Sweden: A thieving construction worker was entitled to damages due to omission of formal requirements in connection with his summary dismissal

A construction worker was summarily dismissed due to theft of, inter alia, building materials. The construction worker denied any theft, but he had been caught by a surveillance camera stealing building materials at one of the employer’s worksites. While the recording had been deleted prior to the trial, the employer was able to present two witnesses who testified that they had seen the recording of the worker’s theft. The Labour Court found that the worker’s theft had been proven beyond reasonable doubt and that it constituted a fundamental breach of the employment agreement. However, the Court also found that the employer had not fulfilled its obligation to provide the worker with information on how to challenge the validity of the summary dismissal, and that the employer’s payment in lieu of the worker’s accrued vacation entitlement had been made two months too late. As such, the Court declared that the summary dismissal was lawful, but that the worker was entitled to a final salary as well as SEK 17,000 in damages due to the employer’s omission of formal requirements and procedures.