New case law – case concerning the dismissal of an employee who operated a forklift with poor visibility and struck a colleague (AD 2026 no. 61)

While operating a forklift in a warehouse, an employee struck a colleague. As a result of the incident, the employee was dismissed with immediate effect. The parties have disputed whether the immediate dismissal was legally justified or whether, at the very least, there were legal grounds for a termination with notice.

The Labor Court found it grossly negligent to operate a forklift without visibility forward. By operating the forklift without such visibility, which resulted in the incident where the employee struck his colleague, the employee breached his obligations under the employment contract in such a serious manner that the company had legal grounds to dismiss the employee with immediate effect.

Read more here (Swedish).