Cooperation is a procedure between the employer and employees in which questions regarding employees’ rights and obligations are discussed. Before making decisions on issues requiring cooperation negotiations, the employer must negotiate on them with the employees.
The reasons, impacts and alternatives of the changes the employer presented are perused in the cooperation negotiations. In some issues, however, it suffices simply to notify the employees.
The Act on Cooperation within Undertakings is applied:
- on corporations in which the number of employees in an employment relationship is regularly at least 20.
- partly on corporations in which the number of employees in an employment relationship is regularly at least 30.
The number of employees does not include agency contract workers, because they do not have work contracts with the company. However, employees on e.g. family leave are included.
The Act on Cooperation within Undertakings refers to a community, foundation or natural person engaged in economic activities regardless of whether the operations are intended to be profitable or not. The employer decides who will represent the company in cooperation procedures. The representative can be e.g. a site manager or HR manager. The staff is represented by the employee concerned or a representative of a specific personnel group, depending on the issue at hand.
Parties participating in the codetermination:
- The employer: the employer representatives
- The personnel group representatives: shop steward, elected representative, occupational health and safety representative or a cooperation representative and the personnel in the workplace.
The Act on Cooperation within Undertakings and its objective
The aim of the Act on Cooperation is to improve workers’ possibilities to influence issues regarding themselves, even if the employer had the final right to decide. It also promotes the interaction and cooperation between the company and the personnel. With regard to cooperation it is important that the staff receives enough information on the company’s status and plans at the right time.
The objective of a well-functioning cooperation is to develop the operations, operational environment and productivity of the workplace and to build an open and confidential atmosphere.y
When is the employer obliged to negotiate?
The Act on Cooperation obliges the employer to provide information on e.g. the financial status of the company and to plan how it will carry out e.g. employee training. Also personnel effects caused by work arrangement, machine and equipment procurements and the transfer of duties must be negotiated with the personnel.
The cooperation involves many procedural rules to enable employees’ possibilities to influence issues concerning them. The Act on Cooperation only sets a minimum negotiation period for codetermination negotiations regarding the reduction of labour. No minimum periods are set for other situations.
Negotiation obligation refers to the following situations in particular:
- Personnel effects and work arrangements caused by changes in business operations.
- Business transfer
- The employer is considering measures that may lead to the dismissal, temporary lay-off or shift to part-time work of one or more employees, on financial or production-related grounds.
Codetermination negotiation on the reduction of labour
The employer must not make a decision of possible measures leading to reductions in labour without the cooperation procedure. If the employer is considering measures that may lead to the dismissal, shift to part-time work or temporary lay-off of employees on financial or production-related grounds, the employer must negotiate on the grounds for, effects of and alternatives to these measures with the personnel representatives. The aim is to reduce the negative impacts on employees, such as the number of lay-offs, for example through alternative ecomomy measures.
The Act on Cooperation within Undertakings is overseen by the Cooperation Ombudsman appointed by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
Cooperation in exceptional situations
As a result of the corona virus, temporary amendments have been made to the labour legislation that concern the cooperation and other procedural obligations related to employees’ lay-offs in particular. They are in effect 1.4. – 30.6.2020 and concern the private sector exclusively.
- The start of the codetermination negotiations must be notified of 5 days prior to their start (in accordance with the established law)
- The duration of codetermination negotiation concerning lay-off becomes shorter: the duration of the negotiations is at least five days.
- The notice period for lay-offs becomes shorter: the employer must notify the employee of the lay-off no later than five days prior to the beginning of the lay-off.
- If the employer is considering employees’ lay-offs or shifts to part-time work, the duration of the codetermination negotiations remains at either 14 days or 6 weeks.