Finnish Labour Law & Non-union Dispute Resolution
Finnish Employment Law
Relevant Acts
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for drafting and consideration of labour legislation. The relevant Acts are available in English from the Ministry's website, and include:
- Employment Contracts Act
- Working Hours Act
- Annual Holidays Act
- Non-discrimination Act
- Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life
- Collective Agreements Act
- Act on Job Alternation Leave
- Study Leave Act
- Pay Security Act
Outline of Finnish Labour Law
The Ministry's website also provides comprehensive summaries of Finnish labour law in the sections:
- Contracts of employment and employment relationships
- Working hours
- Annual holiday
- Job alternation leave, study leave and family leave, remote work
- Non-discrimination and equality at work
- Protection of privacy at work and working with children
- Contractor's obligations and liability
- Co-operation procedure
- Matters related to personnel funds
- Collective bargaining agreements and arbitration in industrial disputes
The Ministry also drafts legislative documents on matters relating to personnel involvement systems, i.e. codetermination in companies, representation on the Board and staff funds.
Visit the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment tem.fi/en/labour-legislation
Non-union Dispute Resolution in Finland
If you are a member of a Finnish union see Trade Unions: Dispute Resolution
If you are not a union member and your employment sector is not bound by a collective agreement, which could therefore be resolved in Labour Court, your terms of employment are still dictated and protected by Finnish employment law. The law defines the minimum conditions for terms of employment.
Individual labour disputes cannot be settled in Labour Court; they can be settled in regular courts but this is a last resort and settlement outside court is highly preferable.
Settlement Outside Court
- The first step is always to inform your employer of your position and attempt to negotiate a solution
- If you have a legal mind, familiarise yourself with the appropriate employment law at www.tem.fi > Labour Legislation If you feel this has strengthened your position, re-approach your employer
- If the employer’s response to the matter remains unsatisfactory, contact the National Conciliators' Office (Valtakunnansovittelijan toimisto) and ask for advice; strictly speaking they deal with collective agreements but you may learn something helpful. Tel: 029 506 2525
- Contact the Finnish Bar Association regarding mediation; they charge fees for mediation services but you may get some advice over the phone. Tel: 09 6866 120
- Contact a lawyer for advice. See Lawyers & Legal Representation in Finland
- If you feel you have experienced ethnic discrimination you can contact the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman for advice www.syrjinta.fi Site in 30+ languages
Settlement in a Finnish Court
Labour law disputes concerning the following matters generally lie within the jurisdiction of regular courts:
- interpretation of individual employment contracts
- claims based on individual employment contracts or on legislation pertaining to such contacts
- individual claims based on collective agreements in as far as such disputes are not to be tried by the Labour Court
- prosecutions for violation of labour legislation (employment contracts, hours of work, annual holidays, health and safety, etc.)
- claims for damage resulting from such violations
- If you have proceeded to this stage, get some legal advice! Good luck.
Related Links
Links to other sites are direct to the relevant page, where possible
