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Mentorer ska hjälpa företagare
I december startar Unionen ett mentorsprogram där man sammanför färska företagare med personer med lång erfarenhet av att driva eget.
Att vara nybliven egenföretagare kan vara både utmanande och ensamt. Samtidigt finns det många erfarna företagare som gärna skulle vilja dela med sig av sitt kunnande. Nu tänker Unionen föra samman de tu.
I december lanseras ett mentorsprogram, som rent konkret består av en webbplats med ett hundratal mentorer uppdelade på olika kunskapsområden.
– Det kommer att bli en hemsida där adepter och mentorer kan mötas. Vi hjälper helt enkelt medlemmarna att hjälpa varandra. Även om man kommer från olika branscher tror vi att man har mycket att lära varandra, säger Per Lund på Unionen Egenföretagare.
Unionen står för en mentorsutbildning och den digitala mötesplatsen. Grundtanken är att adept och mentor träffas en gång i månaden under ett halvårs tid.
– Det är upp till adepten att specificera vad man vill ha ut av sitt mentorsprogram. I vissa fall räcker det kanske med ett eller två samtal och sedan vet man vad man ska göra för att lösa sitt problem.
Intresset för att bli såväl adept som mentor är stort bland medlemmarna, men man tar gärna emot fler kandidater, enligt Per Lund.
– Många erfarna företagare känner att de vill ge något tillbaka till andra egenföretagare som kanske inte kommit lika långt. Men de vill också vara med för att utvecklas själva, säger han.
Förbundet hoppas nu att fler ska våga ta steget och starta eget.
– Unionen Egenföretagare kan hjälpa till med mycket runt omkring som personlig trygghet och affärsjuridik men vi är inte experter på att driva företag. Det är egenföretagarna själva. Det här blir ett jättebra tillskott, säger Per Lund.
Bläddra i senaste numret av våra e-tidningar
No guaranteed wages in Northvolt's US reconstruction
Northvolt's financial troubles continue. Now, the battery manufacturer's hopes rest on a reconstruction in the USA. However, the process means that the state guaranteed wages – lönegaranti – will not apply to Union members.
The clock is ticking for the struggling battery manufacturer Northvolt. During the autumn, debts have piled up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, and recently several of the company's major shareholders withdrew from negotiations for new financing. Since its inception in 2015, Northvolt has raised SEK 110 billion, but now the money is almost gone. According to CEO Peter Carlsson, they need to raise just over SEK 10 billion in the coming year, but so far the search for new financing has been fruitless.
Maintaining control with Chapter 11
Therefore, Northvolt has now taken the next step to save the company. The management has applied for a so-called Chapter 11 procedure, a type of reconstruction process in the USA that was recently used by the airline SAS. One possible explanation for the battery manufacturer turning to an American court is that it is considered doubtful that Northvolt would be granted a Swedish reconstruction, as it requires the company to be fundamentally viable. Another advantage of Chapter 11 is that the management is likely to retain control over the company.
No guaranteed wages for employees
However, there is a downside – for the employees. In an American process, Northvolt's employees will not be able to benefit from the Swedish state guaranteed wages - lönegaranti - according to several legal experts contacted by Kollega.
– The Swedish state does not pay any guaranteed wages if the company has not initiated a reconstruction or bankruptcy in Sweden. If Northvolt only initiates a Chapter 11 procedure in the USA, all the company's obligations to employees in Sweden to pay wages and other compensation according to the employment contract remain, says Hans Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Association of Restructuring and Bankruptcy Administrators.
If Union members at Northvolt do not receive their wages, the union can, however, request the company to be declared bankrupt in a Swedish court.
– If Northvolt does not pay wages on time, the employee or the union can collect the wages through the Enforcement Authority and ultimately request that the company be declared bankrupt if the wages are not settled, explains Hans Andersson.
Unionen: "Will collect unpaid wages"
Filip Vujcic, a union lawyer at Unionen, also assesses that members cannot benefit from the state guaranteed wages when a corporate reconstruction is initiated in the USA.
– This means that Unionen, in the event of future unpaid wages, needs to safeguard its members' rights through wage collection. According to Swedish bankruptcy rules, a corporate reconstruction in the USA does not prevent a member's bankruptcy application from being examined in a Swedish court, he says.
Will Unionen request Northvolt to be declared bankrupt if members do not receive their wages?
– Unionen does not comment on that question at this time.
*In wage collection, Unionen usually sends a demand letter to the employer, who has seven days to pay the wages. If the wages are still not paid, the employer receives a payment order via service. If that does not help either, Unionen sends a bankruptcy application to the district court.
This text has been translated with the help of AI.
CHAPTER 11
- American reconstruction process aimed at giving a company a chance to continue with all or parts of its operations. Normally, no administrator is appointed, and the debtor continues to run the business themselves.
- The company must present a plan that must be approved by the court. The plan aims to determine which debts the debtor should pay and which debts should be written off. The plan also provides the opportunity to terminate unfavorable contracts and reorganize the business so that it can continue to operate profitably.
- One advantage of turning to a court in the USA instead of using the Swedish reconstruction process is that a Chapter 11 has an impact in several countries. If a group has companies in different countries, they are all drawn under the same process instead of carrying it out in each country and risking different outcomes.
