

Participants

Peter Andersson, associate professor in public law, Gothenburg university
peter.andersson@law.gu.se

Niklas Bruun, professor, Stockholm university
niklas.bruun@juridcum.su.se

Petra Herzfeld Olsson, professor of labour law, Stockholm university (coordinator)
petra.herzfeld-olsson@juridicum.su.se

Tonia Novitz, professor of labour law, Bristol university
tonia.novitz@bristol.ac.uk

Erik Sjödin, associate professor, Stockholm university
erik.sjodin@sofi.su.se

 

Publications

Peter Andersson:

Stress som arbetsmiljörättsligt problem. I: Lavalgenerationen, red. Niklas Selberg & Erik Sjödin, Iustus, 2019, p. 81–93.

Stress i vården ur arbetsmiljörättslig synvinkel. I: Juridik för hälso- och sjukvård, red. Ann-Sofie Magnusson, Liber 2019, p. 100–111.

Andersson & Novitz, Covid-19 at Work: How risk is assessed in England and Sweden (short version in Revue de Droit Comparé du Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale (forthcoming):

Niklas Bruun:

Hur kan arbetsvillkor övervakas vid offentlig upphandling, Juridisk Tidskrift, 2020 no 3, 624 – 637 (with Kerstin Ahlberg)

Information och samråd vid kollektiva uppsägningar inom EU – reflektioner kring rättsutvecklingen in Festskrift till Örjan Edström eds. Mannelqvist, R., Ingmanson, S. & Ulander-Wänman, C, Skrifter från Juridiska institutionen vid Umeå universitet; p. 41 2019 p. 39–54.

Restructuring of companies in European Labour Law, eds. Jaspers, T., Pennings, F. & Peters, S, Intersentia 2019, p. 309–372.

Article 5 – Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labour in The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Employment Relation, red. Dorssemont, F., Lörcher, K., Clauwaert, S. & Schmitt, M, Hart Publishing 2019, p. 209–228 (with Joanna Unterschütz)

Articles 20 and 21 – Equality and Non-discrimination in The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Employment Relation, eds. Dorssemont, F., Lörcher, K., Clauwaert, S. & Schmitt, M, Hart Publishing 2019, p. 383–399.

Petra Herzfeld Olsson:

Något om betydelsen av anställningsvillkor i utlänningslagens mening in Rätten, välfärden och arbetsmarknaden: festskrift till Örjan Edström eds. Staffan Ingemansson, Carin Ulander-Wänman, Ruth Mannelqvist, 2019, p. 149–164

Aktuella utmaningar för svensk arbetsrätt, Juridisk Tidskrift 2020 no 3, p. 619 – 623 (with Kerstin Ahlberg, Niklas Bruun and Erik Sjödin.)

Konsten att inkludera arbetskraftmigranter i den svenska arbetsrättsliga modellen, Juridisk Tidskrift 2020 no 3, p 638–670

The Role of Effective Enforcement in International Law on Labour Migration, International Organizations Law Review, Vol. 20 no 1, p 206–232

Erik Sjödin:

Criminalisation as a response to low wages and labour market exploitation in Sweden, European Labour Law Journal, 2021 (forthcoming).

Är det så svårt att leka tre? Något om konkurrerande kollektivavtal med anledning av AD 2020 nr 66. Svensk juristtidning, 2021 (with Niklas Selberg.)

Arbetsmarknadens skuggsida – rättsföljder vid för låga löner, Juridisk tidskrift 2019/2020 nr 3, p. 671–695.

Människoexploatering – en analys av ett straffbuds förhållande till regleringen av arbetsmarknaden, Juridisk tidskrift, 2019/20, nr 3, p. 696–716.

Om behörig domstol och civilrättsliga sanktioner för stridsåtgärder på arbetsmarknaden Replik till Jan Kleineman om NJA 2015 p. 899, Svensk Juristtidning, 2019, p. 482–500.