The terms and conditions of the collective agreement must apply to all employees in the industry, whether they are unionized or not. The system works as long as the number of members is large enough. Fixed-term contracts are terminated without notice at the end of the predetermined period of employment. Indeterminate employment contracts end either by mutual agreement between the employer and the worker or by unilateral notice (notice). If the employer terminates the contract, it must be based on important reasons, i.e. serious worker infractions or a change in circumstances that renders the worker unable to meet his obligations. Financial or production reasons are also acceptable. The employee does not need a specific reason to terminate the contract. Both parties must respect the notice period at the end of the contract, the duration of which is related to the length of the period of employment. Workers whose contracts have been terminated for financial reasons are also entitled to paid re-employment leave. The views of both parties must be heard in the process of terminating the employment contract and the employer must explain the possible financial reasons for the dismissal. All collective agreements for 2020-2021 (in Finnish) Sources: Eurofound, European Company Survey 2013 (ECS), private sector companies employing companies >10 employees (NACE B-S) – several possible answers; Eurostat, survey on the structure of wages, companies >10 employees (NACE B-S), single answer: more than 50% of workers covered by such an agreement. The working conditions of workers are determined on the basis of legislation and collective agreements.
In Finland, the Employment Contracts Act, the Working Time Act and the Annual Leave Act are among the most important in Finland. Several acts protect non-discrimination and diversity in the workplace. These laws apply to all workers who work for Finnish employers, regardless of nationality. The Landesarbeitgeberamt (VTML) negotiates and concludes collective agreements for the 74,000 employees. „local agreement“ means that employers and workers can reach an agreement on certain terms of employment. Collective agreements may impose restrictions on local agreements; appropriate procedure must be ensured before a local agreement is reached. WFP`s main task is to negotiate collective agreements for the private services sector. Collective agreements set minimum conditions of employment such as pay, working time, sick pay and leave pay. They set the minimum conditions that each employer must at least apply to all its employees. Finnish legislation does not impose a minimum wage.
Minimum wages are set in sectoral collective agreements. In addition, collective agreements are used to reconcile, for example, the reasons for employment policy, wage increases and rules for hours of work, overtime, weekend holidays and evening and weekend work. Under the Collective Agreements Act, the terms of the collective agreement are mandatory for our member companies. Because of the extensive coverage of the agreements and the generally restrictive rule of the employment contract law, they also bind unrelated employers in the aforementioned branches.