Ending fixed-term employment

Contents on this page:

• Notice of termination of fixed-term employment under LAS
• Preferential right to re-employment
• Information about the termination of fixed-term employment for doctoral students and others 
• Notice to the relevant trade union organisation
• Notification to the Social Security Foundation under the redeployment agreement

It is most common for fixed-term employment to be so-called long-term employment, i.e. until further notice but no longer than a certain point in time. In this case, the same notice periods as for permanent employment apply if the employee or the employer wants to terminate the employment early.

However, if the employer wants to terminate the employment before the end of the employment period, there must be a factual basis for the termination of the employment in the same way as for the termination of a permanent employment contract. Always contact your nearest human resources function in cases where an employee has grossly neglected his or her employment obligations. 

Here you can find out what to do when a fixed-term contract expires.

Notice of termination of fixed-term employment under LAS

Prior to the termination of an employment that has been limited in time according to § 5 LAS, the employee shall, according to § 15 LAS, receive written notice of this at least one month before the end of the employment period. A condition for the right to such notice is that the employee, when the employment ends, has been employed by the authority (Lund University) for more than twelve months during the last three years.

The rules on notification and notice according to the Employment Protection Act shall also be applied to teaching positions that are limited in time according to Chapter 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance. This entails the same obligation both to give notice in the manner specified in Section 15 of the Employment Protection Act and to give notice to the employee's local employee organisation in the manner specified in Section 30a of the LAS, and that the employer may be liable for damages in the manner specified in Section 38 of the LAS if this is not done. The rules on notification and notice in the LAS shall also be applied to fixed-term employment as adjunct teachers and postdocs.

The notice must be given to the employee personally or, if this is not possible, by registered letter to the employee's last known address (Section 16 LAS).

Keep in mind that notice must also be given if an employee is given continued employment at a lower level. 

Download forms for notifying employees that fixed-term employment will not be continued under the heading on the page Forms and templates (on the Swedish HR Pages).

Preferential right to re-employment

It is important to state in the notice of termination of the fixed-term employment contract whether the employee has a preferential right to re-employment (re-employment right) or not in accordance with section 16 of the LAS.

Read more about preferential right to re-employment

If preferential rights exist, the "Information regarding notification of claims for preferential rights to re-employment" must also be attached to the notice. The document is available on the page on preferential rights to re-employment, via the above link.

Please note that in the case of fixed-term employment based on another statute or collective agreement, there is no preferential right to re-employment. Note that in the case of a subsequent employment that is limited in time according to LAS, employment that is limited in time with the support of another statute or collective agreement is included in the total period of employment.

Employees who have reached the age of 69 do not have the right to re-employment under Section 33 b LAS. 

Information about the termination of fixed-term employment for doctoral students and others 

There is no legal requirement to inform employees whose employment is limited in time in the Higher Education Ordinance, such as doctoral students, teaching assistants and clinical assistants.

However, it may be considered good personnel policy to provide such information and at Lund University, information is therefore normally provided to doctoral students, assistant professors and clinical assistants whose employment will be terminated in cases where they have achieved more than twelve months of employment during the last three years at the university.

As this information is not based on LAS, the form with reference to the Higher Education Ordinance is used instead.

Download the form with reference to the Higher Education Ordinance on the page Forms and templates (on the Swedish HR Pages)

The period of employment also needs to be checked to determine whether the employee is entitled to be registered with the Job Security Foundation. 

At Lund University, there is also an agreement to send a notice for information to the local employee organisation to which the employee belongs as below.

Notice to the relevant trade union organisation

At the same time as the notice is given to the employee, the employer must also notify the local employee organisation to which the employee belongs (Section 30 a LAS). 

Download the form for notice to the relevant trade union organisation on the page Forms and templates (on the Swedish HR Pages)

The notice must be sent at least one month before the end of the employment period to the relevant trade union organisation (collection point 29) or by e-mail to the respective function address with the subject heading: Notice. The notice must state whether the employee fulfils the conditions for being covered by the conversion agreement. This information means that the employee fulfils the conditions at the time of the notice and will be reported to the Job Security Foundation if continued employment is not offered. 

Contact details for the employee organisations (Staff Pages)

Qualification for a redeployment agreement

Agreements on redeployment regulate what applies when a state employee is dismissed due to shortage of labour and when a fixed-term employment contract ends. 

To be covered by the conversion agreement, the qualification period for fixed-term employees is at least two years of consecutive employment with the same government employer. Shorter breaks in employment of up to eight working days may occur. An employee who reaches a minimum of two, three or six years of qualification time receives partially different support under the agreement.

• For full details of the terms and conditions, see the information on the agreement on the Swedish Agency for Government Employerss website (in Swedish)
• Read more about redeployment in the state on the website of the Job Security Foundation.

With the help of your nearest HR function, determine whether a departing employee fulfils the conditions to be covered by the agreement on conversion and notify the Job Security Foundation.

Notification to the Social Security Foundation under the redeployment agreement

You make the notification with the help of your closest personnel function one month before the employment ends and only if no new employment can be offered in direct connection with the one that ends. The notification must be made at the latest in connection with the termination of employment.

Notification of employees to a conversion agreement is made via the Trygghetsstiftelsen website.

A link to electronic notification to the Agreement on Adjustment on the Trygghetsstiftelsen website can be found on the page Forms and templates (on the Swedish HR Pages). 

Note that the signature form for the Agreement on conversion must be signed by both manager and employee and attached to the notification.

Trygghetsstiftelsen's signature forms for conversion agreements can be downloaded on the page Forms and templates (on the Swedish HR Pages).

As a manager, you must ensure that employees are informed of their rights and obligations under the redeployment agreement. 

Download information on conversion agreements for employees whose fixed-term employment ends, on the page Forms and templates (on the Swedish HR Pages).