Criticism of the Swedish Public Employment Service for, among other things, poor accessibility and service in the processing of a case involving a person with disabilities

Summary of the decision: A woman registered as a jobseeker in May 2023. At an initial planning meeting, she stated that she had disabilities, something that the Swedish Public Employment Service was aware of from previous registration periods. After spending 24 weeks in the queue – which the Parliamentary Ombudsman notes is a significant delay – she was invited to a meeting with one of the agency’s assessment teams, at which a number of disability codes were registered. The assessment team initially recommended that the woman participate in a support programme for jobseekers with health problems or disabilities. A while later, the woman was contacted by the Swedish Public Employment Service with the offer of a place in another programme, which she subsequently started. She did however point out that she had assumed that she would be allowed to take part in the programme recommended by the assessment team.

The woman later repeatedly contacted the Swedish Public Employment Service to request a meeting and to express her need for support. The response to her wishes and questions was extremely limited. She was repeatedly referred elsewhere within the agency, with no-one taking responsibility for following up contact in a satisfactory manner. The Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that the Swedish Public Employment Service’s processing delayed the woman’s access to the support and interventions she needed, and states that this was the result of unacceptable shortcomings.