Police officer with criminal relations was terminated

A police officer was called in for a security meeting because he socialised with his criminal brother. He had even brought him to a sports match with colleagues. Due to the lack of trust, it was decided at the meeting that his access to criminal information should be limited through new tasks. He also needed to participate in an action plan that encouraged him to reflect on his actions.

However, his actions escalated. He continued to see his brother and became involved in a company linked to a criminal network. He left work early and tried to obtain confiscated license plates for a friend. He also got convicted of speeding outside a school. This resulted in a second meeting, after which he lost his security clearance and could not perform his work. He was terminated since all positions required a security clearance.

The Labour Court concluded that the termination was justified because of the lack of trust and lost security clearance. Moreover, the Labour Court confirmed that the severity of the employee’s actions meant that he had lost his redeployment rights. Based on the circumstances, it would be unreasonable to require redeployment within the police.

IUNO’s opinion

It is generally difficult to terminate employees in Sweden for reasons related to their circumstances. However, even when termination is justified due to an employee’s circumstances, there may still be a redeployment obligation. This case confirms that the redeployment right can be lost when the circumstances make it unreasonable to enforce.

IUNO recommends that companies carefully assess an employee's actions in cases of misconduct, disloyalty or breach of trust. To avoid claims of unjustified termination, companies should be prepared to show how the action has damaged the company. We have previously written about how to handle misconduct here.

[The Labour Court’s decision of 27 November 2024 in case 95/24]