Overtime
Overtime is subject to the employer’s order and your consent. Although it is provided for in the Working Hours Act, you should check matters related to overtime compensation in your collective agreement.
Working hours bank
Working hours bank refers to the voluntary arrangement for saving and combining working hours, earned time off or monetary benefits that have been converted into time off.
Regular working hours
When working as a salaried employee, your regular working hours can be no more than eight hours per day and 40 hours per week.
Flexitime
Flexitime means that you can decide when your work starts and ends within agreed limits.
Flexible working hours
Flexible working hours model allows you to decide when and where to work, whilst the employer defines the tasks and related objectives as well as the overall schedule.
Unpaid leave in exchange for working longer hours
Certain collective agreements or local workplace practices allow for unpaid leave in exchange for working longer hours. This applies to salaried employees who work full-time and whose regular working hours are 40 hours per week.
Are breaks, on-call duty, training or social events working hours?
If your daily working hours exceed six hours, a break of at least one hour must be provided during work. Collective agreements make it possible to shorten this break to half an hour by agreeing locally.
Working hours include all the time you are working or obliged to stay at the workplace, but not a break during which you have the right and also the actual opportunity to leave the workplace freely. Being able to spend a substantial part of the break away from the workplace is a prerequisite for excluding a break from working hours. If the above conditions are met, the break is not included in working hours even if you do not exercise the right to leave.
If your work forces you to eat during work or if you have agreed about eating during work, the break is counted as working hours.
More information
Working hours include all the time you are obliged to stay at the workplace so that you are ready to start work at any time.
Standby refers to time during which your contract obliges you to be at your home or elsewhere, prepared to go to work if necessary.
Standby does not count as working hours. If you are on standby and are invited to work, the time spent at work is normally counted as working hours.
When agreeing on standby, you must also agree on its compensation. Collective agreements contain provisions on how the amount of standby compensation is determined. The more intense and binding the standby, the higher the compensation should be.
Strict conditions have been laid down for training that is counted as working hours.
Training, which is organised during scheduled working hours and done alongside work or closely connected to it, is included in working hours. Otherwise, participation in training can be considered as fulfilling the obligation to work when the training is ordered by the employer and compulsory, and the nature of the training is necessary in order for you to cope with your work tasks. A good rule of thumb is to consider training as working hours when it takes place at the workplace or in other work-specific conditions at a pre-defined time at work.
Before training, you should find out and agree whether it is included in working hours. The employer cannot assign you to training unless the time spent on it is counted as working hours.
As a rule, time spent on voluntary social events organised by the employer is not included in working hours. However, if your employer requires you to carry out tasks for these events, the time spent on them is included in working hours.
Are business trips included in working hours?
The employer’s obligation to reimburse the costs of business trips and to pay daily allowances is usually based on the provisions of collective agreements.
Time for a break?
Night work
According to the Working Time Act, night work is work carried out between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
A national collective agreement can have different provisions on the time span. Some of our older collective agreements define night work as work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., but some define it in accordance with the Working Time Act.
Night work may be commissioned only in the form of working hours and tasks defined in the Working Time Act. Night work entitles one to night work bonus (shift differentials) agreed in collective agreements.
Additional work
Additional work requires your consent. It is done between the agreed working hours and the longest regular working hours defined in the Working Hours Act. The longest regular working hours are eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. As a general rule, additional work is only considered when the agreed regular working hours are less than 40 hours per week.
Emergency work
Emergency work may be commissioned only when an unforeseeable event has caused a disruption in regular activities or when it is likely to lead to such disruption or threat to life, health or property. Due to its nature, emergency work does not require the employee’s consent. Emergency work may not be commissioned for more than two weeks. Emergency work must be distinguished from ‘call-out’ work. Emergency work is also not overtime.
Sunday work
Sunday work refers to work done on Sundays, May Day, Independence Day and other national holidays. In addition to other pay for the same period, Sunday work is increased with the amount of simple basic pay. Overtime on Sundays or other national holidays, Independence Day, and May Day is also subject to compensation as regulated. According to most collective agreements, Sunday work compensation can be given as corresponding time off in regular working hours upon agreement. On Sundays, compensation for shift work is increased by 100%. Remember that Sunday work compensation, Sunday overtime increase, and the weekly rest compensation are not the same and their payments do not depend on each other.
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Employment relationship
When an employer and employee sign a work contract, an employment relationship is created. Minimum terms and conditions of employment are based on laws and collective agreements. Both sides, the employer and the employee, also have rights and obligations during and after the employment relationship.