Prohibition of Discrimination, Equal Treatment Non-Discrimination Demand in Recruitment

The employer shall treat his/her employees equally and non-discriminating. Discrimination of job applicants is prohibited in the Equality Act, Non-Discrimination Act and the Employment Contracts Act. According to the Equality Act discrimination on the basis of gender is prohibited when recruiting. Employer’s action is considered discrimination when a person is employed or selected for training, by setting aside a more merited employee of the opposite gender for the work 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 such person’s gender by setting aside a more merited person. If a more merited person of the opposite gender is displaced, the employer must demonstrate that there has been a job-related and acceptable reason for the choice.

In addition to discrimination based on gender, recruitment may be discriminatory in other respects. An employer may not without a justified reason 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. 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 welcomed. It is nevertheless 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 such. Whether or not a justified reason exists is determined on the basis of the actual requirements of the job in question. A mere opinion e.g. of the employer that a job requires fluent Finnish is insufficient.

The district court may order an employer to compensate the applicant for acting contrary to the Equality Act or the Non-Discrimination Act in connection with recruiting.