Job opportunity as a consultant / freelancer

I just realised how wide the job opportunities one have in Sweden to freelance. One is able to freelance easily because of the society's rational of different types of leave. To be a freelance, it is very easy - Open your own company, be your own employee i.e. a consultant and advertise yourself by joining an association for your profession or contact a recruiter. 

Leave 1 - Parental leave

In Sweden, an employee is able to take long parental leave, approximately 480 days shared between both parents until the child is 8 years old. During the leave, the employer looks for a substitute and this is where a consultant comes in. The employee gets their income from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, but only 80% of their earned income with a maximum amount of SEK1012 per day. By the way, if you are unemployed, you still can get parental income from the agency but at a minimal amount of SEK250 per day. One can read this from the agency's website. 

Leave 2 - Sick leave

If you apply for a long sick leave, the employer can look for a substitute.

Leave 3 - Service leave

This type of leave is great. An employee can take leave from its job to study, try another job or take care of a family member (this is limited to 100 days). I think it is great that an employee is given an opportunity to study or try another job and still come back to its old job. This is subject to the employee working with the employer for at least 6 months. And with this kind of leave, the employer will look for a substitute i.e. a consultant. However, with this leave, you are not paid. 

Temporary replacement

This is not a leave. A temporary person (a consultant) is hired to take a place of someone who has left the company until a permanent person is recruited. 

See! Is it not amazing? I was a bit confused, initially, by the term 'consultant' when I came here. To me, a consultant is someone who knows a lot and works in a huge company. But here, the term 'consultant' can be also referred to someone who freelances. 

The benefit of working as a consultant is that you get to try different assignments, and leave once the contract is up, but if you are really good, you can be hired instead or reassign to another position in the company. 

Cool, huh!