Working time and annual leave, from directive to Swedish rule

What the Working Time Directive requires, how the Swedish acts implement it, and where American law differs.

The steps

1.Set daily and weekly rest
The directive gives at least eleven consecutive hours of daily rest, implemented by the Swedish Working Hours Act.
Arbetstidsdirektivet Art. 3CELEX 32003L0088 · Read 2026-08-20 · Proof hash efebfd36c36c3c33
2.Keep the average weekly ceiling
Average weekly working time including overtime may not exceed forty-eight hours over the reference period.
Arbetstidslagen 5 §SFS 1982:673 · Read 2026-08-20 · Proof hash 3acf2b854117c7c0
3.Record working time
The Court of Justice has required a system making each worker's daily working time measurable.
Arbetstidslagen 11 §SFS 1982:673 · Read 2026-08-20 · Proof hash 3acf2b854117c7c0
4.Make the annual leave possible to take
Accrued paid leave does not lapse automatically where the employer has not enabled the worker to take it.
Semesterlagen 4 §SFS 1977:480 · Read 2026-08-20 · Proof hash 2009a379833065eb
5.Compare with the American overtime rule
Federal law rests on overtime pay above forty hours a week rather than a ceiling on working time.
FLSA 29 U.S.C. § 20729 U.S.C. §201 et seq. · Read 2026-08-20 · Proof hash d16d0faf903158e9

This is how the agency describes the sequence in its own guidance.

Determine whether the employee is exempt or non-exempt, by duties and salary level.
Count the workweek as a fixed period of seven consecutive days.
Pay at least one and a half times the regular rate above forty hours a week.
Retain time records and pay statements under the recordkeeping rules the agency sets.

A collective agreement may derogate, but not below the directive's minimum protection.
The guide does not compute leave days or pay in an individual employment relationship.

The text may be reproduced with the source row, read date and proof hash. The receipt makes the reproduction checkable at the publisher.

The guide is a source reference, not legal advice in your matter.

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