Legal assistance
Updated: 28.12.2021
PAM members can get legal assistance in disputes relating to employment or working conditions. The precondition for getting legal assistance is that you have been a member for six months prior to the start of the dispute at the workplace. Membership fees must also have been paid for this time. The same conditions apply to members transferring to PAM from another trade union.
Legal assistance is an important membership benefit
PAM’s legal assistance is excellent: it provides more coverage than in many other trade unions. With PAM, for example, there is no co-payment of court costs and there is no upper limit to the costs. The union also carries the financial risk of a court case, so if the case is lost PAM pays the other party’s legal costs as well as the other costs.
The costs of court cases can easily run into tens of thousands of euros. When you are a PAM member, your income is secure in case problems arise with your employment. You can also rest assured that you are backed up by the working conditions of private service sectors and a lawyer with a thorough knowledge of disputes.
When can I get legal assistance?
Legal assistance is always subject to discretion. The decision to grant legal assistance is always made on legal grounds, so an analysis is made whether the case could be successful. The matters to be considered in this decision include whether the law has been broken and whether there is sufficient evidence.
Obtaining a court decision can sometimes also be important in resolving a precedent of wider significance and to clarify interpretation of the law.
Read here how dispute resolution advances through the courts (in finnish).
Problems with employment, what can I do?
Luckily very few disputes end up in court. Efforts are always made first to sort things out through negotiations at the workplace. In disputes PAM members can get help from the shop steward at the workplace, PAM’s employment advice helpline and the regional offices. Are you having problems in your employment? Read more about what steps to take (in finnish).