Salary review 2025
Last changed: 05 September 2025
At SLU, a review of the employees' salaries, a salary audit, is carried out annually. The salary audit is done in collaboration between departments/equivalents and the HR-unit.
The new salary will be visible on the payslip starting from December 13th in Primula self-service. Between December 6th and 12th, the display of the preliminary payslip will be closed in Primula self-service.
Common work between the parties
Inflation – will it affect?
Inflation is a factor that is often taken into account during negotiations on new central salary agreements and increases. Central parties also consider the fact that Sweden has a well-functioning salary-setting culture. However, public authorities do not take inflation into consideration when determining how they will use their budget to accommodate salary increases.
Why is the autumn salary review not influenced by Sweden’s rate of inflation?
Salaries are not increased to compensate for inflation, instead they are increased to stimulate organisational development and recruit and maintain skills.
The central agreements do not contain anything to support salary increases to compensate for inflation, nor is there anything in any of the central collective bargaining agreements. Furthermore, there are no individual guarantees.
Inflation is not a parameter for setting salaries, and it is not linked to why an employer pays salaries or chooses to increase them.
Employers set salaries based on other criteria, and these are based on performance that has contributed to attaining organisational goals, meeting the needs of the organisation, and skills provision. Hence, the rate of inflation in Sweden will have no direct influence on the autumn’s salary review.
Two review models
The salary reviewing process at SLU is a yearly occurrence and is carried out in two different ways. The salary of an employee is reviewed either through a process called salary-setting dialogues applies to members of the Saco-union, employees who are not members of a trade union and those members of OFR/ST who so wish or through traditional negotiations applies to members of and Seko and members of OFR/ST who prefer that their salary be decided through traditional negotiations.
What does it mean to declare yourself not in agreement
Saco members and members of OFR/ST who wish to take part in the salary-setting dialogue have the option of declaring themselves not in agreement with the proposal. The question of a new salary is then deferred to negotiations between Saco respectively OFR/ST and the salary setting manager and the Division of Human Resources. During the negotiation, it will be determined whether the assessment has been properly carried out and no formal mistakes have been made. What is reviewed is the proposed salary level, but is primarily the process and the conversations and the quality of the content of these.
Timetable 2025 (in Swedish only)
September/Oktober
v 37-42
Genomförande av lönesamtal (Seko och OFR/ST-medlemmar)
v 37-44
Genomförande av lönesättandesamtal 1 och 2 (Saco, OFR/ST och oorganiserade)
26/10
Sista dag att registrera lönebud i Primula på medlemmar i OFR/ST med traditionell förhandling och medlemmar i Seko
November/December
5/11
Sista dag för prefekt/motsv. att meddela oenigheter till HR-specialist och registrera resultat av lönesättande samtal i Primula
17/11
Förhandlingar Seko
18-19/11
Förhandlingar OFR/ST
17/11-12/12
Lönesättande chef informerar medarbetare om resultat från förhandling med Seko och OFR/ST
20/11-21/11
Oenighetsförhandlingar Saco
20/11-8/12
Lönesättande chef informerar medarbetare om resultat av oenighetsförhandling
23/12
Löneutbetalning
Nano learning about the salary review process
Take part in a short nano learning course that provides knowledge on the salary review process at SLU.
Salary agreement in Primula web
An agreement regarding the new salary is sent to the employee via Primula web. When the agreement has been sent, the employee receives an email from Primula. The employee then has 5 working days to respond in Primula web.
Salary criteria
Our salary criteria are based on SLU’s assignment and objectives as described at a comprehensive strategic level. The question asked is what performance is needed to achieve these objectives. The answers constitute our salary criteria.
The purpose of the criteria is to ensure that salary-setting, as part of the pay review, is based on a factual assessment of an employee’s performance and skills in relation to the requirements and responsibilities involved in the tasks, and the organisation’s objectives. The salary criteria provide support and a means of control for managers and staff, and they encourage good performance and goal attainment.
Our salary criteria must be gender-neutral and free from all forms of discrimination.
How the salary criteria are linked to the staff development review
It is important that the salary criteria are well known among staff and that there is support for them. For the criteria to be meaningful, employees must, in good time before a pay review, be well aware of them and how they will be used to assess performance. During the spring staff development review, employees and their line managers discuss the criteria. The purpose of the staff development review is to clarify the objectives and performance needed and what criteria will be used to assess performance as part of the autumn pay review.
The staff development review is looking to the future, the salary-setting appraisal/salary appraisal is for reflecting upon past achievements.
SLU has salary criteria for research, teaching, environmental monitoring and assessment, clinical work, managers with staff management responsibilities, technical work and administrative work. Some criteria are used for all staff categories but are still listed for each category.
The examples of performance for each category are not exhaustive, as what tasks the members of a category have will vary. During the staff development review, employees and their managers should discuss what performance is expected of the employee.
If required, the examples can be modified to suit different needs. They can also decide to weight criteria differently from year to year.
Salary-setting managers with members of staff who also work for another SLU unit must consult with that unit to collect information on performance before the salary-setting appraisal/salary appraisal.
SLU's salary criteria per category
- Administrative work
- Clinical work
- Environmental monitoring and assessment
- Manager with staff management responsibilities
- Research
- Teaching
- Technical work