Obligation to Reassign and Offer Work

The employer has an obligation to check if it is possible to reassign the employee under termination threat to another position within the company. If there is an appropriate position available, it must be offered to the employee as an alternative to the termination. The employee shall primarily be offered work that corresponds to that defined in his/her employment agreement. If no such work is available, other work equivalent to the employee’s training, professional skill or experience shall be offered.

The obligation to offer work includes the company’s other offices and it is not territorially restricted. If the employer has locations in several Finnish cities or abroad, he/she has the obligation to seek and offer suitable job also at those offices for the employee.

If an employer which in fact exercises control in personnel matters in another company or corporate body on the basis of ownership, agreement or some other arrangement and cannot offer an employee work as referred to in paragraph 1, it must look into if it is possible to fill the employer's obligation to provide work and training by offering the employee work in the separate company or corporate bodies under its control. Only those companies that exercise control in another company or corporate body have the obligation to seek and offer work outside the own company. In groups, e.g. the parent company has an obligation to check for job opportunities within its subsidiary companies for an employee under the threat of termination.

The employer has an obligation to check if the employee can be assigned other duties before he/she can terminate the agreement. Consequently, neglecting this obligation can result in an illegal termination.