Pam Magazine 18/13: Sick-leave pay halved out of "fairness"
Why is this? Finland’s Reiluja Vuokratöitä (i.e., fair temporary work) identification creates new criteria for temp-worker employment relationships? The revamped temp-labour rules only bring improved conditions for workers who previously worked under bad terms. A salesperson who had the wages of a fifth-year employee was surprised to discover that only half of that amount would be paid for sick leave.
The most important private employment agencies have begun to apply revamped "fair temporary work" criteria, created by the businesses themselves, to their temp workers.
Among other things, this means changes to the time needed before employment under temporary contracts is considered to constitute a continuous employment relationship. This, in turn, affects the workers’ employment-relationship benefits, such as their sick-leave pay and work-related health care.
There are three levels of criteria for continuity. For the first four months, there may be a break of at most three calendar days between temporary contracts. A seven-day break may exist between contracts of 4–12 months and a break of 10 days between those that have lasted over a year, without there being considered a break in continuity.
If, however, there is a break – for whatever reason – the "clock" for the next job starts from zero. This also, in effect, prevents the worker from refusing shifts.
- We consider these limits to be very extensive, especially for short-term jobs, says Merru Tuliara, the CEO of private employment agency union Henkilöstöpalveluyritysten liitto (HPL) and Auktorisointiyhtiö Reiluja Vuokratöitä Oy (Authorization Company Fair Rental Labor Oy).
- The easiest solution for our field would be to define these criteria by law. Since this has not been done, the result is a lack of clarity for the companies. Therefore, different definitions have been applied, she continues.
PAM lawyer Arja Pohjola notes that the law on employment contracts takes precedence over the Reiluja Vuokratöitä authorisations.
- Consideration of employment relationships’ continuity is based on the law on employment contracts and its interpretation, she says.
A salesperson who had the wages of a fifth-year employee was surprised to discover that only half of that amount would be paid for sick leave.
- I wondered why this had happened, because previously the correct sick-leave pay was paid, in full and without any trouble, says the salesperson, who works through StaffPoint.
According to the collective labour agreement for the commercial sector, 50% sick-leave pay is paid for workers who have been in the work less than a month and full sick-leave pay for those who have been in the work over a month. In hotel and restaurant services, sick-leave pay is not paid at all for the first month.
- StaffPoint has replied that things have changed now, referring to these fair temp-work practices, says the salesperson, who prefers to remain anonymous because of concerns related to future work shifts.
- Nobody stays employed long enough for their employment relationship to be considered continuous. There will be breaks, which the temp agency can utilise intentionally. I believe that the new system is a rip off and that temp workers should be aware of this, the salesperson says.
Reiluja Vuokratöitä authorisations, which were considerably revamped in September, have now been granted to 102 private employment agencies. This includes all of the major temp agencies but not nearly the entire field. In all, HPL has 260 member companies. Depending on the way of counting, 500–900 private employment agencies operate in Finland.
A short round of calls confirms that StaffPoint, Opteam, and Barona – the companies delivering a large number of service personnel – are planning to follow the new regulations in a precise manner. Will these minimum requirements become a non-flexible norm?
- There needs to be some room for interpretation so that the preciseness does not reach ridiculous levels, says Tiina Forsbom, the StaffPoint group's HR manager.
- For most of our workers, these are improvements, she continues.
- We have decreed that nothing will become worse for the workers on account of this authorisation. In individual cases, we can bend this a little if something becomes a question one day, for example, notes Tuomas Mikkonen, the business manager of Barona Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy.
The continuity of the employment relationship and the related benefits are decided not by the employer alone but often also by the temp agency. A cynic might see this as a way to get an employee to accept breaks in employment that reset their qualifying period to zero.
- That is quite far-fetched. It is in the economical interests of companies in this field to employ people. If there were such practices or if an authorised company did not obey the authorisation rules, the worker should tell us, advises Tuliara.
She also notes that nothing prevents private employment agencies, which are competing for committed labour, from offering better work conditions than those specified in the Reiluja Vuokratöitä authorisation.
Matias Manner