New ruling from the Main Agreement Board after a request from the Labor Court

The dispute before the Labor Court primarily concerned whether there were legal grounds for dismissing an employee with immediate effect, who was alleged to have repeatedly harassed a colleague. The Main Agreement Board began by pointing out that the Board’s opinion is legally relevant only if the Labor Court finds that there is no legal basis for a dismissal with immediate effect, but must determine whether there are legal grounds for termination with notice. The Main Agreement Board then stated, among other things, the following.

If it is proven that the employee has committed a criminal act while on duty, the court’s overall assessment must not take into account either the fact that the employee had a long employment history without any remarks or that the act was of a one-time nature. In such case, the starting point is that the employee has breached the employment contract and that there are legal grounds for termination with notice.

If, instead, the employee is deemed to have been guilty of harassment or sexual harassment, the question of legal grounds for termination with notice must be assessed in accordance with existing case law. The decisive factor when determining whether legal grounds exist is whether a sufficiently serious breach of the employment contract has occurred. Weighing the employee’s personal interest in retaining their employment, or speculating on whether the employee might be likely to repeat a breach of their employment obligations in the future, does not contribute to a predictable application of law and should therefore not be done.

Read more here (Swedish).