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Exceptional reasons for continued employment

Due to changes in the Employment Protection Act (LAS), employment protection has been extended. Employment protection now applies until the age of 69.

• Calendar year 2023: Employment protection ends at the age of 69 and affects employees born in 1954. 
• Calendar year 2024: Employment protection ends at the age of 69 for employees born in 1955. 

This means that employees have the right to remain in employment until the age of 69 unless there is a lack of work or conditions for termination or dismissal for personal reasons. Lund University has regulations on what should apply when employees reach the age at which employment protection ceases.

Lund University's regulations on dismissal (PDF in Swedish, new tab)

As a manager, the regulations mean that in good time before an employee reaches the age at which employment protection ceases, you must inform the employee of the regulations and the limited opportunities to remain in employment after the age of 69.

If there are no exceptional reasons for retaining the employee in employment, the employee must be informed of this and a notice sent to the employee's employee organisation. This must be done no later than two weeks before the intended termination and termination may not take place until the employee has reached the age of 69.

• Form: Notification of intended dismissal of an employee who has reached the age of 69 (the Swedish Agency for Government Employers).
• Form: Notice of intended dismissal of an employee who has reached the age of 69 (the Swedish Agency for Government Employers).

If the employee or their employee organisation requests a consultation within one week of sending the notification and notice, you must postpone the dismissal until you have had the consultation.  

Form: Notice of dismissal of an employee who has reached the age of 69 (the Swedish Agency for Government Employers).

Authorised employees are obliged to resign at the end of the month in which they reach the age of 69. 

Exceptional reasons for continued employment

Exceptional reasons for continued employment may exist, for example, if an employee possesses business-critical competence that has been difficult to transfer through recruitment or competence transfer and where continued employment for a limited period enables this. A need for continued doctoral student supervision may exceptionally be such a reason. Exceptional reasons may also exist in order to be able to complete a special expert assignment aimed at evaluation/monitoring etc.

In these cases, continued employment after the age of 69 and the end of employment protection shall normally correspond to an employment rate of 20 per cent of full time and shall be conditional on a request for partial leave from the employee. Such leave cannot be cancelled unilaterally.

The dean or equivalent shall decide when exceptional reasons exist. The exceptional reasons must be justified in writing in the form for agreement on continued employment after the age of 68. 

The form can be downloaded from the Forms and templates page on the Swedish HR Pages.

The completed and signed form must be attached to the application for leave of absence.