Know your rights
Termination of the employment
contract based on individual reasons
In this article I will discuss the
termination due to individual reasons,
reasons that are related to the employee,
not the employer.
The Employment Contracts Act states that the
employer shall not terminate an indefinitely valid
employment contract without "proper and weighty
reason". Serious breach or neglect of obligations arising
from the employment contract or the law and
having essential impact on the employment relationship
as well as such essential changes in the conditions
necessary for working related to the employee's
person as render the employee no more able to cope
with his or her work duties can be considered a proper
and weighty reason for termination arising from the
employee or related to the employee's person.
This may mean for example that the employee is
neglecting their work duties and is not doing some or
all of their work.
The employer's and the employee's overall circumstances
must be taken into account when assessing
the proper and weighty nature of the reason.
The law does not state which reasons are considered
proper and weighty, but lists a number of reasons
that are not.
At least the following cannot be regarded as proper
and weighty reasons: 1) illness, disability or accident
affecting the employee, unless working capacity
is substantially reduced thereby for such a long
term as to render it unreasonable to require that the
employer continue the contractual relationship; 2)
participation of the employee in industrial action arranged
by an employee organization or in accordance
with the Collective Agreements Act; 3) the employee's
political, religious or other opinions or participation
in social activity or associations; 4) resort to means of
legal protection available to employees.
This means that the law protects the
employee in many ways. Taking sick-leave
or maternity/paternity or child care leaves
is not a reason for termination. If the employee
loses their ability to work altogether,
it is a different situation, however.
Participating in trade union activities or
expressing the employee's own personal
beliefs whether they are political or religious in nature
may also not cause termination nor may taking
legal action.
Employees who have neglected their duties arising
from the employment relationship or committed
a breach thereof shall not be given notice, however,
before they have been warned and given a chance to
amend their conduct. Having heard the employee,
the employer shall, before giving notice, find out
whether it is possible to avoid giving notice by placing
the employee in other work. What is provided in
subsections 3 and 4 need not be observed if the reason
for giving notice is such a grave breach related to the
employment relationship as to render it unreasonable
to require that the employer continue the contractual
relationship.
Basically the employer must always give a warning
and leave adequate time for the employee to change
their behavior and avoid the termination. The employer
must let the employee clearly know what it is
that the employer is not satisfied with in the employee's
behavior or actions.
If the employer calls for a hearing to give notice
or to end the employment contract, the employee is
always entitled to have a shop steward or somebody
from the trade union present. It is always advisable
to use somebody's help in these kinds of situations.
Trade unions also help members determinate whether
there has been a legitimate reason for the termination
of the employment contract.
The notice times are the same as discussed before
in the previous article.
text Mia Weckman
lawyer, the Finnish union of
university researchers and teachers
- Painetussa lehdessä sivu 38
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