THE SHORT ANSWER
Many people run their own business alongside a job. Your cover then comes from two places: through the job, often through a collective agreement, and what you arrange yourself for the business. According to Unionen, running your own business counts as a secondary occupation, and rules on secondary occupations can be found in law, in collective agreements and in your employment contract.
This guide shows what you can check in both roles: sickness benefit, occupational pension, unemployment benefit and the difference between group insurance and individual insurance. What happens if you leave your job altogether is covered in the guide to changing jobs, leaving a union or starting a business. [1]
Keep these points in mind
- Sickness benefit is based on your salary and the business's income together.
- If you cut your hours at work, payments into your occupational pension can fall.
- Group insurance through your job or union ends when you leave the group.
STEP BY STEP
How to check your cover
Find out what your job gives you
If your job is covered by a collective agreement, Unionen says you are automatically covered by several insurance policies through it, for example an occupational pension. That cover applies to the job, not to the business. How to find out what applies is explained in the guide to insurance through your job and union.
Unionen says it is important to be open with your employer about the business and to have the permission written into your employment contract. The duty of loyalty applies throughout the employment and the notice period, and a non-compete clause can limit what you may do even after the employment has ended.
[2][3][1]Count both incomes for sickness benefit
If you have both a salary from a job and income from a business, your SGI is based on both incomes together, according to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. The highest possible SGI is 592 000 kr in 2026.
How sickness benefit is calculated for your type of business, and which waiting days apply with a sole trader business, is explained in the guide to insurance for the self-employed. How the salary from your own limited company affects your cover is explained in the guide to salary and income ceilings.
[4]See how your occupational pension changes if you cut your hours
Unionen points out that a lower salary after cutting your working hours also means lower payments into your occupational pension. With an employer that has a collective agreement, the payment into ITP falls, and that also affects the sickness pension in ITP if you are ill for a long time.
If your employer has no collective agreement but an individual occupational pension, Unionen says you need to find out how the pension and any risk insurance are affected. With a limited company, Unionen says you can get ITP for your own business through a direct collective agreement with the union, if its conditions are met.
[1][3]Read the unemployment fund's rules for people with both
According to Sveriges a-kassor, special rules apply if you have both been employed and run your own business in the period before you became unemployed. In some cases you can be paid if you lose your job, even though you keep running the business part-time.
Unionen says there are limits on how much benefit you can get while you also have income from the business, and that the rules differ depending on whether the business is a small secondary occupation next to a full-time job or you work part-time in both. Membership of a union does not make you a member of an unemployment fund.
[5][1]
Group insurance or individual insurance
Group insurance applies to a defined group, such as employees of an employer or members of a union, according to Konsumenternas. It can be included automatically or be optional, and the group agreement decides which cover is offered. According to Unionen, you take out individual insurance directly with an insurer.
Group insurance is often low in price, according to Konsumenternas, but personal insurance in a group can pay less and have more exclusions than individual insurance. Group insurance ends when you leave the group. If you cannot get equivalent cover elsewhere, you have three months, and under some conditions a right to continuation insurance.
[7][2]See both roles in one place
Keep the statements from your job, the terms of your union's and unemployment fund's insurance and your own policy documents in My Forsio. Then you can see what comes from the job and what you have arranged yourself, and each detail shows the passage it came from. If a document is missing, the detail is shown as Not verified, not as confirmed absent.
Forsio does not decide which cover you need, does not calculate your SGI and does not assess your right to unemployment benefit. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the unemployment fund and the insurer do. Forsio is not an insurance intermediary and does not provide insurance advice.
Fictional example
Full time at work, photos at weekends.
Jonas has a full-time job with a collective agreement and a sole trader business taking photo assignments at weekends. He is thinking about cutting his job to 80 percent.
- Occupational pension through the job
- ITP under the collective agreement
- SGI
- Salary and the business's profit together
- Income insurance through his union
- Not verifiedRead what the terms say about people who also run a business.
- If he cuts to 80 percent
- Lower payment into ITPPotential gapThe payment follows the lower salary.
The cover through his job is confirmed. How the income insurance applies with the business on the side needs reading in the terms, and whether he cuts his hours is Jonas's own decision.
Common questions
Does income from the business count towards sickness benefit?
Yes. If you have both a salary from a job and income from a business, the SGI is based on both incomes together, according to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, up to the ceiling of 592 000 kr in 2026. [4]
Can I get unemployment benefit if I lose my job but keep the business?
In some cases. According to Sveriges a-kassor, special rules apply to people who combine the two, and you can sometimes be paid if you lose your job even though you keep running the business part-time. Unionen says there are limits on how much you can get. Ask your unemployment fund what applies to you. [5][1]
Does my employer have to approve my business?
It depends on the rules on secondary occupations in law, in the collective agreement and in your employment contract. Unionen says it is always good to get your employer's approval and to have it written into your employment contract. The duty of loyalty applies regardless, and it means among other things that you may not run a competing business. [1]
What is a non-compete clause?
According to Unionen, a non-compete clause is an agreement between you and your employer that limits your ability to start your own business or work for a competitor after the employment has ended. It can apply for a set time, in a set place and to a set type of business. If you break it, you can be liable to pay a penalty or damages. [1]
Can I get ITP for my own business?
According to Avtalat, a collective agreement is needed to take out ITP, and owners of a sole trader business or a trading partnership cannot have ITP. Unionen says that if you run a limited company or an economic association, you can sign a direct collective agreement with the union and save into ITP, if you are a self-employed member and mainly do salaried-employee work. The agreement also includes TGL and TFA insurance. [6][3]
What happens to group insurance if I leave my union or my job?
Personal insurance under a group agreement ends when you no longer belong to the group, according to Konsumenternas. If you cannot get equivalent cover elsewhere, you have three months to arrange it, and under some conditions a right to continuation insurance. It is the content of the cover that is compared, not the price. [7]
Does cutting my hours affect my occupational pension?
Yes, if your salary falls. Unionen says a lower salary means lower payments into your occupational pension, and with an employer that has a collective agreement the sickness pension in ITP is also affected. If you work without a collective agreement, read how your individual occupational pension and risk insurance are affected. [1]
MY FORSIO
See the cover from your job and your business together.
Keep the statements from your job and your own policy documents in My Forsio. Each detail shows the passage it came from, so you can read it yourself. Free for individuals.
Sources and references
Sources checked
This guide explains general principles of Swedish insurance. Your policy schedule and terms set out what applies to you.
- Unionen: combine your own business with a job
- Unionen: review your insurance as a self-employed person
- Unionen: save into the ITP occupational pension as a self-employed person through a direct collective agreement
- Swedish Social Insurance Agency: sickness benefit qualifying income (SGI)
- Sveriges a-kassor: unemployment benefit for business owners and the self-employed
- Avtalat: insurance cover for business owners and managing directors
- Konsumenternas: group insurance