Changes to the Co-operation Act

At a glance

• The Finnish Parliament has approved amendments to the Co-operation Act (Act) which will take effect from 1 July 2025.
• The main provisions of the act will now apply to companies that employ at least 50 employees. Certain obligations will apply to employers employing between 20 and 49 employees.
• The amendments primarily affect the change negotiation requirements. Among other things, following a negotiation proposal, employers will need to observe a time limit before the employment relationships of affected employees can end.

The Finnish Parliament has approved the government's proposal to amend the Co-operation Act, in particular with regard to change negotiations in connection with redundancies. The changes will take effect from 1 July 2025.

The main provisions of the Act will now apply to companies that employ at least 50 employees, compared to the previous threshold of 20 employees. However, employers with 20 to 49 employees will still have certain obligations under the Act.

Under the new amendments, employers regularly employing between 20 and 49 employees will be required to conduct change negotiations in connection with redundancies only if they are considering measures to reduce the number of employees by at least 20 over a 90-day period. Additionally, temporary layoffs lasting a maximum of 90 days are not in the scope of the negotiation requirement in companies with fewer than 50 employees.

The negotiation periods will be reduced by half. The minimum duration for change negotiations will be either three weeks or seven days, depending on the planned measures and the company's headcount.

Further, a new limit must be followed if the employer intends to terminate at least ten employees due to redundancy. The employment relationship of an employee cannot end before 30 days after the date on which a negotiation proposal is submitted to the employment authority. This requirement applies whenever the negotiation requirement applies.

The practice of continuous dialogue will be maintained in companies employing between 20 and 49 employees. However, the procedures related to the dialogue will be simplified significantly.