Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Finland

Forty-Hour Week Convention, 1935 (No. 47) (Ratification: 1989)
Holidays with Pay Convention (Revised), 1970 (No. 132) (Ratification: 1990)
Part-Time Work Convention, 1994 (No. 175) (Ratification: 1999)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 47 (40-hour week), 132 (annual holidays with pay) and 175 (part-time work) together.

The Committee notes the observations of the Commission for Church Employers on the application of Convention No. 47, and of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK) on the application of Convention No. 175, communicated with the Government’s report.

A.Hours of work

Article 1 of Convention No. 47. Forty-hour week principle. Application in practice. The Committee notes the adoption of the Working Time Act (872/2019), which preserves the 40-hour week principle in its section 5(1). The Committee also notes that the Working Time Act provides for exceptions or derogations to this principle, as follows: (i) sections 12 and 13 provide that the employer and employee can agree on flexible working hours, pursuant to which regular weekly working hours may not exceed 40 hours on average during a four-month monitoring period; (ii) section 12 specifies that the accumulation of overruns at the end of a monitoring period may not exceed 60 hours; and (iii) section 14 provides for the possibility of introducing a working time bank system at the workplace, whereby working time, earned time off or monetary benefits converted to free time, can be saved and combined. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the way it ensures that the application in practice ofthese provisions do not contradict the principle of a 40-hour week.

In addition, the Committee notes the observations of the Commission for Church Employers regarding the exclusion of priests, church musicians and other official appointees engaged in spiritual work from the Working Time Act (872/2019). The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

B.Annual holidays with pay

Article 12 of Convention No. 132. Prohibition to relinquish or forgo the right to an annual holiday with pay. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that section 26 of the Annual Holidays Act (162/2005), as amended, continues to provide that leave can be replaced with monetary compensation if, due to prolonged incapacity for work, it is impossible to grant leave. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that replacing annual holiday with monetary compensation in the event of prolonged incapacity for work has been considered more advantageous for the employee, and that, even in circumstances of prolonged incapacity, the employer and employee may agree that the holiday will be taken after the employee returns to work. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the situations in which this provision has been applied in practice, including the types of situations considered to be prolonged incapacity under section 26 of the Annual Holidays Act (162/2005). The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the legislative provisions, if any, guaranteeing that employers and employees can agree on holidays being taken after the employee’s return to work, even in circumstances of prolonged incapacity.

C.Part-time work

Article 3 of Convention No. 175. Whole or partial exclusions. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it has excluded from the scope of the Convention the categories of workers to which the Employment Contracts Act (55/2001), the State Civil Servants Act (750/1994), the Municipal Civil Servants Act (304 of 2003), the Working Time Act (872/2019) and the Annual Holidays Act (162/2005) do not apply. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the reasons why these exclusions were judged necessary, in accordance with Article 3(2) of the Convention.

Articles 9 and 10 of Convention No. 175. Measures to facilitate access to part-time work and to ensure voluntary transfer from full-time to part-time work or vice versa. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government indicates that: (i) according to a 2021 labour survey, 473,000 employed persons in Finland worked part-time, representing 19 per cent of all employed persons, and that less than one-third of those part-time workers would prefer to work full-time; (ii) the Nordic labour market service model, that entered into force in May 2022, provides the organization of an initial interview for jobseekers working part-time followed by a job search discussion every three months; complementary job search discussions following the initial interview may be organised at the jobseeker’s request; and (iii) employers are required to review their labour-related needs every 12 months and to give a well-grounded response in writing to the employees working on a part-time basis who request the possibility of extending their regular working hours. The Committee nevertheless notes that, according to the observations of the SAK and the STTK, involuntary part-time work remains on the rise. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results of the application of these measures, and on the number of workers in involuntary part-time work.