A town in northern Sweden is considering a proposal to give municipal employees one hour of paid leave every week to go home and have sex. 

The proposal would boost the local birth rate, improve ageing marriages and lift employee morale, the Overtornea councilman who proposed the measure has argued. 

“We should encourage procreation. I believe that sex is often in short supply. Everyday life is stressful and the children are at home,” said 42-year-old councilman Per-Erik Muskos. 

The proposal, which needs a simple majority to pass, made headlines across Sweden and garnered Mr Muskos praise and scorn in equal measure, the New York Times reported. 

Sweden has been at the forefront of efforts to address people's work-life balance, experimenting with having a six-hour workday and offering some of the world's most generous parental leave benefits. 

But Mr Muskos has acknowledged that his proposal could be hard to enforce, with no way of knowing whether employees taking advantage of the hour were using it to get frisky with their partner or instead go for a walk.