Information to be submitted in connection with the employer declaration
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns proposals that employers should provide information on absence in the employer declaration to streamline Försäkringskassan's control of parental leave 1. SD moves for approval because the proposal reduces incorrect payments and benefit fraud with minimal administrative burden 1. M considers the proposal to be a necessary measure to protect taxpayers' money and strengthen trust in the welfare system, as the benefit outweighs the reasonable administrative burden 2. C moves for rejection as they consider that the responsibility should not lie with employers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, but rather with Försäkringskassan or the parents 3. C proposes instead digital solutions where parents themselves submit payslips 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Daniel Persson (SD)
Madam Speaker! We shall now debate the Social Insurance Committee's report SfU9, and I begin by moving for approval of the committee's proposed decision.
It is proposed that information regarding absence from work shall be provided by the employer in connection with the employer's tax return. This applies when the absence is stated as the basis for entitlement to parental benefit or temporary parental benefit. This information shall be used to streamline Försäkringskassan's control of parental benefit benefits in order to detect incorrect payments retrospectively. The proposal implies that Skatteverket shall receive the information to then hand it over to Försäkringskassan.
Madam Speaker! The Government decided in June 2022 to task a special investigator with reviewing the data at the individual level in the employer declaration.
Studies and investigations have been conducted on the extent of incorrect payments within parental leave benefits in recent years. These are estimates that cannot provide exact answers on how large the extent of the incorrect payments is, or what the underlying causes of the errors are, as well as what proportion are unintentional mistakes and how large a part concerns intentional benefit fraud. However, the studies still provide a strong picture that there is a problem with incorrect payments of temporary parental leave. Working despite benefit is a common cause of errors. This means that an insured person works and receives wages during the time they receive compensation. It is estimated that it could involve billions of kronor paid out incorrectly.
According to Försäkringskassan, the problem of work despite benefits stands out as one of the major problem areas, both in terms of the number of detected incorrect payments and the number of police reports regarding benefit fraud.
The Government assesses that the most effective socio-economic alternative available is to use the employer declarations to collect the data. This leads to the smallest increase in administration and costs for both authorities, employers, and other stakeholders. At the same time, the proposal is assessed to generate a significant reduction in incorrect payments.
Madam Speaker! According to statistics from Skatteverket, nearly 70 percent of all employer declarations are submitted to Skatteverket by having the data from the employer's payroll system transferred to Skatteverket more or less automatically. More than 10 million records regarding payees are submitted to Skatteverket every reporting period, of which 97.5 percent are submitted automatically and 2.5 percent manually.
For employers who submit information automatically, the bill does not involve any significant increased administrative burden. For other employers, however, an expanded reporting obligation entails increased administration.
In the government's proposition, it is mentioned that a reasonable estimate of the increased time expenditure according to the government could be that for each payment recipient, where the compensation has been affected by absence that can give entitlement to parental leave or temporary parental leave, it will take an average of four minutes to complete the information. For payment recipients who are not affected by absence, it will take an average of one minute to submit the information.
Madam Speaker! Overall, the proposal is judged to create a benefit that outweighs the negative consequences, such as the costs that the reporting obligation entails, which are mainly initial costs, and the extent to which the administrative burden can be assumed to increase.
It is of the utmost importance that we deal with incorrect payments and fraud and that we safeguard the tax funds we dispose of.
Once again, I move for approval of the committee's proposal for a decision.
Martina Johansson (C)
Madam Speaker! That fraud occurs in our welfare systems in Sweden is a problem. It creates mistrust. Here we make the same assessment as the government, that it is a major problem that we must address. We must limit intentional fraud and help parents to do right when it comes to temporary parental leave.
Madam Speaker! Who then is it that bears the responsibility for making it right? Is it Försäkringskassan, the parents, or the companies that bear the responsibility? From the Center Party's side, we do not want to place the responsibility on the entrepreneurs, but we would rather see that the responsibility falls more on Försäkringskassan and perhaps on the parents.
The proposal that the government has put on the table increases the administration for our entrepreneurs, because regardless of whether it concerns one or several minutes in the administration that is to take place, it is an additional work task that our entrepreneurs shall carry out. It affects small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. We do not think it is reasonable, because that is where the jobs are created. Four out of five jobs are created in small and medium-sized enterprises.
It is already heavy on regulations for our entrepreneurs with the reporting that must be done in various areas. The question is how long our entrepreneurs can manage to run their companies if they are to have additional burdens on top of the work they actually do every day.
This is legislation that is supposed to come into effect in a few weeks. How are the companies, especially the small companies, going to have time to prepare? And it is not just part of what the government has done to burden small and medium-sized enterprises, but the Moderaterna and the government have also removed the protection against high sick pay costs earlier.
Where has the business perspective gone? Where has the government's work line gone? This is something that we have previously stood for together.
Which entrepreneur will dare to hire an employee with a medical history if one risks high sick pay costs? This is not something that contributes to reduced unemployment directly. The Centre Party is beginning to feel alone in standing on the side of the companies, Madam Speaker.
We have previously had controls of temporary parental leave pay in Sweden, if I remember correctly 2008-2013. At that time, it was the preschools that submitted control certificates regarding parents who had not had the children at the preschool. One of the reasons why this was removed was that it meant a very large administrative burden for the preschool staff which was not considered proportionate. Does it become more proportionate if an entrepreneur is to submit these details? That is my question.
Madam Speaker! The Center Party and I agree with the government and the Moderates in wondering what the problem is. I would like to see a better proposal, a proposal that is more about digital systems that Försäkringskassan might possibly take responsibility for. Can the individual employee or the individual parent submit pay slips and ensure that they have not taken a salary for the days in question? Or perhaps we should proceed with the larger companies to build a sustainable system and thereafter proceed with small and medium-sized companies so that they also have time to transition. What happens to the companies that do not manage the task when the law enters into force?
Madam Speaker! We agree on the problem description, but we want to see a different solution. I therefore move for the rejection of the government's bill and for the approval of reservation 1.
Caroline Högström (M)
Madam Speaker! Every year, an estimated 15-20 billion kronor are paid out incorrectly from our welfare systems. About half of them are suspected to be pure benefit crimes. The Moderate-led government is now working on a broad front to put a stop to benefit crime and thereby protect the taxpayers' money and the trust in our common welfare systems.
Today we are debating an important proposal aimed at strengthening control and reducing fraud with temporary parental leave, what is called vab. The proposal means that employers shall provide information in the employer declaration if an employee has taken vab or parental leave. The employer declaration is submitted to Skatteverket as usual, which in turn is tasked with handing over the information to Försäkringskassan. This is a necessary measure because it is an important piece of the puzzle to maintain trust in our safety systems and ensure that resources are used in the right way.
Madam Speaker! Through the proposal on the table, we can give Försäkringskassan better opportunities to detect and prevent crime and fraud. The proposal means that the employer declarations contribute to the authorities receiving a more accurate picture of when a person has actually been absent from work. This allows us to target control measures more accurately and reduce the risk of incorrect payments.
Madam Speaker! In order to preserve trust in our security systems, we must ensure that they are fair, sustainable, and protected from abuse. It is about safeguarding all the parents who do the right thing and the taxpayers who foot the bill, while simultaneously sending a clear signal to those who try to cheat the system.
Of course, this implies a certain change for employers, who will need to report more information in the employer declaration. But it is about reporting when employees are absent for parental leave or vab. For the vast majority of employers, this information is already part of their routines for time reporting and personnel management. The increased administration can therefore be kept at a reasonable level. At the same time, the benefit of this information is enormous – not just in crowns and öre, but also for strengthening the trust in our common welfare.
Madam Speaker! This proposal is not about casting suspicion on all parents who use their right to vab. The vast majority of parents do the right thing and use the benefit as intended. But we know that benefit fraud and cheating exist within vab, and in its scope, it has grown to enormous sums. It is therefore necessary to act.
We Moderates have always been clear that tax money should be used responsibly. Our safety nets should be there for the people who truly need them. By strengthening the controls of the vab payments, we ensure that this happens. It simultaneously sends an important signal, namely that cheating is not tolerated. No one should think of trying to cheat our welfare systems.
At the same time, it is important that this reform is implemented in a way that is clear and smooth for both employers and Försäkringskassan. We Moderates will follow up on the implementation closely to ensure that the administrative burden for the companies is as small as possible.
Madam Speaker! This is an investment in a stronger and more just security system that benefits both society and the individuals who need help. Sweden shall be a country where we can trust that our common resources are used correctly and that benefit fraud is combated with full force.
This is one of several pieces of the Moderate-led government's work to stop benefit fraud. The work to expand information sharing between authorities is ongoing on a broad front. In March, an inquiry will present proposals for a sanction fee and a benefit ban for those who cheat and commit benefit fraud. Those who commit benefit fraud can also be disqualified from the welfare systems.
Step by step and reform by reform, we will get Sweden in order. I move for approval of the bill.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.