The collective labour agreement is the most important agreement for employees
Change negotiations are constantly taking place at Posti. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions. You can get more information from your chief shop steward or the union office.
What is PAU doing for its members in the change negotiations?
The shop stewards and chief shop stewards educated by PAU raise all the views of the employees in the change negotiations and aim to reduce the number of people to be dismissed and made part-time by negotiating.
PAU and the shop stewards will provide updates on the progress of the change negotiations and answer any questions arising from the uncertain situation. The chief shop steward and, for example, the shop stewards will tour the workplace and take part in information briefings to provide updates on the progress of the change negotiations. Members are encouraged to feel free to contact their representatives or the union office.
PAU's shop stewards are negotiating with the employer on the possibility of offering employees alternative work in other Group units as an alternative to dismissal. The law does not require that attempts be made to place employees facing dismissal in other companies within the Group. Even after the employment relationship has ended, the re-employment obligation laid down by law only applies to the company terminating employment. PAU requires replacements to be made more extensively across the Group than required by law.
Once the change negotiations have ended, the employer will have one-on-one discussions with the employees. PAU members should include the union's shop steward or another union representative as a support person in the discussion.
Who will do the work of the employees who are dismissed?
That’s the employer’s concern. The employer is responsible for ensuring that there are enough employees in relation to the amount of work.
The employees work within the working hours specified in the employment contract and entered beforehand in the shift list at a normal pace, taking all breaks. By law, working overtime is always voluntary. Overtime is always agreed at the employer's initiative, and the employee can consent to work overtime if they wish. Employees cannot be ordered or forced to work overtime.
Can employers use agency workers even though its own employees are dismissed?
Employers may still use agency workers to some extent. Court cases concerning the use of agency workers are not clear-cut. Many certainly consider the use of agency workers in this situation to be unethical and poor human resources policy, even though it is not necessarily illegal or in violation of the collective labour agreement. In recent years, Posti has consistently reviewed and reduced its use of agency workers in conjunction with change negotiations.
Who decides who will be dismissed and the priority in which employees will be dismissed, made part-time or laid off?
The employer decides which employees to dismiss but must adhere to the priorities in staffing reductions specified in the collective labour agreement.
The Communications and Logistics Sector Collective Labour Agreement (section 4, subsection 6) has agreed the priorities in staffing reductions as follows: “In connection with termination or layoffs not owing to the employee, the rule must be adhered to, if possible, that the last employees to be discharged or laid off shall be those important to the company’s business or needed in special tasks, employees who are difficult to employ, and employees who have lost some of their work ability during work for the employer in question. Secondarily, also the duration of the employment relationship and the amount of the employee’s responsibility for supporting others are taken into account.”
Since the ruling of the Labour Court in 2015, Posti has adhered to the principle that in the priority in staffing reductions, availability is considered primarily and the duration of the employment relationship and the amount of the employee’s responsibility for supporting others are considered secondarily. In other words, the better the availability of the employee for different duties, the longer the career and the more underage dependents the employee has, the more the employer tries to avoid dismissing such employees. However, good availability, a long career or the number of people with responsibility for supporting others do not automatically protect against dismissal.
How is priority in staffing reductions applied in practice?
Posti primarily looks at the employee's availability, i.e. the range of work they do, are willing to do and are capable of doing. The more flexibly an employee is able and willing to take on a variety of work, the better their availability will be. Although the employer already has information about the availability of employees, employees should also highlight their own skills and, for example, their willingness to learn new duties.
Where the availability of employees is at the same level, the secondary criteria, i.e. the continuous length of the employment relationship and the amount of the employee’s responsibility for supporting others, are considered. The longer the employment relationship, the better from the point of view of the priority in staffing reduction. The amount of the employee’s responsibility for supporting others refers to underage children in the employee's care. The employer does not automatically receive any information about this, and the employer is also not allowed to ask the employee about this. If the employee has underage children, the employer must be informed if the employee wants this to be taken into account. However, good availability, a long career or the number of people the employee is responsible for supporting do not automatically protect against dismissal.
I’m a permanent employee but have previously had several consecutive fixed-term employment contracts. How is my period of notice calculated?
The period of notice is affected by the uninterrupted duration of the employment relationship. Fixed-term employment contracts are counted as an uninterrupted employment relationship if there has been a break of no more than 7 days between the employment contracts. Where there has been a break of 8 days or more between fixed-term employment contracts, the employment relationship is no longer uninterrupted.
How are pregnant women, those on pregnancy, special pregnancy and parental leave treated in change negotiations?
Persons on pregnancy, special pregnancy and parental leave (Note! Does not apply to partial special pregnancy leave) are included in change negotiations in the same way as others. However, they have protection against dismissal while on family leave.
If an employee is pregnant, the employer is aware of the pregnancy and the employee is dismissed, dismissal is deemed to be due to pregnancy. You should therefore remember to inform the employer that you are pregnant. Pregnancy or exercising the right to family leave is not a legitimate reason for dismissal.
What happens after the change negotiations have ended?
After the change negotiations have ended, the employer makes decisions on the changes that will take place, such as dismissals or changes in work duties and shifts.
The employer will inform employees of the final number of staffing reductions—that is, the number of employees to be dismissed. At the same time, the employer will explain the other changes it plans to make. Afterwards, the employer will invite those employees whose employment is to be terminated or whose employment will undergo other changes to a one-on-one meeting. It is advisable for a PAU member to bring a PAU shop steward to this meeting. The shop steward will be present to ensure that the employer acts in accordance with the law and the collective labour agreement.
When will the dismissals apply?
The employer will inform the employee, both orally and in writing, in a one-on-one discussion, of when changes to the employment relationship will apply or when the employee's employment relationship will end. The period of notice is adhered to both at the end of the employment relationship and when the employer unilaterally makes changes to the employment contract. The changes will not apply until after the end of the period of notice.
The period of notice is based on the employment contract. The length of the period of notice depends on the employee’s uninterrupted employment relationship.
When the employer terminates employment, the periods of notice are as follows:
| Length of uninterrupted employment | Period of notice |
| at most a year | 14 days |
| more than a year but less than 4 years | 1 month |
| more than 4 but less than 8 years | 2 months |
| more than 8 but less than 12 years | 4 months |
| more than 12 years | 6 months |
Where the period of notice is 14 days, the date on which the notice of dismissal is given is not included and the period of notice begins on the following day.
Where the period of notice is 1, 2, 4 or 6 months, the employment relationship ends on the same ordinal calendar date as when the notice of dismissal was given. For example, if an employee is dismissed on 6 March and they have 1 month’s period of notice, then the employment relationship ends on 6 April. If the same employee is dismissed on 31 March, then their employment relationship ends on 30 April.
Do I get holiday bonus if I’m dismissed?
Yes, if your employment relationship ends for a production-related or financial reason.
What happens to annual holiday days and flexible time off that I’ve not taken if my employment relationship ends?
Posti pays annual holiday days that have not been kept as holiday compensation when the employment relationship ends. If you are an employee with extended annual leave and are entitled to additional annual holiday days, 8 days/full holiday credit year (1 April-31 March), these additional days are not paid out as monetary compensation. If you have flexible time or days off in your flexible time balance, these will be paid out when your employment relationship ends.
Can the employer order me to take annual leave during the period of notice?
The employer has the right to order an employee to take annual leave having consulted the employee. This concerns upcoming “old holidays”, which were earned during the previous holiday credit year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The employer may not unilaterally order new ”holidays” that are earned during the current holiday credit year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 to be taken before 2 May 2027. However, the taking of these can be agreed together.
Am I required to work during the period of notice?
Unless otherwise agreed in the change negotiations, employees are required to work during the period of notice. The requirement to work is clarified in the dismissal discussions.