Summary of the amendments for the Collective Agreement in the Commercial Sector

The result of the Commercial sector’s negotiations concerns also the Collective Agreement for Retail Supervisors and the Collective Agreement for Warehouse and Transportation Supervisors.

1. Pay settlement and instructions for salary increases

All employees’ salaries are increased by 2.0% as of 1 April 2020. Salaries are increased by 1.3% as of 1 April 2021.

Minimum wages in the wage annex are increased correspondingly by 2.0% as of April 2020 and by 1.3% as of 1 April 2021.

Commercial sector’s retail supervisors’ salaries are increased correspondingly by 2.0% as of April 2020 and by 1.3% as of 1 April 2021.

Warehouse and transportation supervisors’ salaries are increased correspondingly by 2.0% as of April 2020 and by 1.3% as of 1 April 2021.

Wage Annex can be found here.

Shop stewards and health and safety representatives’ compensations are increased by 3.3% as of 1 April 2020.

Working time bonuses are not increased during the term of the collective agreement.

2. Text amendments (valid as of 1 April 2020 unless separately announced differently)

The new Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector includes many amendments as of which the most essential are clarified here.

• Annual holiday leave system stays in force but the extended working hours under the competitiveness pact were deleted by adjusting the annual leave system.
  • In future, the maximum amount of annual leaves is 9. In addition, the number of working hours based on which the annual leaves are earned, were adjusted accordingly.
  • The weekday public holiday system stays as an alternative model to reduce working time. This can be introduced in the company or part of the company with the employer’s unilateral decision as before.
  • These changes concerning the annual leave system and weekday public holiday system will come into force as of 1 January 2021.
• A new working hour system, adaptable full-time work (fin joustava kokoaikatyö) was created
  • Adaptable full-time work means a system in which an employee working under 37.5 hours per week will receive full monthly salary. In order to receive full monthly salary, the employee commits to accepting work shifts at short notice in addition to those in the schedule of work shifts. With these so-called adaptable hours (fin joustotunnit), the employee’s working hours should correspond to full-time work i.e., 37.5 hour per week in total.
  • At least 22.5 hours per week must be scheduled to an employee, that the new working hours system is applied to. On top of this, the employer may schedule working hours more flexibly. The purpose of the system is to add full time employments. The employee and the employer must agree on the adaptable full-time work locally.
  • This system will be applied as of 1 January 2021. Finnish Commerce Federation and Service Union United PAM will draft instructions regarding the adaptable full-time work by 31 November 2020. Instructions will clarify several questions regarding the new system.
• Amendments when the schedule of work shifts must be announced
  • The schedule of work shifts can, in future, be announced no later than 2 weeks before the working week begins provided that the system for averaging working time is 18 weeks or less.
  • If the system for averaging working time exceeds 18 weeks, the schedule of work shifts must be announced no later than 3 weeks before the working time begins.
  • A local agreement may be made to enable the schedule of work shifts to be announced no later than 1 week before the working time begins. The agreement must be made with the shop steward if one has been elected. Otherwise, the agreement must be made with the relevant personnel group.
• Changes in the amount of consecutive working days
  • When scheduling working hours, there can, in future, be a maximum of 8 working days between days off. Previously, the amount of consecutive working days was 9. If agreed locally (in accordance with the section 23), there can be a maximum of 10 working days between days off. The agreement must be made with the shop steward if one has been elected. In addition, the employer and the employee can make a one-off agreement that there is a maximum of 11 working days between the days off.
  • With warehouse workers, there can also be a maximum of 8 working days between days off. If agreed locally (in accordance with the section 23), there can be a maximum of 12 working days between days off.
• Daily rest period was increased
  • In the 24 hours following the commencement of each shift, employees must be granted an uninterrupted rest period of 11 hours. The employer and the employee may agree that the daily rest period is 8 hours. However, the employer and the employee can make a one-off agreement that the length of the daily rest period is at least 7 hours.
• Clerical employees’ public holiday eve provisions were changed
  • Currently, from holiday eves, Easter Saturday, Midsummer Eve and Christmas Eve must be free for a clerical employee. In future, clerical employees must have 2 public holiday eves free similar to sales assistants and other shop staff provided that there is a justified reason taking into account a company’s business. A justifiable reason may be related to arrangements within the company’s production or service activities that are necessary to serve the customers or for other similar operational reasons. Upon request, the employer must provide written justification for the business need.
  • If the written justification is not provided within 2 weeks after the request was made, the earlier rule of granting the three holiday eves free mentioned above must therefore be followed.
• Changes in the clerical employees’ fixed day off
  • The day off for a clerical employee must be a fixed day and if possible, Saturday. However, this provision must not be applied whether there is a justified reason considering the company’s business as clarified above.
• Days off movement in the system for averaging working time
  • During the system for averaging working time, there must be as many days off as there are weeks in the system for averaging working time. When applying the system for averaging working time, the day off based on the collective agreement can be transferred from one week to another. In clerical work, this requires a local agreement (in accordance with section 23) unless there is a justified reason considering the company’s business as mentioned above. When transferring the day off from one week to another, the transferred day off must always be placed in connection with another day off, unless locally agreed (in accordance with section 23) otherwise.
• Possibility to agree otherwise on the notice period for clerical employees’ and sale staff and buyers in wholesale trading
  • In future, the notice period of clerical employees and sale staff and buyers in wholesale trading can be agreed to be 1 month. If the notice period for employer to follow is longer than the agreed 1 month notice period, the employer must follow longer notice period in accordance with the notice period defined in the collective agreement.
• Trial period can, in future, be a maximum of 6 months. In employment relationships shorter than 12 months, the trial period can be a maximum of half of the length of the employment relationship.
• Among other things, shop stewards’ right to receive information was improved
  • In addition, a new provision that enables the possibility to negotiate on an area shop steward organisation was created in the agreement on shop stewards. This provision concerns organisations that are nationwide or that employ over 800 employees. The agreement on shop stewards was amended also otherwise and new regulations concerning for example, shop stewards’ burden of work and part-time shop stewards’ job release were introduced.
  • Similar changes were made in the labour protection co-operation agreement.
• The length of the pay period in cases of work accident was improved
  • The length of the pay period is a minimum of 4 weeks despite the length of the employment relationship if the employee is incapable of work due to a work accident.
• In addition, the result includes new regulations concerning e.g., a system for averaging working time over 26-52 weeks and compensating work clothes.

NB! The wording of the collective agreement’s text amendments is currently under progress and thus, the wording of this information may still change.

The Collective Agreement for Retail Supervisors

For retail supervisors, the amendments are not as wide. For retail supervisors, the amendments aim at progressing work life balance and well-being at work. The most significant amendments concern daily lunch breaks, planning of work shifts and the discussion on retail supervisors’ shop stewards and health and safety representatives’ job releases.

Finnish Commerce Federation and the Negotiation Organisation for Retail Supervisors will launch a new initiative during years 2020 and 2021 that will focus on supervisors’ well-being at work, coping at work and work life balance.

NB! The wording of the collective agreement’s text amendments is currently under progress and thus, the wording of this information may still change.

3. Other issues

• Finnish Commerce Federation and Service Union United PAM agreed on Tutustu ja tienaa- summer trainee program for years 2020 and 2021.
• Parties will continue the renewal of the salary system.
• Parties launch a separate working group that focuses on the assessment of how employees cope at work and the ergonomic and work community orientated work shift scheduling.
• Finnish Commerce Federation and Service Union United PAM will create joint instructions that aim at helping companies to create their own local instructions for harassment and sexual harassment.
• A new working group that focuses on education policy will be created. It focuses on analysing the need and challenges that face the improvement of the sector’s vocational competence.
• A new working group to clarify the impact of different ways of using labour and forms of working.

Finnish Commerce Federation will announce later when the online version of the new collective agreement will be available.