Changes to employee consultation obligations in Finland as of 1 July 2025

The Finnish parliament has approved the government's proposal for changes to the Finnish Co-operation Act, and these changes into the Finnish employee consultation obligations shall enter into force on 1 July 2025.

Lightened Obligations for Employers with Fewer than 50 Employees

The application threshold of the Co-operation Act is being raised primarily to companies regularly employing at least 50 employees, up from the current 20-employee limit. Smaller companies with 20-49 employees will still retain certain obligations such as lightened continuous dialogue and change negotiations.

However, change negotiations must only take place if the planned measures to reduce the use of labour affect at least 20 employees over a three-month period. In other situations, smaller employers have no obligation to negotiate. In case of temporary lay-offs (i.e. furloughs), any temporary lay-off lasting up to three months based on a temporary reduction in work or in the employer's ability to offer work will not require negotiations in these smaller companies.

Duration of Change Negotiations Halved

The minimum duration of change negotiations concerning the reduction of workforce is being halved for all employers. Going forward, the minimum period will be three weeks or seven days, down from the previous six weeks or 14 days, depending on the subject of negotiations and the number of employees.

New 30-Day Deadline to the Act

Additionally, a new 30-day deadline for examining the availability of employment services is being included in the Co-operation Act, which applies if an employer is considering terminating at least ten employees on production-related and financial grounds. In such cases, an employee's employment contract may not end before 30 days have passed since the submission of the negotiation proposal to the employment authority.

However, employers are strongly advised to verify the applicable change negotiation provisions in their collective agreements, as longer negotiation periods in line with the current Co-operation Act have been negotiated into some collective agreements during the spring 2025 negotiation round.

Further Changes Expected to Board-Level Employee Representation 

Further changes to the Co-operation Act are planned to lower the application threshold for board-level employee representation from the current 150-employee employers to 100-employee employers. In the future, it seems likely that the law would also regulate more clearly that such board-level employee representation must specifically take place in the company's board of directors or senior management group. However, this change is not yet in force and is yet being prepared.