Four weeks in a row of paid summer vacation is a cherished right in Sweden, but what should you do if your employer suddenly calls and says you need to go back to work in the middle of your summer holiday?
You cannot refuse to cancel your vacation if your boss orders you to. However, your manager must have exceptional reasons for cancelling or withdrawing your previously granted vacation.
Exceptional reasons mean things that could not have been foreseen, for example if all other employees at the workplace become ill, or if something unforeseen were to occur that would affect the entire company.
In white-collar professions, it can be more difficult for employers to recall employees to work for exceptional circumstances than it is in, for example, healthcare, according to Caroline Lindeberg, negotiator and advisor at Akavia, a union for academic workers.
"In healthcare, 'extraordinary reasons' can be more obvious. In white-collar professions, the employer really has to be able to prove that something very unexpected has happened and that it could not have been planned for or foreseen," she told Swedish newswire TT.
However, as long as nothing else has been agreed in advance, an employer cannot require that you be available by phone or email during your holiday, according to Lindeberg.
This applies to both permanent employees and temporary workers and is regardless of whether you have a work phone or not.
The employee may also have a valid reason not to interrupt the holiday – if, for example, they have small children and childcare is not available.
If you are forced to cancel your holiday and return to work, your regular salary and compensation will apply and you will get back the holiday days that you were supposed to have taken.
If your interrupted holiday means that you are forced to cancel a trip or a rental, you should agree with your manager on compensation for any costs that you have incurred.