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Support at work

Kaksi asiantuntijaa keskustelee

Support at work

If you encounter any problems at work, your local shop steward or occupational safety delegate can support you. Both of them can be found at your own workplace. Also our experts and lawyers will help you. They provide advice, negotiate agreements and at the very last instance defend you in court. Our legal aid is free of charge and carries no risks for you.
Shop stewards solve problems at work

A shop steward represents employees, who are members of Trade Union Pro, in a given workplace and monitors that the law and agreements are followed. A shop steward is chosen by the unionized employees and represents them in different negotiations.

All union members at the workplace must be allowed to know who is their shop steward.

Occupational safety delegate is an expert of health and safety at the workplace. As a representative of personnel, they monitor that the Occupational Safety and Health Act is followed at work. Occupational safety delegate is aware of all matters related to health and safety at work and takes part in safety inspections at the workplace. 

Our specialists and lawyers are there for you

Are you wondering how many days of holidays you will get this year or how your holiday bonus is determined? Is something in your employment contract troubling you? Do you have questions about overtime? 

In addition to your local shop stewards, our specialists and lawyers are there to help you. They ensure that the terms of your work are fair and follow official agreements. They give advise and solve disagreements with the employer. They also negotiate agreements with employer associations and, at the last instance, defend you in court. For you our legal aid is completely risk-free and does not cost anything*

* We compensate the cost of legal proceedings for our members without excess and limit even though they would amount tens of thousands of Euros and the legal proceeding would continue in higher instances. The legal aid includes legal counselling, settlement negotiations and litigation. The decision on bringing a matter to court is made by Trade Union Pro's Head of Legal Affairs. Legal aid requires that membership in Pro has been in force for at least three months prior to the incident the legal aid is applied for and that Pro's membership fees have been paid according to Trade Union Pro's rules. Litigation in court requires that the member's complaint is based on law or agreements and that the information member has provided indicates that they have most probably not been treated according to the law and agreements. 

 

Frequently asked questions

The employment contract must determine all the key issues. These include at least the following:

  • The employer’s and employee’s name, personal identification number, and place of residence or business
  • Start date of employment
  • Applicable collective agreement
  • Main work tasks
  • Place where the work is carried out
  • Duration of the employment contract
  • Notice period
  • Probationary period
  • Working hours
  • Pay and pay period
  • Annual leave

Määräaikainen sopimus voidaan tehdä vain, jos siihen on perusteltu syy. Tällainen syy voi olla esimerkiksi toisen työntekijän poissaolosta aiheutuva sijaisuus.

Pay matters can be clarified by talking to the shop steward of the workplace or by contacting the contractual representative of the nearest Pro regional office

More information

You have the right to postpone your annual leave from the first day of sickness if you are incapable for work at the beginning or during your annual leave due to an illness, accident or childbirth.

If you fall ill during your holiday, ask your employer to postpone the holiday immediately. Provide the employer with a proper clarification of the illness or accident, such as a medical certificate. You should also check your collective agreement’s provisions related to illnesses.

The law protects you, so your employer has the right to dismiss you only for serious reasons. Such a reason could be that the available work is reduced or comes to an end, for example. The employer also has grounds for dismissal if you violate your obligations as an employee. However, you must be given an opportunity to correct your behaviour by law.

You cannot be dismissed for reasons such as an illness, disability, trade union activity or ideological reasons. If the dismissal takes place without justified and acceptable reason, the employer is obliged to compensate you for the unlawful dismissal.

Upon your request, the employer must promptly provide you with the reasons for dismissal in writing and the date of your employment’s termination.

As an employee, you can resign simply by notifying your employer in writing or orally. You have no obligation to justify your resignation.

The final pay refers to the normal pay for the period of notice, including all normal fringe benefits for the period of notice. Unused holidays, accrued balances and overtime will also be compensated in it. The final pay must be paid into the employee’s account on the last workday, unless otherwise agreed in the employment contract.