Loimu opposes — fixed-term employment may not be used without justification

In accordance with the Government Programme, the Government is reforming working life legislation to remove barriers to employment and, in particular, to strengthen the operating conditions of SMEs. A draft of the Government’s proposal to amend the Employment Contracts Act has now been submitted for comments. The amendment would make it possible to hire a new employee for a fixed-term employment without grounds for the first employment relationship with the employer in question for a maximum of one year.
 
The change is estimated to increase the use of fixed-term employment relationships in companies. Now, however, this proposal has a much broader impact. The proposed amendment to the Employment Contracts Act applies to everyone, regardless of the size of the employer and the employer’s industry, and equally to employers in the public sector.
 
We object to the proposed detrimental amendments to the Employment Contracts Act. The main purpose of labour legislation is to protect the weaker party, i.e. the employee. The employees’ views were not taken into account in the preparation, but the preparation was carried out under strong political guidance in line with the employer’s views. The uncertainty of the employee in working life will increase even further with the proposal. We are particularly concerned about discrimination against pregnancy and family leave. This will certainly increase with the increasing use of fixed-term employment relationships, in which case this proposal may also have negative effects on birth rates.

We support forward-looking legislation that develops good working life. We oppose this draft of the Government proposal in its entirety, it does not contain any balancing elements from the employee’s point of view and is also otherwise contrary to international regulations and case law. Loimu has given a critical opinion on the proposal.