Lay-offs

You can lay off an employee until further notice if your company has financial or production-related grounds for terminating the employment contract. This means that the financial situation of your company has weakened, or the amount of work has diminished significantly and permanently, and you cannot provide the employee with any other work or training.

You can lay off an employee for a fixed term if your company’s potential to provide work has diminished temporarily, and you cannot provide the employee with any other work or training. This means a lay-off of no more than 90 days.

You are allowed to lay off a fixed-term employee only if the employee is substituting for a permanent employee that you would have the right to lay off.

Read more: Lay-offs from the employer's perspective - Changes to the employment contract - Job Market FinlandOpens in a new window.

If the employer is covered by the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings, hold change negotiations before the lay-off decision.

If the employer is not covered by the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings, submit an advance report of the planned lay-off as soon as you know it is necessary:

• To the employee personally, if the lay-off concerns one person
• To the employee representative or employees together if the lay-off concerns more than one person.

After the advance report and before handing the lay-off notice to employees, make time to discuss the reasons and impacts of the lay-off with the employees or their representative.

Notify employees of the lay-off personally before the lay-off begins.

Lay-off notice period:

• In the private sector, at least 14 days, unless otherwise agreed in the collective labour agreement for the sector
• In the public sector, at least one month

The lay-off notice period only begins when the employee has duly received the notice.

The employee must be given a written lay-off notice, that states

• the reason for the lay-off
• the start date of the lay-off
• duration of the lay-off or estimate of duration.

Template for the lay-off notice and certificate at Tyosuojelu.fi (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.

Also notify the employee representatives of the employees to be laid off.

Read more: Lay-offs - Tyosuojelu.fiOpens in a new window.

If the need for work returns, you can end the lay-off.

When the need for the lay-off ends, inform the employee that work is resuming at least seven days before work begins, unless agreed otherwise.

An employee may return to work as soon as the need for lay-offs ends if that suits both employer and employee.