Hiring is one of the biggest bets a business makes, and Swedish law gives employers a structured way to manage that risk: probationary employment, or provanställning. Used correctly, it is a flexible trial period that can convert into a permanent role. Used carelessly, it can quietly turn into a permanent employment the employer never intended. This guide explains how provanställning works and how to use it without stumbling into the traps.
What provanställning is
Provanställning is a special form of employment under the Employment Protection Act (LAS) that lets an employer and employee test whether a role is a good fit. Its defining feature is flexibility: during the trial period, either party can end the employment without needing to show just cause (saklig grund), which is otherwise required to dismiss a permanent employee.
The six-month limit
A probationary period may last a maximum of six months. If neither party ends it, the employment automatically converts into a permanent (tillsvidare) employment when the six months expire – no new contract or decision is needed. This automatic conversion is the single most important thing employers forget, so the end date must be diarised from day one.
Ending a probationary employment
To stop a probationary employment from converting, or to end it early, the employer must give notice (besked) that the employment will not continue, as a rule at least two weeks in advance. While the employer does not need to prove just cause, the decision must not be discriminatory or infringe the employee’s freedom of association. Employers bound by a collective agreement should also check whether it modifies the rules – some agreements shorten the permitted period or add notification duties.
Union and information duties
If the workplace is covered by a collective agreement, the employer generally has to notify the relevant trade union when a probationary employment is going to be ended, and the employee is entitled to be informed too. Skipping these steps can expose the employer to damages even where the decision itself was permissible.
Practical example: a trial hire that does not fit
A company hires a salesperson on a six-month provanställning. By month four it is clear the role is not working out. The employer gives written notice at least two weeks before the trial period ends, notifies the union as the collective agreement requires, and the employment ends cleanly – no just-cause process, no dispute. Had the employer done nothing, the same person would have become a permanent employee at month six.
Vanliga misstag som företag gör
Employers let the six months lapse and are surprised by an unintended permanent employee, forget the roughly two-week notice requirement, use provanställning where there is no genuine intention to test the role, treat “no just cause needed” as “no rules at all” and end an employment for discriminatory reasons, or ignore collective-agreement terms that change the default rules.
Rekommenderade åtgärder
Put the probationary terms in writing at the start, diarise the end date and a review a few weeks before it, give timely written notice if you will not continue, check your collective agreement for special rules, and keep the decision free of any discriminatory ground. A short internal routine for probation reviews prevents almost every common error.
Vanliga frågor
Can a probationary period be longer than six months?
No. Six months is the statutory maximum, and a collective agreement can only shorten or qualify it, not extend it beyond what the law and agreement allow. After that, the employment becomes permanent by operation of law.
Do we need a reason to end a probationary employment?
You do not need to show just cause, but you must give timely notice and the decision cannot be discriminatory or breach freedom of association. Collective-agreement notification duties may also apply.
What if we do nothing when the trial ends?
The employment automatically becomes a permanent tillsvidare employment, with full protection under LAS. If you do not want that outcome, you must act before the six months expire.
Slutsats
Provanställning is a valuable tool for managing hiring risk, but it rewards employers who treat it with discipline: clear written terms, a diarised end date, timely notice and attention to collective-agreement rules. Lawgent helps employers set up compliant employment structures and handle probation, notice and terminations with confidence. Contact us to make sure your hiring process protects the business as well as the people you bring on board.
