Advice and support during changes and dismissal
You can receive help when an employment relationship is changed or terminated. The service is intended for both employees and employers.
This service is available from 1 January 2025.
The employment authority gives employees and employers advice and support when an employment relationship is changed or terminated.
The employment authority helps laid-off and dismissed employees find new work or training in cooperation with employer representatives and staff or their representatives.
Advice and support for employees
You will receive advice and support from the employment authority for job seeking, re-employment and improving your professional competence.
Employees made redundant on production or financial grounds receive support for re-employment already during the period of notice. As a dismissed employee, you will be entitled to paid leave when you draw up an employment plan or participate in labour market training agreed upon in the plan, job-seeking or re-employment training.
Advice and support for employers
The employment authority provides employers with advice in situations where they need adjustment of activities. In most cases, situations refer to measures targeting personnel, such as part-time work, lay-offs or dismissals.
In the event of a change in the employment relationship, the employer has obligations that depend on the number of employees and the number of people to be dismissed or laid off.
The employer is obliged to notify the employment authorities of any redundancies if the redundancies concern at least ten employees. In such a change, the employer must make an action plan that promotes employment and explains how the job search and training of those made redundant will be supported.
The employer must also provide information on the extended change security of employees over 55 years of age.
Act like this
Employees
If you wish to receive personal guidance and advice, register as a jobseeker in your region’s employment services already during the period of notice. If you have a Finnish personal identity code, start your job search in the e-service. You can get advice on using the e-service from the employment services in your region.
If you do not have a Finnish personal identity code or cannot use the e-service, contact the employment services in your region.
Employers
If you need advice in situations of change or dismissal, contact your local employment authority.
To whom and under what conditions
For employees
If you are dismissed from work and need personal guidance or want to apply for unemployment security, you have to register as a jobseeker with your regional employment services.
For employers
The service the employment authority offers to organisations in situations involving personnel changes is statutory if the organisation falls within the scope of the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings and is about to enter into negotiations leading to personnel changes. The company must notify the employment authority of the change situation.
The employment authority also provides guidance and advice in change situations to companies and other organisations other than those covered by the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings where employees have to be laid off or dismissed.