Employment contract and employment relationship
Employee protection is the starting point for labour legislation. Because of this, labour legislation contains provisions that cannot be deviated from to the disadvantage of the employee.
Employment Contracts Act is the basic law regulating employment relationships. It is applied to work performed in employment relationships in both private and public sectors regardless of the nature of the work. Separate provisions exist for public-service relationships.
The most important acts applied to employment relationships of individual employees are:
- Employment Contracts Act
- Working Time Act
- Annual Holidays Act
- Study Leave Act and
- Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life.
The Employment Contracts Act and other pieces of labour legislation are only applicable to employees working for an employer under the employer’s direction and supervision (in an employment relationship) and not as an entrepreneur. In addition, for example the Young Workers’ Act lays down provisions for young workers. There are separate pieces of legislation applying to workers posted to Finland and to the continuation of employment relationship during military and non-military service.The provisions contained in the legislation covering work at sea are applied to seamen’s employment contracts.
Remote work
Remote work means work that is performed at home or another location away from the regular place of work the content and form of which have been jointly agreed by the employer and the employee. Remote work is one way of organising the manner of performing work.
Publications (descriptions in English)
- Report to Parliament on the use of non-competition agreements in 2023, 2024Link to an external website
- Report on the use of non-competition and non-disclosure agreements, 2018Link to an external website
- Final report of the working group examining and developing change trends in the use of the labour force and in the ways of working, 2015Link to an external website
- Memorandum prepared by a working group assigned to examine part-time employment, 2013File opens in a new tab pdf 590kB
- A study of the frequency of fixed-term contracts and the access to information in employee leasing relationships, 2013File opens in a new tab pdf 1.3MB
- Reasons for use of hired labour in companies where staff reduction negotiations have been held, 2011File opens in a new tab pdf 466kB
Ongoing projects
The Orpo-government's labour market reforms
Further information
Guidance and supervision of labour legislation: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha)Link to an external website
Law-drafting: Nico Steiner, nico.steiner(at)gov.fi, Elli Nieminen, elli.nieminen(at)gov.fi
News
New obligations proposed for providers of private employment services in maritime sector
Position of employees working variable hours to be strengthened – improvements also to be made to predictability and transparency of conditions of employment
Implementation of the Work-life Balance Directive to begin
Government proposes to amend the Employment Contracts Act: Overall consideration to help define employment relationships in unclear situations
Employers to compensate employees for all non-competition agreements – legal amendments to take effect in January 2022
Related websites
- Employment Contracts ActLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Trade Secrets ActLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Non-discrimination Act (JM)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Act on the Labour Council and Derogation Permits Concerning Labour ProtectionLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Administrative Judicial Procedure Act (JM)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Collective Agreements (in Finnish, finlex.fi)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Osha: Temporary agency workLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Osha: Permits, notifications and formsLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Osha: PublicationsLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- Work in Finland, taxes (vero.fi)Link to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- The Centre for Occupational Safety, Safe Remote WorkLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab
- National Cyber Security Centre, Information security under exceptional circumstancesLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab