One has to do their dirty job on their own.

thank you for this, i was going to be so sad if no one had done it.

smutsiga jobb*

Is illiteral the same as figurative? If so, it can be :).

I'm guessing "it's dirty work" would be something like "det är smutsig arbeten". Because of the article ett, the translation requires "a job". I would not say "a work" in English unless talking about a created object, like a work of art.

Then you should like its German counterpart, schmutzig. :)

https://forvo.com/word/smutsig/#sv