Employment contracts and employment relationships

The Employment Contracts Act is applied to almost all work done in an employment relationship, irrespective of the quality for the work.

The application of the Employment Contracts Act and other labour legislation (such as the Working Hours Act and the Annual Holidays Act) requires that the constituent elements of an employment relationship are found simultaneously. These elements are a contract, working on behalf of an employer, remuneration and working under the direction and supervision of an employer (“the employer’s right to direct work”).

The Employment Contracts Act lays down provisions on the following issues:
·        entering into an employment contract
·        the obligations of the employer and the employee
·        determination of the minimum terms and conditions of an employment relationship
·        the employee’s right to family leave
·        lay-offs
·        termination of an employment contract (including periods of notice, grounds for termination and cancellation, and the procedure for terminating an employment contract)
·        liability for damages
·        invalidity of an employment contract and unreasonable terms
·      employment contracts of an international nature and the status of employees’ representatives.

The parties to an employment contract or a collective agreement cannot enter into a valid agreement on not applying the Employment Contracts Act to a work relationship that has the constituent elements stipulated for an employment relationship.

A permanent conciliation system has been created for disputes related to working life. Legal disputes arising from the content or breach of collective agreements can be brought to the Labour Court.

Special provisions regarding the protection of young employees under the age of 18 are laid down by the Young Workers’ Act. Separate provisions also apply to the type work allowed for and forbidden from your employees, light work suitable for them as well as restrictions on their working hours. General labour legislation also applies to their employment relationships unless otherwise prescribed by the special provisions on young employees.

The Seamen’s Act lays down provisions on seafarers’ employment relationships. The Act applies to work done by a worker under a contract on board a Finnish ship or upon orders by the employer elsewhere on a temporary basis. Separate provisions apply to seafarers’ working hours, annual holidays and pay security.