Finland revises working time law to increase flexible options 

Revisions to Finland’s working time act aim to increase flexible options and facilitate balance in employees’ work and private lives. Effective 1 Jan 2020, Act 872 (Finnish) sets out permitted flexible work arrangements and maximum working hours.

Highlights

• Calculation of working time. An employee’s normal workweek will not exceed 40 hours — or 48 hours with overtime — averaged over a four-month reference period. No limits will apply to top management, certain specialists performing work comparable to management roles and employees whose working hours aren’t monitored or subject to prior agreement.
• Flexible work schedule and location. Employees will be able to independently schedule their working hours and place of work with their employer’s agreement. This arrangement can cover at least half of the employee’s normal working hours.
• Increased ‘flexitime’ hours. With the employer’s agreement, employees will have the option to increase or reduce their working hours by up to four hours per day — up from three hours under the current law. However, an employee’s accumulated excess working time can’t exceed 60 hours or fall below 20 hours over a four-month period. The act also allows termination of flexitime arrangements.
• Banking overtime hours. More employees will have the right to bank overtime hours or exchange certain monetary benefits for time-off. Under current law, only employees covered by collective bargaining agreements can bank overtime hours.

Related Resources

• Working Hours Act (Finnish) (Finnish Official Journal, 5 Jul 2019)