Legislative amendments on board‑level employee representation and carried‑over holiday sent out for comments

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment requests comments between 28 January and 12 March 2026 on proposed legislative amendments concerning board‑level employee representation and the timing of carried‑over holiday. The amendments follow the Government’s decisions at the mid‑term policy review session in spring 2025.

Board-level employee representation means that staff have the right to elect representatives to the employer’s decision‑making bodies. In future, the regulation on board-level employee representation would apply to companies with at least 100 employees. Representation would need to be arranged in the board of directors, in a senior management group or in a comparable body.

“We want employees to have a stronger voice in Finnish workplaces. The reform will bring as many as 100,000 additional employees within the scope of the regulation on board-level employee representation. Companies that already have this type of employee representation report mostly positive experiences,” says Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen.

At present, the law applies to companies with at least 150 employees. Board-level employee representation must be introduced if at least two staff groups that together represent a majority request it. In future, a majority of employees could request representation through an elected representative or by other means.

Agreement remains the basis for the timing of carried over holiday

Carried‑over holiday allows employees to defer part of their annual leave to a later date. Currently, an employee may choose when to take carried‑over holiday if the employee and employer cannot agree on the timing.

The basic principle would remain that employees and employers agree on when the holiday is taken. However, the employer could refuse an employee’s request for a specific date if granting it would harm production or service operations or prevent the fair scheduling of annual leave and carried‑over holiday.

“Workplaces must be able to plan carried‑over holiday in a way that avoids unexpected problems for production or services. The reform gives workplaces more room to take account of sector‑specific needs,” Minister Marttinen says.

Legislative amendments prepared by tripartite working groups

The amendments are based on the decisions made by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government at the mid‑term policy review session in spring 2025. On 20 May 2025, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment appointed tripartite working groups to prepare the legislative amendments. The groups did not reach a unanimous position.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will hold a consultation round on the working groups’ reports between 28 January and 12 March 2026. After the consultation, preparatory work by public officials will continue. The Government plans to submit its proposals on the legislative amendments to Parliament in spring 2026.

Inquiries:
Jaakko Aromaa, Special Adviser to the Minister of Employment, tel. +358 295 047 110 (questions to the Minister of Employment)
Nico Steiner, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 049 001 (questions about board-level employee representation)
Katja Honkonen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 171 (questions about taking carried-over holiday)