Drafting a work community development plan
The drafting of a work community development plan is set in the Finnish Act on Co-operation within Undertakings. The obligation to draft a plan applies to companies with at least 20 employees on a regular basis.
The employer must draft and maintain a work community development plan in co-operation with the personnel representative for the long-term and systematic development of the workplace in conjunction with the dialogue. If there is no personnel representative, the employer may fulfil this obligation by discussing the development plan at a joint meeting with the personnel at least once a year.
The plan is drafted primarily to develop competence and promote well-being at work. However, it shall also be utilized in the dialogue concerning the ways workforce is utilized and personnel structure, as it may raise questions related to competence and well-being at work, or more widely to the development of the work community, which may affect the work community development plan.
The work community development plan must contain at least the following:
The current situation and foreseeable future developments that may affect the competence needs or well-being of personnel;
Goals and actions used to develop and maintain employee competence and well-being at work;
Responsibilities and timetable; and
Follow-up measures.
The work community development plan must also set out the principles for using external workforce.
In addition, when drafting and maintaining the work community development plan, the following matters have to be taken into account if necessary:
Technological development, investments and other meaningful changes in the company that affect the working community;
The special needs of employees in different life situations, in particular the need to maintain the working capability of employees at risk of incapacity for work and elderly employees and the employability of employees at risk of unemployment;
Leadership of the work community
The work community development plan is intended to be a dynamic document that serves as a tool for dialogue concerning the matters mentioned above.
The equality plan under the Finnish Act on Equality between Women and Men and the non-discrimination plan under the Finnish Non-discrimination Act can be implemented as part of the work community development plan. The obligation to draft both plans apply to companies that regularly employ 30 or more people. The plans must be drafted in accordance with the relevant procedures and as regards the content of the plans, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation.
If the employer terminates employment relationships on financial and production-related grounds, the development plan shall be updated in the dialogue following the change negotiations, once the employer has more precise knowledge of the number of redundancies and the roles and training needs of those who will be retained.
If the company has less than 20 employees and is therefore not subject to the Finnish Act on Co-operation within Undertakings, it is not mandatory to draft a work community development plan. However, in order to qualify for the tax deduction for personnel training, the training provided by the employer must be based on a work community development plan under the Finnish Act on Co-operation within Undertakings or on a training plan under the Finnish Act on Financially-Supported Development on Professional Skills, see further If the company has less than 20 employees and is therefore not subject to the Finnish Act on Co-operation within Undertakings, it is not mandatory to draft a work community development plan. However, in order to qualify for the tax deduction for personnel training, the training provided by the employer must be based on a work community development plan under the Finnish Act on Co-operation within Undertakings or on a training plan under the Finnish Act on Financially-Supported Development on Professional Skills, see further [Employer’s tax deduction from training employees].