Individual agreements
For Mid Sweden University, it is important to offer attractive employment conditions. In addition to, for example, work tasks, work environment and development opportunities, salary and other terms of employment are of great importance.
What is an individual agreement
The employee's right to collectively agreed benefits is based on the individual employment contract. The agreement binds the employer and the employee to the benefits agreed in collective agreements. For certain conditions, there are opportunities for individual solutions through individual agreements.
An opportunity – not an obligation or a right
It is important to state at the outset that individual agreements are an opportunity and not a right. Provisions that regulate the conditions for individual agreements are constructed so that an employer decides on a case-by-case basis whether to waive or enter into such an agreement, even if the starting point is that the employee wishes to exchange a benefit for another benefit. There may be individual reasons why a proposed construction is not suitable, either from an individual perspective or from an operational perspective.
It is the employer who examines each employee's application for an individual agreement and makes a decision.
The employer must primarily consider the requirements of the business and its financial conditions. The HR manager must therefore consider whether the various possibilities for individual agreements can be applied within their own operations and whether the impact on the operations is reasonable. Another important aspect is whether the agreement can contribute positively to motivating, recruiting or retaining employees.
General prerequisites
You may have the opportunity to enter into an individual agreement if you have an employment that is longer than 1 year. If your employment ends, you take full parental or leave of absence or are on long-term sick leave (15 days or more), the agreement automatically ceases to apply immediately.
You are advised not to do a monthly salary exchange if your gross salary after the salary exchange is less than SEK 54,200 (2025). This is because other benefits such as parental insurance, sickness benefit and unemployment insurance are affected by the size of the gross salary after salary exchange.
What can you sign an individual agreement for?
For all employees, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions Agreements, the employer and the employee can sign an individual agreement on:
- Organisation of working hours
- Confidential working hours
- Increased take-up of overtime (only TA staff)
- Overtime compensation
- Number of vacation days
- Vacation part of day
- Length of notice period
- Waiving holiday allowance in exchange for three days off
For all employees, in accordance with PA-16, the employer and the employee can sign an individual agreement on:
- extra pension provision up to the age of 67 in the form of either salary exchange or by exchanging saved holiday days (see further information in the FAQ below)
- For employees who are members of Saco-S, the employer and the employee can sign an individual agreement on extra pension provision up to the age of 69 (see further information in the FAQ below)
Formalities
On behalf of the employer, the agreement is signed by the person who has delegation in accordance with Mid Sweden University's delegation of authority. According to Mid Sweden University's decision-making and delegation of authority, it is the HR manager who has the right to sign individual agreements.
The agreement must always be in writing.
The employer must inform the relevant local trade union organisation before the agreement is made.
The application form, including a statement on individual agreement, can be found under forms and templates. Please note that there are special forms for salary conversion to an occupational pension.
Salary conversion to occupational pension
What is salary exchange
According to the central collective agreements between the Swedish Employment Authority and Saco-S and OFR/S (PA 16), as an employee of a government agency, you can choose to exchange salary (salary exchange) in exchange for the employer paying the agreed amount into an occupational pension.
Salary conversion to pension means that deductions are made from the gross salary of an optional amount. There is an upper and a lower limit to the amount (read more below). The money will be invested in the elective part in accordance with the PA16 pension agreement.
The possibility of salary exchange applies to all employees and applies up to and including the calendar month before the month in which the employee reaches retirement age of 67 years.
Things to think about before salary exchange
- The agreement is valid until further notice with a mutual notice period of three months.
- The salary exchange takes effect the month after the agreement is signed. Mid Sweden University then pays the agreed amount monthly to your elective part according to PA16.
- If you were to start a new employment at Mid Sweden University, your salary exchange agreement will follow unless otherwise agreed.
- If you wish to change the amount to be exchanged for salary, a new agreement must be signed.
- The minimum amount for voluntary provision per month is SEK 500. Market practice is that the total provision for occupational pensions may not exceed 35% of the gross salary.
- You are advised not to do a salary exchange if your gross salary after the salary exchange is less than SEK 54,200 (2025), SEK 56,100 (2026). This is due to other benefits such as parental insurance, sickness benefit and unemployment insurance is affected by the size of the salary after salary exchange.
- You can only exchange salary if there are conditions for being able to make a full salary deduction.
- The elective part is taken out without repayment cover, therefore we recommend that you review your repayment cover for the occupational pension via SPV's website.
How to exchange salary
To exchange salary, you need to fill in the form called "Salary exchange - Agreement Gross salary deduction" which you will find under Forms and templates. There you will be asked to state your union affiliation. This is because we as an employer are obliged to inform the relevant employee organization about the salary exchange in accordance with PA16.
Then send the completed form to the HR department for signature by the HR manager and for further processing of the agreement.
End salary exchange
The agreement may expire:
- at your own request during your employment, use the form "Salary exchange - Cancel/Cease Salary exchange gross salary deduction" which you will find under Forms and Templates.
- if your employment at Mid Sweden University ends
- if you take full parental or leave of absence or are on long-term sick leave
- at the employer's request if the tax rules, other legislation or other circumstances change.
Examples of how it works in practice
An employee who earns SEK 58,000 chooses in August to exchange salary SEK 2,000 from September. Deductions from the salary are made on September's salary, and in October Mid Sweden University pays SEK 2,000 into the elective part of the occupational pension. The insurance premium is always paid in advance, which is why the exchanged amount is deducted from month one, and the first premium is paid from month two.
The employee is taxed for the reduced gross salary of SEK 56,000 (SEK 58,000–SEK 2,000), which gives the employee a lower income tax rate at the moment. Instead, taxation takes place when the money is paid out as a pension.
Advice and further information
Mid Sweden University does not provide advice on issues related to salary exchange. For more information, please refer to the National Board for Occupational Pensions and to pension, bank or other advisers.
Forms for salary exchange can be found under forms and templates.
Renouncing holiday for one-time contributions to an occupational pension
The employee who has a monthly salary can, through an individual agreement with the employer, waive vacation days for contributions to an occupational pension. This is done as a one-time deposit by the employer. The money is invested in the same insurance that the employee has chosen for the elective part
The value of a holiday day is 5.09% of the fixed salary.
Example - calculation with 5.09%
An employee has a monthly salary of SEK 30,000 and wants to set aside 10 saved vacation days for payment in Kåpan Valbar.
30 000 SEK/month x 5.09% = 1527 SEK x 10 vacation days = 15 270 SEK
At least 20 days of the year's vacation must be used for rest and recreation.
The application is sent to the HR Department, Sundsvall, for signature by the HR Manager.
A form for an agreement to exchange saved holiday days for pension provisions can be found under forms and templates.
Waive holiday pay for days off
Villkorsavtal –T provides the opportunity to exchange a full year's holiday bonus for three days off by individual agreement. Such an agreement is valid for one year and must be signed no later than 1 December of the year preceding the holiday year to which the exchange relates. In order to apply for the 2025 holiday year, the individual agreement must be signed before 1 December 2024.
The three days off must be taken as leave during the holiday year to which the exchange relates and cannot be carried over to future years. Please note that the days can only be taken after all the current year's vacation days have been taken.
In order for an individual exchange agreement to be signed, it is required that:
- the employer assesses that it is possible for operational reasons to schedule such leave during the leave year to which the exchange relates
- the employee has no more than five days of annual leave accumulated at the beginning of the leave year to which the exchange relates
- the employee does not have any planned longer absences during the holiday year
- the employment extends over the entire holiday year to which the exchange relates
If you are interested in exchanging holiday pay for three days off, you need to contact your manager. With the support of HR, it is ensured that all conditions according to the Villkorsavtal-T are met in order to reach an individual agreement.
Forms for applications, including statements on individual agreements, can be found under Forms and templates.