Nordic Employment Law Bulletin - March 2026
In our monthly Nordic Employment Law bulletin our employment lawyers across the Nordic region highlight relevant news and trends on the Nordic employment market scene. The bulletin intends to provide high-level knowledge and insight. Want to learn more? Our experts will be happy to hear from you.
Highlights from Denmark
Implementation of the EU pay transparency directive. On 26 February 2026, a draft bill implementing the EU pay transparency directive was sent out for consultation.
The draft bill, among other things, proposes that applicants must receive information from the prospective employer about the initial pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, to be attributed for the position concerned, and where applicable, the relevant provisions of the collective bargaining agreement applied by the employer in relation to the position. Moreover, an employer must provide its employees with access to the objective and gender-neutral criteria that are used to determine the employees’ pay, pay levels and pay progression. Also, employers with at least 100 employees must prepare a pay reporting relating to the previous year. Statistics Denmark will send a pay reporting free of charge when a company’s reporting of salary information to Statistics Denmark makes it possible and shows that the company employs at least 100 employees.
After the consultation process, the bill can be finalized and introduced in the Danish Parliament. If the Danish Parliament adopts the bill, it is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2027.
Highlights from Finland
Supreme Court ruling on contractual benefits – The Supreme Court ruled on whether a long-standing paid meal break for shift-working train drivers had become a binding term of employment through established practice. The employees’ contracts stated that working time was determined by the Working Hours Act and the applicable CBA in force from time to time. The CBA allowed two alternative arrangements in shift work: meal break could either count as working time or be an unpaid rest break outside working time. For about 25 years, the drivers had a 35-minute paid meal break during work. After cooperation negotiations, the employer unilaterally changed shift planning so that the paid 35-minute break became a 59-minute unpaid break. The Supreme Court held that as the employment contracts included only references to the law and the CBA and the CBA preserved two break options, a long-standing practice alone does not show a clear intention by the employer to waive managerial discretion over the scheduling of working time and breaks. Accordingly, the employer did not breach the employment terms and was entitled to change the meal break arrangement in line with the CBA.
- Is pre-trial detention a valid reason for absence? – An employee was held in pre-trial detention as a criminal suspect for nine months, after which he was released without charges. The employer was aware that the employee had been detained but after four months notified the employee that it considered the employment contract to have lapsed with effect from the first day of absence due to unauthorized absence. According to the Employment Contracts Act, if an employee has been absent from work for a minimum of seven days without notifying the employer of a valid reason for the absence, the employer is entitled to deem the employment contract cancelled from the date on which the absence began. The employee disputed the termination. Eventually the Supreme Court held that the employee’s absence was not attributable to the employee and that the “deemed cancellation” is aimed primarily at situations where the employee is unreachable and the employer lacks information about the absence and its cause. Thus, an employer cannot utilize “deemed cancellation” when the employee has a valid reason for being absent and the employer is aware of the reason. Thus, the employer should have taken other measures to end the employment.
Unemployment statistics – According to Eurostat’s November 2025 figures, Finland now has the highest unemployment rate in Europe. The unemployment rate is at its highest level in around 15 years and both private and public sectors have been affected.
Highlights from Norway
Norwegian Supreme Court Clarifies Rules for Severance Agreements with Top Managers
On 30 January 2026, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment clarifying the legal framework for requiring a top executive to leave her position under a pre-agreed severance arrangement pursuant to Section 15-16 (2) of the Working Environment Act.
In the case, a municipal chief executive had agreed, upon appointment, to waive her dismissal protection under Chapter 15 in exchange for six months’ severance pay if required to step down with immediate effect. Approximately seven months later, the municipal council invoked the severance clause. The Supreme Court rejected her appeal.
The Supreme Court, like the Court of Appeal, held that the municipal council’s resolution was not to be regarded as a termination of employment in the labour law sense, and therefore not an individual administrative decision under the Public Administration Act. However, the municipality is subject to certain minimum procedural requirements in such matters, and the courts may review whether the decision to require her to leave her position constitutes a misuse of the employer’s managerial prerogative or is based on a materially incorrect factual premise. Unwritten administrative law principles do not impose requirements that differ from or are stricter than unwritten labour law norms. Nor had the municipality acted in a manner giving rise to liability for damages.
The judgment contributes to clarifying the employer’s authority to terminate an employment relationship through an agreement on resignation with severance pay.
The decision can be found (in Norwegian only) HERE.
Highlights from Sweden
Blue-collar Workers Demand Reduced Working Hours – Employers Push Back - The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), representing around 1.4 million blue‑collar workers across healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing, has united behind a renewed ambition: shorter working hours for all employees. LO argues that the 40‑hour work week has remained unchanged for 50 years, despite major shifts in working life and increasing strain on everyday routines. LO plans to request central negotiations with the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv), Sweden’s main employer organisation. Svenskt Näringsliv has, however, rejected the idea of central negotiations. One of its major member associations, Teknikföretagen - representing engineering and tech manufacturing companies - has been particularly clear. Its chief negotiator, Marcus Dahlsten, argues that LO’s proposal does not reflect the current economic climate and ignores that several sectors have already negotiated tailored reductions in working time in exchange for greater flexibility. Employer organisations maintain that such matters should remain at industry level rather than be handled through broad national agreements. For now, the parties stand far apart on whether Sweden should move toward shorter working hours overall.
Social Democrats Want to Roll Back New Unemployment Benefit Rules - The Social Democrats are seeking to overturn the unemployment insurance reforms introduced last autumn. Under the current system, compensation decreases to 70 per cent after 100 days of unemployment - something the party does not stand behind. Ardalan Shekarabi, the party’s labour‑market spokesperson, describes unemployment insurance as a stabilising tool designed to prevent people from facing hardship simply because they lose their job. He emphasises that the focus should be on helping individuals return to work, not on making unemployment riskier. The initiative is likely to renew political debate around how generous Sweden’s safety nets should be and whether the present rules strike an appropriate balance between support and incentives.
- Inquiry Proposes New Platform Work Act for Sweden - A government inquiry has presented its proposal for Sweden’s implementation of the EU Platform Work Directive, which must be incorporated into national law by 2 December 2026. The inquiry recommends introducing a new, standalone Platform Work Act. The objective is to strengthen protection for individuals working through digital platforms. A central component is a new presumption rule intended to clarify when a platform worker should be deemed an employee, which is when a person performing platform work demonstrates circumstances that give reason to believe that the work is being performed under the direction and control of the digital work platform. The proposal also addresses algorithmic management, introducing requirements for transparency and information on automated decision‑making. The proposal is now out for consultation until 31 March 2026, after which the government will decide how to proceed.
