Working, Yet Poor: National Report Sweden

This report assesses the phenomenon of in-work poverty in Sweden inrelation to the four specific VUP groups identified within the Working, Yet Poor project. It is shown that the main drivers of in-work poverty in Sweden are not related to the wage setting system as dealt with through collective bargaining as such. Rather, in-work poverty is more closely associated with work-intensity affecting workers with lower numbers of weekly working hours. The flexible labour law regulations as concerns temporary and part-time employments are thus seen as an important factor for the existence of in-work poverty. In addition, the construction of social security benefits as based on a presumption of standard employment cause challenges for non-standard worker in terms of possibilities for access to benefits as well as the amount paid if they do gain access to the benefits. Even though there are supplementary support in collective agreements, those are generally not applicable for workers subject to the most precarious forms of employments such as casual employments and platform workers. The analysis further shows how these gaps in labour and social security regulations place certain categories of workers, that are not employed in a standard employment, at risk of in-work poverty. The risks are specifically pertinent for fixed-term, part-time and casual workers living either as a single person or as the only working parent in a household with children (either as a single parent or in a couple where the other adult does not work). Lack of reliable statistics for certain groups cause limitations for what conclusions can be drawn. In order to elaborate better knowledge about the situation more detailed statistics are needed in the future. In spite of several initiatives for changes to legislation underway, which are likely to increase access to social security benefits for more workers, the issue of casual forms of employment resulting in low number of weekly working hours and thus increased risks of in-work poverty still remains to be addressed