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International freelance contract

do Swedish laws apply

mka
post 27.Nov.2020, 12:44 PM
Post #1
Joined: 23.Oct.2020

Hi,
My sambo has been offered a freelance job through a recruitment agency outside of EU. The contract they sent him seems pretty one sided in favor of the recruitment agency. For example they can cancel the agreement anytime, but the employees need to work the entire notice period plus work for certain amount of days for free if they decide to leave before the contract expires. ( is this even legal? )
There is no date on which he would get payed ( I know in my agreement it states that payment shall be made on the 25th of each month ). And a lot more situations in which the loss is mainly on the employee.

Having in mind that this contract is international I guess, does any Swedish law apply here? If he does not get payed, can he still consult kronofogden for debt collection?

Any advice is appreciated.
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Essingen55
post 28.Nov.2020, 10:29 AM
Post #2
Joined: 12.Dec.2013

I guess that the fact that no one has answered this means that no one knows with certainty which laws apply for a remote employment contract. I think it will be the laws of the country where the recruitment agency is, but I am not 100% sure.

As for using the Swedish Debt Collection Agency when you aren't paid, I would have thought that is a non-starter. What would you expect them to do in practice anyway? And who would pay their costs?
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mka
post 30.Nov.2020, 10:23 AM
Post #3
Joined: 23.Oct.2020

@Essingen55, as I understand you first pay kronofogden in order for them to collect your debts. I am not sure though, this is only something I read on this forum.

This issue is a very gray area, I consulted with Unionen and they say that in this case, Swedish laws apply, since the work will be carried out in Sweden. Thus, my logical conclusion would be that he would be protected under Swedish laws. It seems we will have to consult a lawyer for this although.
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Essingen55
post 30.Nov.2020, 11:33 AM
Post #4
Joined: 12.Dec.2013

Well that is encouraging then.
I guess that in such circumstances you could indeed use Kronofogon. But you have to realise that everything they do will have to be paid for and that they may have limited opportunities to enforce the debt if the employer is not even in the EU.

And despite what Unionen says, it wouldn't surprise me if the contract signed contains a clause saying that in the event of a disupute, resolution will take place somewhere other than Sweden.
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*Guest*
post 30.Nov.2020, 02:16 PM
Post #5


Sounds like a standard zero hours contract. The employee promises to work solely for them, whilst the employer makes no guarantee or binding commitment on how many hours they will offer.
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