Losing your job: the key words

a redundancy notice (advance warning of cuts)

Tip: The employer's formal warning that jobs may go. Nobody is fired yet at this stage.

to be given notice of possible redundancy

Tip: Passive with 'bli' (become). You can be in this group and still keep your job.

a reorganisation

Tip: The word management likes to use before the bad news.

a cutback

Tip: Usually in the plural in the news: cuts at a company or in a budget.

due to shortage of work

Tip: The standard legal reason for redundancy in Sweden; it means the job is gone, not that you did anything wrong.

a dismissal, a termination

Tip: Used both for being let go and for resigning.

to lay someone off

Tip: Context decides: 'de sa upp mig' = they let me go; with 'mig' as a reflexive (sa upp mig) = I quit.

to be laid off

Tip: Passive with 'bli'. The neutral, everyday way to say it.

to get fired (casual)

Tip: Literally 'to get the kick'. Casual, and usually implies it was your fault.

a dismissal for misconduct

Tip: The serious kind, with immediate effect. Also means 'a farewell' in everyday Swedish.

a notice period

Tip: Its length depends on how long you've been employed and on any collective agreement.

the Employment Protection Act

Tip: Short for 'lagen om anställningsskydd'. Said as a word: 'lass'.

the order of selection (who goes first)

Tip: En-word, almost always used in the definite form. Roughly 'last in, first out', with exceptions.

a permanent job

Tip: The adjective means fixed, firm. The opposite of a temporary contract.

fixed-term employment

Tip: Ends on a set date, so it isn't 'terminated' in the same way.

a probationary period

Tip: A trial period; either side can end it with short notice.

the union (casual)

Tip: Ett-word. In the definite form it's what everyone calls their trade union.

a union representative

Tip: Ett-word because the last part, 'ombud', is an ett-word.

a final salary

Tip: The last pay you get, often with extras settled on it.

holiday pay (for unused days)

Tip: Paid out for holiday days you never took.

severance pay

Tip: Not automatic in Sweden; it's something you negotiate or agree on.

career transition support

Tip: Help to find a new job through collective-agreement organisations such as TRR or TSL.

unemployed

Tip: Adjective, used just like 'unemployed' in English: 'jag är ...'.

an unemployment insurance fund

Tip: Membership is voluntary; join while you have a job.

an employer's certificate

Tip: The unemployment fund needs this to work out your benefit.

a benefit payment

Tip: General word for money you receive to make up for something, e.g. from the unemployment fund.

the Swedish Public Employment Service

Tip: Often shortened to 'AF' in speech.

to register (as a job seeker)

Tip: Reflexive: 'jag skrev in mig'. Do it on your first day without a job.

a job seeker

Tip: Looks like a verb form but works as a noun.

a reference

Tip: The person who'll talk about you to a new employer.

a certificate of employment

Tip: States your dates and role. A fuller letter that also praises your work is called a 'betyg'.

a CV

Tip: Ett-word, usually written in lower case.

to apply for jobs

Tip: The verb usually means 'search', but with jobs it means apply.