Ett arbetsmiljöperspektiv på utköpens roll i arbetslivet – En ohållbar praktik.

Abstract

Through so-called freedom of contract between employees and employers, there are opportunities to circumvent the Employment Protection Act in Sweden. Buyouts involve the employer initiating negotiations with the union regarding the termination of an employee's employment through financial compensation for the termination of employment. The expression commonly used by the parties in a buyout is "agreement on termination of employment" or "agreement with severance pay." Buyouts in the labor market have been debated in the media for a long time, not least when it comes to the fact that such are financed with tax funds in the public sector. Despite this, the practice of buyouts is increasing. There is currently a large knowledge gap regarding the practice of buyouts in a Swedish context. This article presents the results of phase 1 of a qualitative pilot study conducted in a collaborative project with a major trade union in Sweden, where the focus has been to explore the negotiation representatives' description of what precedes buy-outs in working life. Three themes have been identified: conflicts of interest, lack of trust, and organizational political strategy. All themes point to shortcomings in the work environment as a common basis for initiating a negotiation process. One conclusion from the results is that buyouts risk becoming a practice that replaces systematic work environment work and also places both employees and unions in a form of hostage situation that drives forced agreements on the termination of employment, which in the long term can threaten the partnership model in the labor market and goes against a sustainable practice in working life.