Influencer Sandra Linder Dismissed from SBAB

Influencer and mother of five, Sandra Linder, has been dismissed from SBAB.

Sandra Linder, who worked as a mortgage specialist at SBAB, also ran the blog Ekonomimamman and amassed thousands of followers on social media.

– My aim with Ekonomimamman has been to educate people about personal finance in a simple way. Sharing my thoughts as a mother of several children, says Sandra Linder, who announced her dismissal on social media.

On Monday, she was called to a meeting with her manager, which also included a representative from SBAB's HR department. There, she was informed that she would lose her job, she says.

The reason was her social media activities, where she wrote about bank competitors like Avanza and Nordnet. According to Sandra Linder, SBAB claimed she should have reported it as a side business.

– I have not hidden or concealed this in any way. I have often informed my manager. We have discussed this in our individual meetings and over lunch, says Sandra Linder.

Used Affiliate Links

Sandra says she followed the company's social media policy and did not mention her employment at SBAB.

At times, she used so-called affiliate links, where the sharer earns a commission when others click and purchase something. However, this was only with a company outside the banking sector, and she claims she never engaged in paid collaborations where she received money for mentioning companies.

– I have not been informed that this should even be reported as a side assignment. I also have another business I plan to start, which I have reported as a side assignment, she says.

SBAB: No Paid Collaborations Allowed

Catharina Henriksson, press officer at SBAB, writes in an email that not all facts were conveyed in the social media clip, but she cannot go into details due to "the company's employer responsibility and respect for the employee's personal integrity."

"What I can say is that as an employee at SBAB, you are obliged to report in writing and get any side assignments approved by the bank. We have clear procedures for how side assignments should be reported and regularly inform and remind about this through training and internal communication."

Henriksson writes that SBAB believes they have followed both the labor law process and the applicable collective agreement.

She states that the company generally views positively when employees share their economic knowledge with individuals.

"However, as an employee of the bank, you can never have paid collaborations with direct competitors that you profit from alongside your job. Such collaborations risk creating conflicts of interest and also violate the duty of loyalty and the bank's code of conduct."