Sickness as a grounds for dismissal

Due to the effects of a stroke, a police officer was deemed unable to return to his previous job working in the field. The employee was relocated to desk work and reduced hours. After a few years, the employee expressed that he wanted more tasks. Because of this, a work capacity assessment was made, and he was assigned internal service and storage duties.

As the new tasks were not a good fit and the authority had no other work to give the employee, he was trained at other companies in receptionist and media work. A second assessment was made when he returned. However, the authority could not find a job that was suitable for his abilities and dismissed him.

No work of value

The Labor Court found that the employee could not perform any tasks independently due to his reduced work capacity. Both work capacity assessments showed that this was permanent. Because of this, the employee could not perform any work of value to the authority, and the dismissal was lawful. The authority had fulfilled its obligations towards the employee through accommodations and relocations.

IUNO’s opinion

Companies have general obligations towards employees when they are sick. These can include work capacity assessments, establishing a plan with doctors, or providing other work tasks. Sickness is not generally grounds for termination but is possible if an employee can no longer fulfill their obligations.

IUNO recommends that companies actively participate in an employee's recovery process. This case shows the importance of assessments, accommodations, and training before termination to avoid claims of discrimination and compensation.

[The Swedish Labour Court’s decision of 7 February 2024 in case 12/24]