Flexiwork

Flexiwork (in Finnish: ‘joustotyöaika’) enables a more adjustable way of working for independent experts. This means that the employer and employee can make an agreement on the placement and the length of the regular working hours which could differ from the Working Hours Act and the Collective Agreement. In flexiwork, the regular weekly working hours can be adjusted to an average over a maximum adjustment period of 4 months. Flexiwork can be undertaken if at least half of the employee’s work tasks are of that kind that the employee can decide the time and place of work.

Flexiwork requires a written agreement between the employee and employer. The agreement should include working days, weekly rest period, possible fixed working hours (the time when the employee is required to be reachable and present at the workplace), as well as the applicable working hours if flexiwork is discontinued. The agreement can be terminated by each party to end at the end of the ongoing reference period.

Overtime work is usually exceptional with flexiwork, because the employee can independently decide their own exact working hours. Overtime work can be undertaken only if the employee works on their day off due to their employer’s demand or for more than 8 hours a day.

In flexiwork, the employer has the right to define the employee’s work tasks and targets. It is up to the employee to define the time and place of work. For instance, sales work’s schedule can be determined by client agreements and clients’ needs if the work’s schedule itself can be mainly decided by the employee.