COVID-19: Guidance for Employers in Sweden

The outbreak of COVID-19 is a worldwide pandemic. Understandably, this may be creating great concern and unrest for you and amongst your workforce. Below we answer some key questions to clarify legal obligations and support you in protecting your business and people.

What are employers' obligations in respect of COVID-19?

There are no mandatory obligations for employers that are specifically in relation to COVID-19.

That said, employers should nonetheless ensure that they are taking any necessary steps to protect their employees. All employers have health and safety obligations as well as a general duty of care towards their employees and should keep employees informed about health risks that may arise in carrying out their duties and ensure that working practices do not create undue risks to employees.

As such, employers should carry out a risk assessment and consider any factors that may make employees particularly susceptible to infection. Employers should also consider circulating up-to-date information on good hygiene practices and provide any necessary equipment to facilitate this, such as soap and hand sanitisers. For example, we recommend issuing a reminder on action employees can take to help stop viruses like COVID-19 spreading. Such advice may include:

Stay at home if you are sick or have any symptoms
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
Put used tissues in the bin immediately
Wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
Avoid close contact with people who are unwell
Practice social distancing

We further recommend notifying employees where they can access more information if they are concerned, such as from the Public Health Agency of Sweden [1], 1177 Vårdguiden [2], Krisinformation [3], or the national COVID-19 hot line 113 13.

Can employers request or require information from an employee about potential or actual exposure to the virus?

The question of whether an employee can be asked to sign a declaration about where they have been, their exposure to the virus, or be required to provide information to an employer in order for the employer to provide confirmation to a customer sits firmly at the nexus between data privacy and employment.

Any such data must also be processed in line with the applicable privacy requirements. Information about an employee's health (such as whether the individual has been diagnosed with the virus or is suffering from any symptoms) is sensitive personal data and the position is complex from a European data privacy perspective. There is a significant difference in how sensitive personal data can be processed in different countries, so the appropriate legal basis will change from country to country.

Information on an employee's whereabouts and, thus potential exposure to COVID-19, however, does not necessarily constitute sensitive personal data.

In Sweden, employers may process personal data relating to employees where such processing of personal data is necessary for, inter alia, (i) compliance with a legal obligation to which the employer is subject, (ii) protecting the vital interest of the data subject or another natural person, or (iii) a legitimate business interest. It is our assessment that the above provides a legal basis for the employer to act and process the personal data needed in order to take proactive measures to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Further, employees' obligation of loyalty towards their employer and the wider interest of avoiding further infection and protecting the health and safety of colleagues and customers will prevail over the individual’s interest to protect their personal data. Hence, our assessment is that employees in Sweden are obliged to provide information to avoid further infection.

Ultimately, the position regarding European data privacy rules and how they impact information relating to COVID-19 is currently unclear. National governments are considering whether emergency legislation may be required, particularly if the situation escalates. The position will need to be kept under review as the situation evolves and further guidance becomes available.

What are employers' obligations where employees are absent or infected?

Infected employees

If an employee is infected with COVID-19, the responsible health authorities should be notified in order to seek guidance on how to best protect the health of the workforce.

The safety delegate(s), or safety committee where such has been implemented, should be informed and work environment risk impact assessments should be continuously performed and action plans should be put in place and amended as needed. Where the employer is bound by collective agreements, trade union representatives should also be informed (trade unions having a general right to information on health and safety issues). Also, should COVID-19 materially impact the employer's business operations necessitating the employer to, for example, cut working hours, implement temporary furlough or engage agency staff, engaging trade union representatives early on is advisable (thus facilitating potential co-determination consultations). When informing safety delegate(s), members of the safety committee and/or trade union representatives, employers must be very careful to balance the privacy of the individual(s) concerned with the public interest in avoiding the spread of the virus. However, since COVID-19 is classified by the Swedish Government as a disease threatening public safety, our assessment is that employers are allowed to provide the identity of COVID-19-infected employees to the safety delegate(s), as well as to colleagues who have been in close contact with the infected employee.

An infected employee will either be entitled to sick pay or state sickness benefit (if on sick leave and unable to perform work) or state disease carrier allowance (if unable to perform work due to being quarantined) as per applicable statutory rules on compensation [4].

As to sick pay, the Swedish government has temporarily suspended the waiting day for sick pay, meaning that employees will be eligible for sick pay as from day one of sick leave. The Swedish government has also suspended the requirement for employees to submit a doctor's certificate as from the 8th day of sickness to instead be from day 22 (currently valid until 31 March 2021). There are also subsidies in place for the employers' sick pay costs.

Potentially Infected Employees

Where there is a reason to believe that an employee poses a risk to the health of other employees, the employer should instruct the employee to work from home or, where working from home is not an option, release the employee from his/her work duties with full pay. However, if the potentially infected employee is quarantined under the Swedish Infectious Decease Control Act, the employee will instead be entitled to disease carrier allowance. As of 16 March 2020, it is also possible for employers to, under certain specific conditions, put employees on publicly funded short-term furlough. This publicly funded short-term furlough enables employers to cut their salary costs by up to 50%, while employees retain up to 90% of their salary.

Bulk absentees

If there are too many absentees, employers can order the employees who are in the workplace to work temporary overtime subject to applicable laws and collective agreements. Employers can also consider engaging temporary staff and agency workers. Employers that are bound by a collective agreement should involve trade union representatives in this planning.

Refusals to work or travel

Employees are obliged to perform work and unlawful absence from work due to fear or abstract risk of an infection may constitute grounds for summary/immediate termination. Thus, employees cannot refuse to attend work, nor can employees refuse to travel (although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently advises against all travel outside of Sweden).

This said, the Swedish Infectious Decease Control Act imposes an obligation on employees who have reason to believe that they may be infected by COVID-19 to not only seek medical care and undergo any medical examinations deemed necessary but also to take all measures necessary to protect others from infection - which - in addition to informing the employer of the potential infection entails an obligation on the employee to inform colleagues with which the employee has been in close contact and to self-quarantine.

Also, an employee having been diagnosed as infected by COVID-19 is obliged to take all measures necessary to protect others from infection, which would primarily entail adhering to quarantine but also obliges the employees to inform the employer and colleagues.

What are employers' obligations where offices are partially or fully closed?

As a starting point, employees will remain entitled to full salary and benefits in accordance with their employment contract and applicable laws and collective agreements. Where possible, employees should be instructed to continue to perform their work duties, but from home.

Employees who are on sick leave are entitled to sick pay and/or state sickness benefit and employees who are quarantined are entitled to state disease carried allowance in accordance with statutory rules.

Additionally, as mentioned above, as of 16 March 2020 it is possible for employers to put employees on publicly funded short-term furlough. This publicly funded short-term furlough enables employers to cut their salary costs by up to 50%, while employees retain up to 90% of their salary. The system is currently set to be in place until end of June 2021.

There is also a state guarantee for loans that an SME needs to take to avoid closing down the business. The state guarantees 70% of new loans that banks give out to such enterprises. The program is currently valid until end of June 2021. The Swedish government has also extended the time period during which social charges, payroll taxes and VAT are to be reported and paid, the extension is currently valid until 28 February 2021.

Businesses who rent space that is targeted for public use and who see a financial decline due to the pandemic may also receive a public subsidy for rental costs. The subsidy is valid during January to March 2021.

Private companies who have not been able to take advantage of other subsidies and who have had a decline in turnover of at least 30, 40 or 50% can receive a government subsidy of 75-90% of the decline. The subsidy is valid for losses during March 2020 to February 2021.

The new COVID-19 (Pandemic) Act

The Swedish Parliament has approved the government's proposal for a temporary pandemic law. The law allows regulation of more businesses than has been possible. The act is temporary and expires at the end of September 2021.

If the government decides to close down a business, the Swedish Parliament must review the decision within one week.

County administrative boards and municipalities can decide on local measures, such as closing down a business. It will also be possible to impose restrictions on premises and areas rented out for private gatherings.

With the help of the new law, the government and authorities can decide upon infection control regulations in more businesses than before, including gyms, sports facilities, libraries, campsites, museums, zoos, shopping centres, shops, service facilities such as hairdressing salons, party venues and public transport.

The new law not only makes it possible to limit visitor numbers and change opening hours to prevent crowding, but also further enables the government to limit people's use of public spaces. This can include how large a group may gather in a public area and bans on being in a particular place, for instance bathing areas, city parks, etc.

Where can employers and employees access local and national advice?

The Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten): https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/
The Swedish Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket): https://www.av.se/
Emergency information from Swedish authorities: https://www.krisinformation.se/
177 Vårdguiden: https://www.1177.se/
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap): https://www.msb.se/sv
The respective Regions: As for Stockholm: https://www.sll.se/
The Swedish Social Insruance Agecny (Försäkringskassan): https://www.forsakringskassan.se/