As a student at KTH, you have certain rights and obligations related to your education and study environment. KTH has a page that compiles these on the student web: Rights and responsibilities (KTH).

KTH is a university

This means that KTH falls under the Higher education act and Higher education ordinance and they regulate how the university should be run and what the education should be like on a high level. KTH is also a government agency and therefore follows the Administrative procedure act.

Except for these laws, KTH makes their own rules about how things are done here. These rules are added to by the different parts of KTH by procedures that affect the education and students. You always have the right to view those procedures. The common governing documents of the education at KTH are found here.

Student influence is a right

In section 7 of chapter 2 of the Higher education act one can read:

”The students are entitled to representation when decisions or preparations are made that have bearing on their courses or programmes or the situation of students.”

This means that students have the right to conduct student influence over their education and university. Student influence at KTH happens through THS. Read more about how to make your voice heard here.

The right to a Student Safety Representative (SSO)

According to the Swedish Work Evironment Act employees have the right to appoint a Safety Representative as protection from their employer. For students KTH counts as our employer. Important to note is that the Safety Representative is not responsible for the work environment or mitigating problems within the work environment, the employer is. What a Safety Representative does is to report problems within the work environment to the emplyer and demand that they be rectified. If they are not sought to within a reasonable time frame the Student Safety Representative can file a so called 6:6 request to the Swedish Work Environment Authority. The Student Safety Representative (SSO) is the only student who can file such a request.

The Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 6 – Cooperation between employers and employees, etc.
Section 4 §  “A safety representative represents the employees in work environment matters and must strive to promote a satisfactory work environment. To this end, the representative is responsible, within her or his safety area, for monitoring the safeguards against illness and accidents and compliance by the employer with the requirements of Chapter 3, Section 2a.” 

“A safety representative must participate in the planning of new or altered premises, equipment, work processes, work methods and of the organisation of work, as well as the planning of the use of substances capable of causing illness or accidents. Furthermore, a safety representative must participate in the establishment of action plans as referred to in Chapter 3, Section 2a.

Employers must notify safety representatives of any changes affecting safety conditions within the representative’s area.”

Section 6 §  “A safety representative is entitled to access the documents and obtain the other information needed for the representative’s activities.”

Section 6 a §  “If a safety representative considers that measures need to be taken to achieve a satisfactory work environment, the safety representative must apply to the employer for such measures. The safety representative may also request that a certain investigation be carried out to verify conditions within the safety area. Upon application, the employer must immediately give the safety representative written confirmation that the employer has received the representative’s request. The employer must make a response in the matter without delay. If the employer fails to do so, or if the request is not considered within a reasonable time, the Swedish Work Environment Authority, upon application from a safety representative, must consider whether an order or prohibition should be issued under Chapter 7, Section 7.”

News