Onboarding a New Employee in Sweden – A Payroll Perspective.
Hiring a new employee is more than signing a contract. In Sweden, it also means setting up the employee correctly in the payroll system, collecting key information, and ensuring you’re ready for monthly tax reporting and payments.
Here’s what payroll onboarding looks like in Sweden — and what every employer needs to know.
Before the First Day: What to Collect
To register a new employee and pay them correctly, you’ll need:
Full name and personal identity number (personnummer)
Swedish tax status (A-skatt or SINK)
Address and bank account
Signed employment contract
Information about pension, benefits, and agreed salary
Date of employment and employment type
If your employee doesn’t have a Swedish personal number yet, we can help guide the process and use a coordination number (samordningsnummer) in the meantime.
Swedish Tax: A-Skatt vs SINK
Most Swedish employees are taxed under A-skatt (standard employee income tax). Foreign employees temporarily working in Sweden may qualify for SINK, which is a flat rate with no deductions.
The correct tax category affects how we calculate and report payroll. It’s important to get this right from the beginning.
Registering with Authorities
Once you’ve collected the necessary data:
The employee must be reported in the monthly PAYE return to Skatteverket
Employer contributions (around 31.42%) must be calculated
The first salary payment must follow Swedish standards and timelines
If we handle your payroll, we’ll make sure the employee is registered, declared, and paid correctly from the start.
Setting Up Payslips and Benefits
The new employee must:
Receive a digital or printed payslip every month
Be included in vacation accrual and pension plans (if applicable)
Be covered by occupational insurances if required by law or agreements
We recommend using Kivra for payslip delivery — employees will continue receiving their payslips even if they change jobs later.
Timing and Communication
It’s important to onboard well before the first payday. Time is needed to:
Register the employee in the payroll system
Validate tax status and bank info
Sync data with time reporting or HR systems
Ensure compliance with collective agreements
Delays in onboarding can lead to incorrect or late salary payments — avoidable with good structure and clear steps.
Use Our Portal to Stay in Control
Our Stay-in-touch-Portal gives you:
A clear checklist for onboarding
Document sharing with drag and drop
Payroll timelines and confirmation of setup
No unnecessary features — just what’s needed to get started fast
Conclusion: Smooth Onboarding, Accurate Payroll
The onboarding process is your foundation for compliant payroll. When done correctly, it ensures correct tax, salary, and contributions from day one — and gives your employee a professional start.
Need help onboarding your next hire in Sweden? We’ll take care of the payroll setup, reporting, and communication with the authorities — so you don’t have to.
This is ABBA The Museum in Stockholm – a tribute to Sweden’s most famous pop group.
ABBA stormed into international fame after winning Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo, and have since sold an impressive around 385 million records worldwide thesun.co.uk+1theguardian.com+1en.wikipedia.org+3reuters.com+3apnews.com+3.
Their timeless hits continue to resonate — ABBA has amassed over 10.5 billion streams on Spotify to date, with around 34.7 million monthly listeners, and multiple tracks each exceeding 1 billion streams, including Dancing Queen and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! theguardian.com+4kworb.net+4medium.com+4.
Much like ABBA’s well-rehearsed introduction on the global stage, effective employee onboarding in Sweden requires careful preparation, timing, and strong coordination from day one.
👉 Whether you're launching a hit song or welcoming a new team member, first impressions set the stage for long-term success.
