Order of Termination

The Employment Contract Act provides no order in which terminations should be made.

However, some collective agreements contain an order which to the extent possible should be taken into consideration and applied when terminating employment agreements. The provisions in the collective agreement termination order might e.g. stipulate that the employer to the extent possible should abide by the rule that the professionals who are important for the company and the employees that have lost part of their working ability as employed by the employer shall be fired last. Furthermore, the length of the employment relationship and the maintenance liability amount of the employee should be taken in consideration.

If the company is not bound by a collective agreement or the collective agreement does not include provisions on termination order, the employer can in theory freely decide whose employment relationship will be terminated. In practice, the provisions of the Employment Contracts Act’s discrimination prohibition, the demand for equal treatment and the Equality Act restrict the employer’s decision. Also the enhanced protection of certain employee groups, i.e. representatives of the personnel and employees who are pregnant or on family leave, have an impact on the termination order. For further information see [Protection Against Termination in the Case of an Employee Who Is Pregnant or on Family Leave] ⁠and [Protection Against Termination in the Case of Shop Stewards and Elected Representatives]⁠.⁠