DOING BUSINESS IN

Some quick facts about Sweden Only 1% of all household waste in Sweden ends up in a rubbish dump Swedish parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave Of those, 60 days are reserved for the dad In 2012, the dads took 24% of the total parental leave The average tourist spends 800SEK /day Tourists brought in 106,5 billon SEK in 2012 The average swede works 1644 h/year Sweden ranks 6 th in the global competitiveness index Renewable resources account for 48% of the Swedish energy production Of this, almost 95% comes from hydro power Every month 993’000kg of food waste is gathered by the city of Stockholm The waste is turned into 115’000m² of gas, which buses and taxis use as fuel.

Level of education and training of the workforce  10 years of obligatory schooling Every child must attend to the first 10 years of schooling. This is the foundational education and since it follows something called “läroplan” (similar to syllabus), it is the same in every school.  High school High school in Sweden is optional, however, the majority of all students choose to attend. It is not only free of charge, but the student receives 1000SEK (114,14EUR)/ month if attending to lessons. When in high school, the student chooses a programme which suits his/her interests/goals and study that for 3 years before graduating.  University This is also optional but the student has to finance the education themselves (loan money for studies aka, “studentlån”), this means that not all the students from high school continue to university.

Culture and view on equality Watch this short clip to find out about the Swedish way of seeing things.clip  In Sweden, everyone address each other in a very casual way, it does not matter who you are, the same rules apply.  Swedes live by the word “lagom” which means “not too much, not too little” “just right”, they will therefore do everything they are told but not more. They will do a lagom amount of work.  The employees often have a close relationship with the boss.  There is something called “facket” which allows employees to improve their working conditions and any other problems they may have at work. This means that the working conditions have a high standard.

Economy  Sweden has a very strong economy and is therefore very easy to trade with, in fact, The World Bank has ranked Sweden to be the 6 th easiest country in the world to trade with.  The business capacity is not only high in the capital, but it is distributed all over Sweden which means that there is an opportunity for business no matter where you are in the country.  Sweden has had a stable economy since the 1990:s  Sweden has its own flexible currency, this was an advantage when

Consumer laws Demands of consumer:  The service provider needs to have the right skill and training  The service should not be performed in violation of the safety regulations or prohibitions in the product safety act or the marketing act  Inform you if additional work is needed  Service should be professional  The seller should provide all material if nothing else is mutually decided  Take advantage of your interests and discuss them with you to prevent misunderstandings  Discourage you from providing the service if it is not appropriate for you

Taxes In Sweden people pay a lot of taxes, the more you earn, the more taxes you have to pay, this goes to many things. For example:  Social protection (pensions, parental leave, unemployment benefits etc.)  Education  Health care  Public administration  Trade and industry  Defence  Public safety and justice  Culture and leisure activities (libraries, museums etc.)  Homes and community development  Protection of the environment

Value-added tax (VAT) In Sweden there is also something called “moms” (VAT) which is a tax you pay every time you purchase something and is always included in the prize. How VAT is paid:  25% on items and services  12% on food, hotels and camping  6% on public transport, art and culture Photo by: Gettyimages

SOURCES  regler/Konsumentlagar/Konsumenttjanstlagen/ regler/Konsumentlagar/Konsumenttjanstlagen/    All quick facts found at  lessons-from-sweden-the-rock-star-of-the- recovery/2011/06/21/AGyuJ3iH_story.html lessons-from-sweden-the-rock-star-of-the- recovery/2011/06/21/AGyuJ3iH_story.html  ring/Sidor/Att-betala-skatt.aspx ring/Sidor/Att-betala-skatt.aspx