Employment contracts with variable working hours | Improvements for workers

Variable hours contracts refer to zero-hours contracts (in Finnish., nollatuntisopimus, nollasopimus or nollatyösopimus) and other contracts where, instead of a fixed number of working hours, the working time is been agreed to vary between certain hours (for example 0-30 hours per week). These types of employment contracts do not provide the worker with a guaranteed number of work hours.

The amendments have been approved on 8 July 2022, and they will enter into force on 1 August 2022. Position of employees working variable hours will be improved in the following way:

• The employee's minimum working hours agreed in an employment contract must be reviewed regularly. The review must be done at least every 12 months.
• The first review of existing employment contracts must be carried out within 12 months of the act entering into force, i.e., by 1 August 2023.
• An increase in the minimum working hours should be carried out in case of number of actual working hours and the employer’s need for labour during the review period indicate that the employee’s minimum working hours could be set higher. Thus, if an employee has constantly worked between 10 and 30 hours per week during the review period and if the employer’s need for labour is estimated to remain at the same level, the zero-hours contract has to be reviewed and the minimum working hours must be raised to 10 hours per week.
• In future, employers will have to provide a written report of the key working conditions faster than today and also provide one in short-term employment relationships. This written explanation should include, among other things, information on training provided by the employer and the name of the insurance institutions that provide the pension coverage, occupational accident insurance or occupational illness insurance for the employees.
• Employers who are obligated by law or by a collective agreement to offer training to the employees must offer that training free of charge. The time spent on training will be counted as working time and, if possible, training must be provided during regular work shifts.
• In future, employer must also provide a written and reasoned answer to a fixed-term or part-time employee’s request concerning the possibility of extending the regular working hours agreed in the employment contract or of extending the duration of the employment contract.
• Compensation for cancelled work shifts must pay to employees working variable hours if a work shift is cancelled within 48 hours before the start of the shift.
• In future, the act will define the situations in which assigning a work shift requires the consent of a person working variable hours. Such consent will be required if an employer wants to assign work shifts to the employee outside of agreed days of the week or times of day.

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The full information and the source text can be found at Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland website.