An overview of the 2013 data on the five indicators of regulations on hours reveals that Sweden has no restrictions on night work and that it permits the workweek to be temporarily extended to 50 hours or more when production necessitates (Table 3). But among the sample of 20 countries, Sweden is one of 8—along with France, the Netherlands and Norway—that have restrictions on work on the “weekly holiday”. In Sweden workers’ weekly rest is required to take place on weekends and exemptions are made only under special circumstances.

With an average of 25 working days of mandatory annual leave for employees with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, Sweden is considered to have semi-rigid regulation of annual leave. By comparison, the average is 25 days for other Nordic economies, 23.9 for the EU15 and 18.2 for the G7. In Sweden, along with 4 other economies in the sample, the workweek can extend to 5.5 days, while in 14 it can extend to 6 days. Only in Greece can the workweek not extend beyond 5 days.

Table 3: Features of regulations on hours in countries in the EU15, <u>G7 and Nordic region, 2013</u>

|Can the workweek extend to 50<br>hours or more for 2 months a year<br>to respond to a seasonal increase in<br>production?|Yes: Austria, Belgium, Canada,**Denmark**,**Finland**, Germany,<br>Greece,**Iceland**, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands,**Norway**,<br>Portugal, Spain,**Sweden**, United Kingdom, United States.<br>No: France, Luxembourg.|
|---|---|
|Are there restrictions on night work<br>in segments of the manufacturing<br>sector where continuous operations<br>are economically necessary?|Yes: Italy, Netherlands,**Norway**, Spain.<br>No: Austria, Belgium, Canada,**Denmark**,**Finland**, France,<br>Germany, Greece,**Iceland**, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal,<br>**Sweden**, United Kingdom, United States.|
|Are there restrictions on “weekly<br>holiday” work in segments of the<br>manufacturing sector where<br>continuous operations are<br>economicallynecessary?|Yes: Belgium, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands,**Norway,**<br>Portugal,**Sweden**.<br>No: Austria, Canada,**Denmark**,**Finland**, Germany,**Iceland**,<br>Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, United States.|
|What is the maximum number of<br>working days per week?|6 days: Belgium, Canada,**Denmark**,**Finland**, France, Germany,<br>**Iceland**, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal,**Norway**, United Kingdom,<br>United States.<br>5.5 days: Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain,**Sweden**<br>5 days: Greece.|
|What is the mandatory average paid<br>annual leave (in working days) for<br>workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of<br>tenure?|**Finland**and France, 30; United Kingdom, 28; Austria,**Denmark**,<br>Luxembourg and**Sweden**, 25; Germany and**Iceland**, 24; Greece,<br>Spain and Portugal, 22;**Norway**, 21; Belgium, Ireland, Italy and<br>Netherlands, 20; Japan, 15; Canada, 10; United States, 0.|

Source: World Bank Group, _Doing Business_ 2014.

Note: The sample consists of all 20 countries in the EU15, G7 and Nordic region.

In brief, Sweden’s regulations on hours—encompassing rules on weekly hours of work, night work, work on the weekly holiday and mandatory paid annual leave—are stricter than those of the majority of comparator economies. This appears to be a result of more restrictive regulations on work on the weekly holiday and paid annual leave. It should be noted, however, that _Doing Business_ measures 15