Warning and Reminder: What the Document Means, What the Manager Can Do, and How You Respond

You are here: At work → Warning and reminder

The warning is the employer's most important document in a dismissal dispute. Without it, the Labour Court may determine that the employee was never informed that the job was at risk, and then the dismissal fails. With it, even fairly ordinary infractions can be built into “repeated misconduct despite reprimand.” Therefore, you receive warnings for things that no one cared about last year, and therefore you should treat every warning as the first document in a trial.

Three types of papers all called warnings

Employers often mix up the three, sometimes intentionally. Always ask: what kind of warning is this, and what support does it have? A LAS warning cannot be appealed in itself; it is a letter. A disciplinary sanction without contractual support is a violation of Section 62 MBL and can result in damages. Salary deductions for late arrival, “fines” for broken equipment, or suspension without pay without contractual support fall into this category.

What the manager may – and may not – do

• May: give verbal and written warnings, document incidents, require work to be performed according to instructions, call for meetings.
• May: issue a LAS warning for misconduct – late arrival, unauthorized absence, refusal to follow orders, cooperation problems – as long as there is a real basis.
• May not: punish with salary deductions, suspension, or withdrawal of benefits without support in law or collective agreement (Section 62 MBL).
• May not: warn you for exercising legal rights – reporting sick, taking parental leave, contacting the union, reporting incidents, alerting according to the whistleblower law, or reporting discrimination. Such warnings are reprisals (including Chapter 2, Section 18 of the Discrimination Act, Chapter 3 of the whistleblower law, Chapter 6, Section 10 of the Work Environment Act, Section 8 MBL).
• May not: use the warning to circumvent the obligation to reassign or rehabilitate. Illness and reduced work capacity are not misconduct.

How the warning is weighed in case of a dispute

No paragraph states that three warnings lead to dismissal. What is examined is whether there were objective reasons (Section 7 LAS) – and this includes whether you were given a reasonable chance to correct yourself. This is how a warning is weighed in practice:

• Concreteness. “Lack of engagement” carries little weight. “Arrived 40 minutes late on March 3, 10, and 17 despite being reminded on March 4” carries significant weight.
• Time. A warning from 2022 that was never followed up and then disregarded is weak. The employer is considered to have accepted the situation. A dismissal for personal reasons may also not be based solely on events that have been known for more than two months (Section 7, fourth paragraph LAS).
• Follow-up. If the employer did not provide support, instruction, or adaptation where needed after the warning, it speaks against the employer.
• Your reaction. A written, factual objection in time shows that the description was disputed even then. Silence is often interpreted as acceptance.
• Proportion. A warning for something that others do without consequence, or that came the week after you contacted the safety representative, can be turned into evidence of reprisals.

What to do with the paper

Your response

The response should be brief, dated, and understandable to someone who does not know you. Do not write about the manager's personality or how unfair it is. Write about the facts.

To: [manager], cc: [HR], [union representative]
Subject: Response to warning dated [date]

I have on [date] acknowledged a written warning. My signature on the warning pertains only to receipt.

I do not agree with the description on the following points:
1. [Allegation] – [what actually happened, date, witnesses]
2. [Allegation] – [circumstances missing in the warning]

I acknowledge: [what is correct, if anything].

The following documents are attached: [timeline, emails, schedule, certificates].

I request
– that this response be archived together with the warning in my personnel file,
– written confirmation whether the warning constitutes a disciplinary action according to a collective agreement and, if so, under which provision,
– that any future comments on my work be provided in writing and concretely so that I can address them.

[Name, date]

State, municipality, and region

For state employees, disciplinary actions are regulated in the Public Employment Act: warning and salary deduction (Section 15), with requirements for written notification, the right to express your opinion, and union consultation (Sections 17–19). Such a decision can be reviewed in court. In municipalities and regions, disciplinary actions follow the collective agreement General Provisions (AB), with a written warning as a consequence and an obligation to notify the union. Here too, a “LAS warning” and a disciplinary warning are different things – ask which one you received.

Next step if it continues: reassignment if you are moved, dismissal if the notice comes, harassment if the warnings are a pattern against just you, and document for the entire timeline.

Sources

• LAS 7 § – objective reasons and the two-month rule
• MBL 62 § – disciplinary action requires support in law or agreement
• Co-determination Act (1976:580) 7–9 §§ association rights
• Public Employment Act (1994:260) 14–19 §§
• Discrimination Act Chapter 2, Section 18 – prohibition of reprisals
• Labour Court – practice on warnings and objective reasons

The guide is general information about current regulations, not advice on your case. Collective agreements may deviate from the law on several points. Legal status checked on September 25, 2026.

For those reading under stress

The guide is intended as support when you already have a lot on your mind. You do not need to read everything at once: start with the section that matches where you are today and return when the next step becomes relevant.

Cases with authorities rarely improve if you carry everything alone. Ask for help from a support person, lawyer, or relative if you can – especially before decisions with long-term effects.

Common mistakes that make the case more difficult

• Relying only on verbal promises without brief written confirmation or follow-up email.
• Waiting to request documents until the conflict is already locked – then it becomes harder to show what was said.
• Writing so long and emotionally that the authority stops responding to the substantive issue.
• Missing deadlines for reconsideration or appeal because the decision was not read verbatim.

Mini-checklist before you leave the guide

1. Do I have the date, diary/case number, and name of the person handling it (if you know)?
2. Do I know what the next step is: respond, request, remind, appeal, or report?
3. Have I saved emails and attachments in a place where I can find them in a week?