A PhD student at the department of computer science and engineering is an employee at either Chalmers university of technology (Chalmers) or the University of Gothenburg (GU). That means that a PhD student have the same legal rights as any other employee. It also means that many PhD students just got their first job, with everything that comes with it - vacation, health benefits, child care, pension etc. Working in Sweden comes with many benefits but the Swedish society also puts a lot of responsibility on the individual, it is up to you to make sure you have correct information. Another thing might be that you get some information from a co-worker about how to do something and you're thinking "I'm not doing this unless a manager tells me". Every time you are thinking "a manager should tell/should have told me" about something while working in Sweden it unfortunately probably means that you should have gone looking for the information yourself. You have the mandate to do so. Or management have already informed you, at the department meeting for instance. But how do you know where to look when you don't even know what you are looking for? We try to give you some direction:

Specification on the employment can be found on the internal pages of the universities. (Chalmers, GU)

The research school also have a page about the PhD as an employee that might have some additional links.

Other things to check here for is:

The health and wellness benefits (Friskvårdsbidrag) (Chalmers, GU): every year you are entitled to a specific amount of money that you can spend on sport activity. There is a list of approved activities
Occupational health service (Chalmers, GU): you might be feeling overwhelmed or stressed, or having wrest of back pain due to work. Then you have the possibility to talk to a psychologist/behavior scientist, doctor or a physiotherapist which is paid by your employer. Check the attached pages for your corresponding employer.
The Collective agreement (Kollektivavtalet): did you know that your work is regulated according to a collective agreement. Unfortunately, there is only a Swedish version on the Chalmers portal, but it applied to GU as well. Use Google translator to read the file in the attached page. The Collective agreement is created by the labour/trade unions and the employers, and even if you are not a member of the union the agreement still is valid for you too.
Parental leave
Sick leave
Vacation days: depending on your age you get specific amount of days. Check the collective agreement point 23 "semestern längd" for the latest numbers, or ask your division admin. You can also find the numbers in Primula. Remember that you can only save a certain amount of vacation days per year and there is also a limit for total number of saved days. You must take vacation. Both because recovery time will make you a better researcher (and a happier human), but also because if you don't take vacation you might get in to trouble with Migrationsverket. Hence - if you start later in the year and get less vacation days than the full yearly amount make sure to check that you take enough days (you might need to take them all) to not get in to trouble with your Visa. In addition in Sweden you get extra money for each vacation day in addition to your regular salary amount, yes it's called "semestertillägg". If you are unfortunate to become sick on your vacation: report in sick as if you are working! Then your vacation days will be saved for another time and the usual sick leave days and money associated will be used instead.
Official holidays: if you use Google calendar, we recommend to activate "Sweden holidays" in it. Otherwise, check point 7 "arbetstidens längd och förläggning" (röd dag, halvdag, klämdag) Even though we have non-regulated working hours we should not work more than anyone who has regulated ones over the course of a year. Hence it is quite wise to still keep track of the Swedish holidays ("röd dag") and half days. Not only because you should take that time off, but also because there might be issues with lunch options if you choose to work those days. See the internal pages. (Chalmers, GU)
"moving day" - you are allowed one extra day off because you need to move.
Free glasses if you need for work ("Terminalglasögon"). (ask your admin)
Pension (what your employer pays for your retirement)

People for you as an employee

Line Manager: It is usually the head of your Unit. They are responsible for work related issues, such as work environment, yearly appraisal meetings to check that you are able to do your job, etc. Once a year you will have an appraisal talk with your line manager where you will discuss the working environment (both physical and mental) and working relationships. If your Line manager is also your supervisor you should have the appraisal talk with the head of division instead. Faculty also discusses their research and education plans in the appraisal meetings, but as a PhD we have the follow up meetings with the school for that part instead.
Director of Studies: This is the person that manages the courses in your division, and who will distribute the teaching hours (departmental duties) for each one.
Head of Division: The person who manages your specific division.
Head of Department: They are responsible for the whole CSE department. Currently the position is held by Richard Torkar
Administrative staff: Will help you with anything employees need. For example, your division admin can help in ordering books you need, or organizing an event (e.g. cake for defenses), office supplies both for yourself and for instance for a course (post-its, pens etc) or ordering a new chair because the old one broke.
Ombudsman: There are a number of different ombudsmän related to your workplace.
- - Jämställdhetsombudsman, equality
  - Skyddsombud, safety

News and updates for you as an employee

There are many resources for keeping yourself up to date with things you need to know as an employee. Here is a list of some of the things you should look out for. Since the responsibility lies on the employee (you) to keep up to date, you should consider these opportunities as an easy way to keep up to speed with current affairs.

The CSE weekly newsletter - the newsletter is sent out on Fridays. It contains things that have happened in the past week and things that are planned to happen: thesis defences, seminars, change in routines, new positions, vacancies, visitors, department summer and Christmas parties etc (and since you are a part of the department, this is something you should participate in) If it has been in the newsletter that you have received, you are considered informed about it. Even if you do not read anything else, just read this email.
Department meetings - Since the pandemic this event has become hybrid, which leaves no excuse for you to not participate. We have heard that many PhD students consider the department meetings not to be of interest to them, but that is simply not true. Not only because of discussions and announcements, but also since this is your workplace. Whether you plan to stay in academia or not, understanding a bit of what's going on in a department and how things are run is a part of a PhD. Also, this is a chance for you to ask questions about current affairs and perhaps bring a different view to some topics. The meetings are there mainly for interaction, not for reporting. If it was brought up in the department meeting, you are considered informed about it.
Division/unit meetings - Many times for instance teaching is discussed in these meetings, and since you teach you should participate. It also gives you a chance to interact with your fellow division co-workers. The meetings are there mainly for interaction, not for reporting. If it was brought up in the meeting, you are considered informed about it.