Sweden: While there were objective grounds for dismissal, an employee was entitled to damages due to the employer suspending the employee during the notice period

An employee had worked as a building inspector for 27 years for a company conducting business in the pest control and environment services sector. After a change in the company’s management, the employee refused to follow instructions and the company policies. While the employer issued warnings and demanded improvement, the inspector did little to adapt to the employer’s requests. The employee was eventually dismissed with notice and suspended from work during the notice period. The employee’s trade union claimed that the dismissal and the following suspension was unlawful. The trade union claimed that the company should have given the employee additional time to show improvement or to be relocated within the company rather than be dismissed. The Labour Court declared that the dismissal was lawful, given the employee’s refusal to follow instructions. According to the Court, the employee had not improved his behavior despite several warnings as well as adaptations carried out by the employer. Further, the Court found no circumstances implying that the problems would subside if the inspector was given more time to improve or if he was relocated. However, the Court deemed that there were no basis for the employer’s decision to suspend the employee from work during the notice period. Thus, while the Court found the dismissal lawful, the employer was liable to pay the employee damages amounting to SEK 30,000 due to the unwarranted suspension.