Salaries in Sweden
This information is for EU/EEA citizens only
A collective agreement applies to all employees
If an employer has entered into a collective agreement with a trade union, the agreement applies to all the company’s employees. It is irrelevant whether some of the employees are not unionized or belong to another trade union with which the company has not signed a collective agreement.
The collective agreement becomes part of the individual employment contract between the employer and the employee. The collective agreement states a minimum salary based on certain criteria, which all companies that are party to the agreement must pay. Employers and employees may agree on a higher salary and better benefits in individual contracts compared to what is stated in the collective agreement. The employer must always inform the employees of the salary they offer and how often it is paid.
Your total salary
When assessing your future salary, it is important that you look at the total amount and that you know what is included in terms of benefits and pension. The following are examples of benefits that may be included in the salary package:
- Extra holidays – according to Swedish law all employees are entitled to a minimum of five weeks’ holidays.
- Healthcare contribution
- Home phone or internet
Pension
Please note that there is a considerable difference between the pension contributions paid by employers in Sweden and Denmark. Due to the mandatory employer’s contributions, Swedish employers pay a much larger contribution towards your pension than Danish employers do. Your Swedish pension may come from various sources. The Swedish Pensions Agency (Pensionsmyndigheten) is responsible for the compulsory retirement pension, and most people also have an occupational pension from their employer. In certain cases employees can negotiate higher contributions to their occupational pension than what is agreed upon in the collective agreement.
Read more on the Swedish Pensions Agency’s website
Compare your salary
On SCB.se you can find statistics on salaries for different industries. You can search on different occupations and compare your salary with the statistics. The trade unions also have salary statistics on their websites for their respective industries.
Search by occupations on SCB's website
