“The Government’s goal is to lower the threshold for dismissal. However, this goal is largely left to subsequent case law, which reduces the predictability of dismissal provisions relating to the employee’s person. The significance of the legislative changes will only become clear after several years, as case law develops,” says Akava lawyer Hannele Fremer.
“Workplaces and, ultimately, courts will have to examine what the proposed legislative changes mean in different dismissal situations. The legislative changes will increase the workload of supervisory authorities and courts. They will undermine predictability and job security for employees. The impact on employment is expected to be minor,” Fremer continues.
“Akava considers the changes made after the consultation round in the further preparation of the bill to be highly justified in terms of employee job security,” adds Fremer.
Underperformance is not specified as a separate ground for dismissal, and the regulations concerning the warning procedure remain unchanged.
“The Government has weakened employees’ job security and unemployment security through a number of legislative changes. The changes have been prepared in separate working groups, so their overall impact on employees’ job security and financial position remains unclear,” Fremer points out.
On 23 October 2025, the Government submitted a proposal to the Parliament to facilitate dismissal on personal grounds, proposing amendments to the provisions on dismissal in the Employment Contracts Act and the Maritime Employment Contracts Act. The background to the legislative proposal is the Government Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government, according to which the regulation of personal grounds for dismissal will be amended so that a valid reason will suffice for terminating an employment contract in the future.