Employer of Record in Sweden: 2026 Cost and Compliance Guide

Sweden has a highly educated, English-speaking workforce and a strong technology, engineering and life-sciences sector centred on Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Employer costs are high and simple: a single employer contribution of 31.42% on gross pay, with no ceiling, plus a small holiday supplement, sick pay for the first two weeks and, in practice, an occupational pension set by collective agreement.

Sweden has no statutory minimum wage. Where they apply, collective agreements set pay floors, occupational pensions and many other terms. Employment protection under the Employment Protection Act (LAS) is strong, with notice of up to six months and objective grounds required for dismissal.

An Employer of Record (EOR) can employ your hire through its Swedish entity and run payroll, so you don't need to set up an aktiebolag first. This guide covers costs, the main employment rules, the agency-work rules that shape EOR arrangements, provider comparison and when to set up your own company. Figures link to official sources. We do not test or use the providers listed; see our methodology.

An Employer of Record in Sweden is a company that employs staff on behalf of foreign businesses. It signs the employment contract, registers as an employer with Skatteverket, deducts preliminary tax, pays employer contributions, and handles holiday pay, sick pay and termination under Swedish law.

Because your business directs the day-to-day work, an EOR arrangement generally fits the definition of a staffing company (bemanningsföretag) under the Temporary Agency Work Act (2012:854): a business that employs workers to hire them out to client companies, to work under the client's control and direction.

That brings an equal-treatment duty: during an assignment the staffing company must give the worker at least the basic working and employment conditions that would apply if your business had hired them directly, unless a collective agreement applies instead.

Under section 6 of the Temporary Agency Work Act, a staffing company must, for the length of an assignment, give the worker at least the basic working and employment conditions that would have applied had the client hired them directly for the same work. Section 5 defines these as the conditions set by collective agreement or other binding general rules at the client covering working time, overtime, breaks, rest, night work, holidays and public holidays, pay, protection of young and pregnant workers, and protection against discrimination.

There are two important exceptions. A staffing company bound by a collective agreement that respects the overall protection of agency workers can follow that agreement instead (section 3). And the equal-pay requirement doesn't apply to workers with an open-ended contract who are paid between assignments (section 8).

The Act also protects the worker's freedom to move: the staffing company may not stop them taking a job with a client (section 9) or charge them a fee for a placement or for joining a client (section 10). That makes it straightforward to transfer an EOR employee to your own Swedish company later.

What to ask an EOR

Swedish employment cost has three layers: gross salary, employer costs (employer contributions, the holiday supplement and, in practice, an occupational pension) and the EOR fee.

The employer contribution of 31.42% applies to gross pay and taxable benefits with no ceiling, so it is the same share of salary at every level. A temporary reduction applies to employees aged 19 to 23 (see the notes).

Annual cost at example salaries

What these figures include and exclude

• Employer contributions are 31.42% for employees born in 1959 or later. For pay issued from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2027, employees aged 19 to 23 (born 2003–2007 in 2026) carry a reduced 20.81% on pay up to SEK 25,000 a month. From 2026, only the 10.21% old-age pension contribution applies to employees who were 67 or older at the start of the year.
• The occupational pension is the main cost not set by law. Where a collective agreement applies it is required, and candidates generally expect one; include it when comparing offers.
• Sick pay is 80% of pay for the first 14 days of an illness, paid by the employer, less a waiting deduction of 20% of a week's sick pay. It is a contingent cost, not included above.
• Income tax (preliminary tax) is deducted from the employee's pay and is not an employer cost.

Estimate your own cost

Enter a salary to see the estimated annual cost, including mandatory employer contributions and an EOR fee. Change the fee to match the quotes you receive. For worked examples at four salary levels, see cost to hire an employee in Sweden.

Swedish employment law is set by statutes such as the Employment Protection Act (LAS), the Annual Leave Act, the Sick Pay Act and the Working Hours Act, and much of it can be adjusted by collective agreement. Key statutory rules below.

Employment contracts

Employment is open-ended unless a fixed term is agreed for one of three reasons: special fixed-term employment, a substitute, or seasonal work. Special fixed-term employment becomes open-ended once it has lasted more than 12 months in total within five years (or during a chain of fixed-term contracts with gaps of six months or less).[2]

LAS, sections 4, 5 and 5 a.

Probation

A probationary employment can be agreed for up to six months. It becomes open-ended unless either side gives notice before the end of the probation period.[2]

LAS, section 6.

Notice periods

At least one month for both sides. The employee is entitled to two months' notice after two years' service, three after four years, four after six years, five after eight years and six months after ten years. Pay and benefits continue during notice.[2]

LAS, section 11.

Dismissal

Dismissal by the employer must have objective grounds: redundancy or reasons relating to the employee personally. It isn't objectively justified if the employer could reasonably redeploy the employee. Redundancies follow statutory order-of-selection rules.[2]

LAS, sections 7 and 22.

Working hours

Ordinary working time is at most 40 hours a week. General overtime is limited to 48 hours in four weeks or 50 hours in a calendar month, and 200 hours a year, with up to 150 hours of extra overtime in special circumstances.[5]

Working Hours Act, sections 5, 8 and 8 a. Collective agreements can set other limits.

Annual leave

25 days of paid leave each holiday year (5 days if employment starts after 31 August). Holiday pay is either normal salary plus a supplement of 0.43% of monthly salary per day (same-salary rule) or 12% of the year's pay (percentage rule).[3]

Annual Leave Act, sections 4, 16 a and 16 b.

Sick pay

For the first 14 calendar days of an illness the employer pays sick pay of 80% of pay, less a waiting deduction of 20% of a week's sick pay. If a new illness starts within five days of the last, the periods are combined and no new deduction is made.[4]

Sick Pay Act, sections 6 and 7.

Parental leave

A parent has the right to full leave to care for a child until the child is 18 months old, with further part-time and benefit-linked leave rights after that.[7]

Parental Leave Act, section 5 (this section is due to be replaced from 1 July 2028).

Public holidays

Public holidays are New Year's Day, Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday, National Day (6 June), Midsummer Day, All Saints' Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus Sundays.[8]

Public Holidays Act (1989:253). Pay for public holidays is set by contract and collective agreement.

Agency work (EOR relevance)

A staffing company must give agency workers at least the basic conditions (including pay, working time and holidays) they would have had if hired directly by the client, unless it applies a collective agreement; equal pay doesn't apply to open-ended employees paid between assignments. It may not stop a worker joining the client or charge them for it.[6]

Temporary Agency Work Act (2012:854), sections 3–10.

These EOR providers publish starting prices that apply across their country coverage. Prices are their own published starting rates in USD, from our pricing tracker. Quote-only providers are marked.

In Sweden, ask which entity employs your hire, whether it is bound by a collective agreement, and which occupational pension plan applies.

Compare providers for Sweden

• RemoFirst vs PlayrollIn Sweden: US$199 vs US$399 a month (published starting prices).
• Globalization Partners vs PlayrollIn Sweden: US$599 vs US$399 a month (published starting prices).
• Remote vs PlayrollIn Sweden: US$599 vs US$399 a month (published starting prices).
• Remote vs RipplingIn Sweden: US$599 vs quote a month (published starting prices).

For each provider's products, pricing model and fit signals, see the EOR provider directory.

The usual alternative is a private limited company (aktiebolag, AB), which needs share capital of at least SEK 25,000, or a registered branch of your foreign company. Once you employ staff, you register as an employer with Skatteverket and pay employer contributions and preliminary tax monthly.

Swedish companies pay corporate income tax of 20.6%. Running costs include accounting and audit (above size thresholds), payroll, and pension and insurance administration.

For a step-by-step version of this calculation, see EOR vs local entity: a break-even framework.

1. 1

   Define the role and salaryDay 0

   Agree the monthly salary, the occupational pension your candidate expects, and whether a collective agreement covers the role.

2. 2

   Compare itemised quotes1–3 days

   Request Swedish quotes covering the fee, employer contributions, pension, holiday pay and offboarding. Use the estimator to sanity-check totals.

3. 3

   Sign the service agreement

   Review liability for notice and termination costs, IP assignment, data protection (GDPR) and how equal treatment is handled.

4. 4

   Contract and registrations1–3 weeks

   The EOR issues the employment contract, registers the employee for payroll and pension, and confirms the probation period (up to six months).

5. 5

   Ongoing administrationMonthly

   Monthly payroll with employer contributions and preliminary tax declared to Skatteverket, plus holiday pay, sick pay and pension contributions.

Rates and rules on this page are based on the following official sources. Numbers in brackets in the tables above link to these entries.

1. 1
   Arbetsgivaravgifter

   Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency)

   2026 employer contribution rates: total 31.42% (old-age pension 10.21%, general payroll fee 12.62%, sickness 3.55%, labour market 2.64%, parental 2.00%, survivors' 0.30%, work injury 0.10%); reduced 20.81% for ages 19–23 from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2027; 10.21% only from age 67.

2. 2
   Lag (1982:80) om anställningsskydd (LAS)

   Sveriges riksdag

   Sections 4–5 a (forms of employment and conversion), 6 (probation), 7 (objective grounds), 11 (notice periods) and 22 (order of selection).

3. 3
   Semesterlag (1977:480)

   Sveriges riksdag

   Section 4 (25 days' leave), 16 a (same-salary rule with a 0.43% supplement per day for monthly-paid staff) and 16 b (12% percentage rule).

4. 4
   Lag (1991:1047) om sjuklön

   Sveriges riksdag

   Sections 6–7: sick pay of 80% for the first 14 days, less a waiting deduction of 20% of a week's sick pay.

5. 5
   Arbetstidslag (1982:673)

   Sveriges riksdag

   Section 5 (40-hour ordinary week), 8 (general overtime: 48 hours in four weeks or 50 in a month, 200 a year) and 8 a (extra overtime up to 150 hours).

6. 6
   Lag (2012:854) om uthyrning av arbetstagare

   Sveriges riksdag

   Definition of staffing companies (s. 5), equal treatment (s. 6), exceptions (ss. 3, 8), freedom to join the client (s. 9) and no fees from workers (s. 10).

7. 7
   Föräldraledighetslag (1995:584)

   Sveriges riksdag

   Section 5: full leave until the child is 18 months old (section due to be replaced from 1 July 2028).

8. 8
   Lag (1989:253) om allmänna helgdagar

   Sveriges riksdag

   Swedish public holidays.

9. 9
   Aktiebolagslag (2005:551)

   Sveriges riksdag

   Chapter 1, section 5: share capital of at least SEK 25,000.

10. 10
    Inkomstskattelag (1999:1229)

    Sveriges riksdag

    Chapter 65, section 10: corporate income tax of 20.6%.

11. 11
    Minimum wage statistics

    Eurostat (European Commission)

    As of 1 July 2026, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Finland and Sweden had no national minimum wage.

Sweden's employer costs are high but simple: 31.42% employer contributions on all pay, a small holiday supplement, and in practice an occupational pension set by collective agreement. Through an EOR, plan for roughly 1.35–1.45× gross salary before the provider's fee, depending on the pension plan.

The Sweden-specific questions are about agreements and equal treatment: which collective agreement applies, which pension plan the provider uses, and how it matches the pay and conditions of your own staff.

For a long-term team, compare an EOR against your own aktiebolag with our EOR vs local entity guide. For nearby markets, see Germany and the Netherlands.