Amendment to Law Simplifies Terminations of Employment Contracts

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Samuel Kääriäinen, Partner - Dottir Attorneys Ltd.

On July 1, 2019, the amendment to Chapter 7, Section 2, Subsection 1 of the Employment Contracts Act (55/2001) comes into force. The amendment makes it easier for small employers (with some 20 or less employees) to fulfill the legal grounds for terminating employment contracts. The practical impact of the amendment is, however, expected to be limited and the threshold for dismissal will continue to be high even for small employers.

New Government Expected to Alter the Course of Rendering New Legislation

Trend

Author: Samuel Kääriäinen, Partner - Dottir Attorneys Ltd.

The new Finnish government was appointed on June 6, 2019. Consisting of more left-wing political parties than the previous one, it is expected that the government will return to the traditional course of rendering new employment legislation only in close cooperation with the national labor market organizations. This is likely to alter the recent trend of passing new legislation regardless of the resistance of the central labor unions.