Did you know?
If you are working in a store on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve or Epiphany Eve you’ll see an increase in your pay cheque with a holiday eve supplement.
Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector, section 12: Where a store is open after 6 pm on the eve of a public holiday, any work performed between 6 pm and 12 midnight shall be compensated with a holiday eve supplement equivalent to a Saturday supplement.
Following deregulation of store opening hours, the Christmas holiday season means for an increasing number of people that they will be spending public holidays at work. The Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector includes a supplement for public holiday eves, which means that any work performed after 6 pm on eves of public holidays, such as Christmas, New Year’s and Epiphany Eves, will be compensated with an increase in pay equivalent to a Saturday supplement.
We asked sales assistant Sanna Muhli if she was aware of this collective agreement clause.
- I wasn’t quite sure, but I assumed that you would be paid extra for working on a public holiday eve.
Is this agreement clause useful for you?
- Yes, it is, in that I’m working an evening shift on New Year’s Eve this year. Our store is closed on Christmas Eve and I don’t have a shift on Epiphany Eve.
What sort of mood are you in when working on public holidays and holiday eves?
- It’s OK, because it doesn’t happen all the time. It’s been particularly nice to get an extra day off for working on weekday public holidays. Thinking of my family, I wouldn’t want to work on all public holidays and eves. Supplements are alright, but they could, of course, be higher for such low-paid work. I’m sure that many of my workmates agree.
Text:: Written by: Solja Virkkunen