Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure FI-2020-14/258 – Updated – measures in Finland
Country | Finland , applies nationwide |
Time period | Temporary, 01 April 2020 – 30 June 2020 |
Context | COVID-19 |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Promoting the economic, labour market and social recovery into a green future
– Flexibilisation and security |
Author | Amanda Kinnunen (Oxford Research) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 03 April 2020 (updated 10 July 2020) |
In Finland, employers with a staff of at least 20 people must commence employee-employer negotiations (yhteistoimintamenettely) if the employer plans to temporarily lay-off staff. This duty is regulated in the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings (334/2007).
The duration of employer-employee negotiations on temporary lay-offs is shortened from six weeks or 14 days to five days in order to facilitate fast adaptation of businesses to the new circumstances and the decreased potential to offer job for employees.
All undertakings that are covered by Act on Co-operation within Undertakings (334/2007) are in the scope of this measure. In Finland, personal may be laid off when the potential of the employer to offer work to its personal has diminished (either temporarily or permanently) and the employer cannot provide the employee with other suitable work or training.
This measure is not applicable to the following employers: the State, municipalities, KELA, Åland Government, Evangelical Lutheran Church or Orthodox Church.
There are no direct monetary aspects involved in this measure. However, considering that during employee-employer negotiations companies must pay employees salary whereas during lay-offs the state and unemployment funds pay out unemployment allowance (or labour market subsidy) for employees, the shortened duration of employer-employee negotiations has significant financial benefits for companies.
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
06 July 2020 |
In May 2020, the peak-level social partners proposed to the Government that the duration of the COVID-19 related temporary amendments to labour law, including the temporarily shortened duration of employer-employee negotiations in the case of temporary lay off, should be extended until the end of 2020. In June 2020, the Parliament accepted the Government's proposal to extend the duration of this temporary amendments until the end of 2020. |
No information to this date.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Employees in standard employment
|
Does not apply to businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Social partners jointly |
No special funding required
|
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Consulted | Consulted |
Form | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
In March 2020, the peak-level social partners jointly proposed a set of actions for the Finnish Government. These proposed measures include amendments to labour law. They seek to facilitate adaptation of businesses to the new circumstances and support employees who have been either temporarily or permanently laid off. Shortening the negotiation period on temporary lay-offs was part of the proposed measures.
In May 2020, the peak-level social partners jointly proposed to the Government that the duration of the measures that support employees and employers should be extended until the end of 2020.
The peak-level social partners stress that this measure is part of the wider package of measures (proposed by them in March 2020) and amendments to labour law that include both measures that facilitate adaptation of businesses to the new market situation but also measures that support employees who are being either temporarily or permanently dismissed.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Temporarily shortened duration of employer-employee negotiations on temporary layoffs, measure FI-2020-14/258 (measures in Finland), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/FI-2020-14_258.html
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