Arbetsgivarens primära förhandlingsskyldighet samt undantag från densamma enligt 2 § MBL

Abstract The employer is obliged to initiate negotiations with the union organization to which the employer is bound by a collective agreement. This applies both to decisions which imply a substantial change in workplace operations or employment conditions of the individual employee. In case law this obligation has been very extensive through all cases that have been up in the Swedish Labor court. Due to this fact the employer’s duty to negotiate has been interpreted very broadly. Then, what is a substantial change? What does the actual wording according to case studies and court case law comprise? Reading through the case studies it is evident that there are no clearly defined borders. The concept of a substantial change is not given a clear definition by the legislator. One of the aims of this essay has been to try to clarify how extensive and comprehensive the duty of negotiation actually is. The essay also attempts to clarify what is understood by the concept of a substantial change. A number of court cases and case studies have been studied. The rule of exception, § 2 in the MBL, has been particularly studied considering my background in the newspaper industry. The rule in the doctrine has been called the objective paragraph. The case law on the field is very scarce and up until today’s date there are only three court cases that have treated the § 2 of the MBL. Though, it is concluded from the case studies that the legislator separates between guideline decisions and implemental decisions. This delimitation is also not obvious. This essay will attempt to explain and clarify the concepts for the reader