Know your Rights
Information about cooperation procedure - related termination of employment contract
After the cooperation proceedings have ended,
the employer usually announces the amounts of the
contracts to be terminated. When an employment
contract is being terminated due to collective reasons
(for example financial reasons), the employee
will be summoned to a hearing where the reasons for
the termination will be explained and a notice of the
termination will be given. The notice time begins the
day after the termination and is usually 14 days if the
employment relationship has lasted no longer than
1 year, 1 month, if the employment relationship has
lasted no longer than 1-4 years, 2 months, if the employment
relationship has lasted no longer than 4-8
years, 4 months, if the employment relationship has
lasted no longer than 8-12 years and 6 months, if the
employment relationship has lasted no longer than 12
years.
During the notice period the employment relationship
continues normally. The employer must pay
the salary and the employee needs to fulfill their work
duties unless the employer specifically frees the employee
from the work duties. Also the occupational
health care and such things remain available until the
end of the employment contract. When the employment
relationship ends, the employer must pay out
all salaries, annual holiday pays, extra annual holiday
pays etc. Unless otherwise agreed upon, the employer
must pay all the owed salaries etc. the last day of the
employment relationship. If the employer fails to do
so, the employee is entitled to up to six days salary
during the waiting period.
The employer must try to find a new position in
their organization for those employees whose employment
contracts are terminated due to collective
reasons. Also, within 9 months after the employment
relationship has ended, the employer may not offer
positions to others than those whose contracts have
been terminated, if the work offered could be suitable
for them. The employer must by law
re-hire terminated employees that are job
seekers with the unemployment office, if
suitable work is available by the employer. Employees
working under fixed-term contracts will, however,
not be eligible for this.
If there has not been a valid legal reason for the
termination of the employment contract, the employee
may sue the employer within 2 years time of
the ending of the employment contract to seek damages
worth of 3-24 months salary.
When the employment relationship has ended,
the employee must sign up as a job seeker at the unemployment
office. This can also be done on-line. If
the job seeker meets the requirements (26 calendar
weeks of previous work history while also simultaneously
being a member of an unemployment fund during
the previous 28 months) they are eligible to receive
earnings based unemployment benefits, which
is paid out by the unemployment fund. Members of
the unions, which are publishing Acatiimi, are insured
in the Teachers' unemployment fund. If these
requirements are not met, the job seeker is entitled to
the lower forms of unemployment benefits provided
by Kela. Please visit www.opetk.fi, www.kela.fi and
tyj.fi for further details. You can also find an unemployment
benefit calculator and a lot of material in
English.
Unions help their members with questions about
cooperation proceedings, ending of an employment
relationship, unemployment issues and such things
FUURT and other unions will be attending a meeting
held at Porthania, University of Helsinki February 2.
2016 and we will be available to discuss for example
the cooperation proceedings and unemployment
issues
text Mia Weckman
lawyer, the Finnish union of university researchers and teachers
- Painetussa lehdessä sivu 38
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