Swedish Policy and Regulation on Disability and Work

Even though the Swedish labour market has been more or less intact during the financial crisis in the past six years, persons with reduced working capacity due to disabilities are significantly less integrated in the labour market than other groups in society. Swedish legislation on disability and work provides for a number of different aspects of integrative measures, anti-discrimination and provisions for maintaining employment. Of most significant importance is the strong employment protection scheme, which only allows employers to dismiss sick or disabled permanent workers if they can no longer perform any duties of importance to the employers business. Sweden has ratified the CRPD and implemented the EU directive 2000/78/EC on discrimination law, covering both equal treatment as well as the employer duty to undertake reasonable accommodation. There is, however, not yet an established case law on the reasonableness of adjusments. For persons with reduced working capacity, Swedish legislation offers a number of integrative positive measures, stretching from financing workplace adjustments to supported and even sheltered employments. There is not, and never has been, a disability quota scheme in Sweden. Job-placement activities are primarily effectuated through the Swedish Labour Agency, opening opportunities for unemployed persons with disabilities. Career centers at Swedish universities do not have special programs for disability integration and are, in relation to comparative countries, less developed.