New case law – Case concerning dismissal for a crime committed in the course of employment (Data breach) (AD 2026 No 44)

The question was whether the Swedish Social Insurance Agency had legal grounds to dismiss, or at least objective grounds to terminate the employment of, an employee of the Agency who had been convicted of computer hacking. The hacking involved two instances on the same day of accessing the Agency’s IT system to view cases involving the employee’s relatives.

The Labor Court found no reason to question the conviction for computer hacking. The Labor Court also found reason to view the offense as very serious. However, after a comprehensive assessment, the court found that termination of employment would have been an overly severe measure, and that there was therefore no legal basis for dismissal or objective grounds for termination.

Since the data breach was of such a nature that it could have constituted grounds for the employee’s dismissal, and since the employee’s actions contributed significantly to the situation that arose, the Labor Court has set the general damages for the unjustified dismissal at a lower amount than usual.

Read more here (Swedish).