Employer of Record in Sweden

How hiring through an employer of record works in Sweden

The local employer holds the Swedish contract, registers with Skatteverket as an employer to pay out salary and runs payroll, while your managers direct the daily work. The Employment Protection Act, known as LAS, requires written information on the main terms, including starting salary, pay frequency and working time, no later than the seventh calendar day after work starts. Vacation length, the rules for ending the job and the applicable collective agreement are due within a month.

Employer costs and contributions in Sweden

For 2026 Skatteverket lists the full employer contribution as 31.42% of gross pay and taxable benefits: old-age pension 10.21%, general payroll levy 12.62%, sickness 3.55%, labour market 2.64%, parental insurance 2.00%, survivors' pension 0.30% and work injury 0.10%.

Age changes the rate. Employees born 1938 to 1958 carry only the 10.21% pension part, and a temporary reduction from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2027 sets 20.81% on pay up to SEK 25,000 a month for those born 2003 to 2007. The employer also withholds preliminary tax using the employee's tax decision, or 110% of the table amount until one arrives. Most employers file the monthly declaration on the 12th.

Working time, vacation and leave in Sweden

• Hours: at most 40 a week. General overtime is capped at 48 hours in four weeks or 50 in a month, and 200 hours a year. The Working Hours Act sets no overtime rate, so premiums come from the contract or a collective agreement.
• Vacation: 25 days in a year that runs from 1 April to 31 March, with four weeks in June to August unless agreed otherwise. Monthly employees get their salary plus 0.43% for each vacation day.
• Sick pay: the employer pays 80% for up to 14 calendar days, after a waiting-day deduction of 20% of an average week's sick pay.
• Parental leave: Forsakringskassan provides 480 days of parental benefit per child, with 90 days reserved for each parent.

Probation, notice and dismissal in Sweden

Probation may last up to six months and can be ended early unless agreed otherwise, but the employer must warn the employee two weeks ahead. If nobody gives notice by the last day, the job becomes permanent.

A dismissal needs objective grounds, either redundancy or reasons tied to the person, and the employer must consider other work first. Both sides owe at least one month of notice, and an employee dismissed by the employer is owed two months from two years of service, rising to six months from ten years. Redundancy follows length of service, with up to three exemptions, and gives dismissed staff with enough service a nine-month right to be re-hired. The Act sets no severance formula, and a challenge to a dismissal must be notified within two weeks.

Collective agreements and pay setting in Sweden

Medlingsinstitutet says pay is set through collective agreements, not a legal minimum. Check which agreement applies before setting a salary, because it can change notice, overtime and benefits. Skatteverket's page on special payroll tax (särskild löneskatt) sets the 24.26% rate on pension costs.

Getting paid in stablecoins, USDC, USDT, tokens and crypto in Sweden

Short answer: Not settled. No Swedish statute sets the form of wages, and government bill 2017/18:272 says employees may agree some pay in kind, but no official source we opened treats crypto as pay. Skatteverket taxes crypto pay as employment income and says tax cannot be withheld without cash pay.

What the law says about the form of pay

We found no Swedish statute naming the currency or form of wages. Government proposition 2017/18:272 says the parties are free to agree how pay is made, in the contract or a collective agreement, and LAS requires the written terms to state the starting salary and how pay is paid.

What it means for employee salary

Swedish pay is planned as cash in kronor. Skatteverket treats crypto received for work as employment income, says tax is withheld when paying for work and cannot be withheld when no cash is paid, and the government proposition says an employee can agree to some pay in kind unless a collective agreement says otherwise. In its 2026 payments report the Riksbank says that stablecoins tied to one currency are regulated like e-money under MiCA and that none existed in kronor. Whether crypto can be agreed as pay in kind is not settled by any source opened, so it is confirmed per hire before an offer. Finansinspektionen says that since the MiCA transition ended on 30 June 2026 only firms with a MiCA authorisation may offer crypto services in Sweden.

Contractors

We found no official Swedish page on paying contractors in crypto or stablecoins, so Toku confirms what applies before any contractor arrangement.

Tax on crypto and tokens

Skatteverket says crypto received as pay for work is employment income at its market value when received. Selling, swapping or spending it is a disposal: gains are taxed at 30%, 70% of a loss is deductible, amounts are in kronor, the average method applies, and it is reported on form K4, section D.

How Toku handles it

Separately from what the law in Sweden allows, Toku offers stablecoin payroll, including USDC, in supported arrangements and pays contractors in USDC or USDT through contractor management. Token grants are a separate arrangement from salary, administered through token grant administration. This page does not say any of these is available for a hire in Sweden: that is confirmed before an offer.

Reviewed November 7, 2026 against the official sources listed below. General information, not legal or tax advice. Tax on crypto or tokens received depends on local rules and where the person is resident, so confirm it with a local adviser.

How hiring through Toku works in Sweden

1. Share the role, location, salary and start date.
2. Toku confirms coverage, the contract type and the right to work.
3. The local employer issues the contract and onboards the person.
4. Payroll, contributions and filings run each cycle.

Toku confirms the role, work location and applicable collective agreement before a start date is set. Prepare identification, bank details, the signed contract and the employee's preliminary tax decision, because the 110% withholding applies until it arrives. Your quote confirms the onboarding timeline for Sweden.

What an employer of record costs in Sweden

Where Toku supports the hire, its employer of record service starts at $599 per employee per month, with salary, employer contributions and benefit premiums itemized in your quote. Coverage in Sweden is confirmed before an offer. See the published pricing.

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