Prohibition of Discrimination, Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination Requirement in Recruitment

An employer shall treat its employees equally and without discrimination. Discrimination of job applicants is prohibited in the Equality Act, Non-Discrimination Act and Employment Contracts Act.

According to the Equality Act, discrimination on the basis of gender is prohibited in recruitment. The Employer’s conduct is considered discrimination if a person is employed or selected for training by setting aside a more qualified employee of the opposite gender for the job or training in question. Discrimination in recruitment is also prohibited on the basis of pregnancy, giving of birth or other reason related to the applicant’s gender. The Equality Act does not seek to restrict the employer’s right to choose the most suitable person for the position, but to prevent the employer from unfoundedly choosing an employee based on the person’s gender by setting aside a more qualified person. If a more qualified person of the opposite gender is displaced, the employer must demonstrate that there has been a job-related, justified and acceptable reason for the choice.

In addition to discrimination based on gender, recruitment may be discriminatory in other respects. The employer may not, without justified grounds, put employees in different positions on the basis of age, state of health, disability, national or ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, language, religion, opinion, conviction, family relations, trade union activity, political activity or other similar reasons. Different treatment is justified if it is based on real and crucial requirements of the nature of the work tasks and the performance of them and the treatment is proportional to the justified goal. Different treatment of an applicant based on age or domicile may be allowed with certain requirements set in legislation. Discrimination other than that based on gender is regulated by the Non-Discrimination Act and the Employment Contracts Act.

It is not, for instance, possible to state in a job advertisement that only female applicants are able to apply. However, it is possible to advertise a job for young persons or persons speaking a specific language as their mother tongue, provided there is a justified reason for it. Whether a justified reason exists is determined on the basis of the actual requirements of the job in question. For example, a mere opinion of the employer that a job requires fluent Finnish is insufficient.

A district court may order an employer to pay compensation to an applicant for breaching the Equality Act or the Non-Discrimination Act during recruitment.