The new collective agreement for the landscaping sector has been approved

Extra hours mandated by the competitiveness pact have been eliminated, hourly wages increase EUR 0.15 to 0.17 per hour

The new collective agreement concerning the horticultural industry has been approved for the period between 1 February 2020 and 31 January 2022.

In addition to wage increases, the new collective agreement contains numerous other amendments. Here are a few highlights for your information.

The collective agreement will be published in full on the union webpage as soon as possible.

The collective agreement will also be translated into Swedish and English.

Wage increases

Wages will be increased by 1 February 2020, or predominantly by the beginning of the payment period following this date, classified by location

in the Helsinki metropolitan area 0.16 euros/hour
in the I-area 0.15 euros /hour
in the II-area 0.15 euros /hour

and wages will be increased by 1 February 2021, or predominantly by the beginning of the payment period following this date, again classified by location

in the Helsinki metropolitan area 0.17 euros /hour
in the I-area 0.16 euros /hour
in the II-area 0.15 euros /hour

Bonuses and allowances specified in the collective agreement will be increased by a one-off increase of 3% starting from 1 February 2020.

Extra hours mandated by the competitiveness pact

In the collective agreement concerning the allied rural industries, the extra hours mandated by the competitiveness pact only applied to employees with a regular working time of 40 hours per week. Extra hours mandated by the competitiveness pact cut the unpaid leave in exchange for working longer hours.

According to the new agreement, the cut-off of the extra hours mandated by the competitiveness pact is eliminated by gradually restoring unpaid leave in exchange for working longer hours during the agreement period:

8 hours of unpaid leave in exchange for working longer hours are first restored on 1 February 2020, then in early 2021 and for the last time in early 2022 at the end of the agreement period.

The bonus paid instead of the unpaid leave in exchange for working longer hours is also gradually restored during the agreement period:

6% will be paid starting from 1 February 2020, 0.5% starting from early 2021 and 5.5%, or the bonus preceding the competitiveness pact, starting from early 2022.

Proficiency bonus

If the employment contract of the first period is for a maximum of five months, the proficiency bonus does not need to be determined in the future within that period. However, the proficiency bonus has to be immediately determined at the beginning of the following working period.

Lay-off

The section which states that a worker could be laid off in a employment contract longer than three months, if significant productive reasons required a lay-off, was removed from the collective agreement.

Other changes related to working time

The provision on standby duty prepared during the previous agreement period has now been added to the collective agreement. The agreement on on-call duties shall be made in writing in advance. The minimum compensation for being on call is EUR 21/day rounded up to the next full day. It may also be locally agreed that on-call hours are compensated for as time off in lieu. The work performed during on-call hours is paid according to the hours worked.

In the future, employees with a fixed-term contract of under six months are entitled to working time banking arrangements. However, participation in a working time banking scheme is always voluntary to employees.

The maximum amount of overtime is no longer imposed. Instead, the maximum working time, which includes all the hours worked, will be observed in accordance with the new Working Hours Act. The amount of work, including overtime, performed by an employee shall not exceed an average of 48 hours per week over a six-month period.

The possibility to work more hours must be agreed with the shop steward or union representative

Workplaces may now locally agree on the possibility of working additional 172 hours without overtime rates. For part-time employees, hours can be agreed in relation to working time.

A local agreement governing this matter can only be prepared by a shop steward. If the workplace has no shop steward, the agreement must be sent to the Industrial Union and Federation of Agricultural Employers for approval.

Separate guidelines for allocating additional work to employees will be drawn up.

Absences due to sickness

The policy to self-report a sickness absence is now a permanent provision in the collective agreement.

If an employee falls ill, he or she can report absent from work for no more than 2 days, or a maximum of 6 days a year. However, on reasonable grounds, the employer may require a medical certificate. Reasonable grounds can be the employee’s recurrent absences due to sickness or suspected substance abuse or other abuse that affects the ability to work.

In the future, in addition to the guardian, a child under the age of 10 may also be looked after by another adult living permanently in the same household, who will be paid a sick leave pay for a maximum of four days. A medical certificate is still required for the absence in case of a child’s illness.

The worker has the right of absence for taking care or arranging the necessary treatment of an elderly parent’s sudden illness or demobilisation situation. However, no sick leave pay is paid for this period.

Mid-week holiday compensation

A number of clarifying amendments were made to the section in the collective agreement concerning mid-week holiday compensation. In the future, mid-week holiday compensation will also be paid in the event of a prior or following lay-off.

Employment contract and wage slip

In the future, the employment contract must always be made in writing.

If the employment contract has been previously concluded orally or the information is not contained in a written contract, the employer shall provide the employee with a written explanation of the main conditions of employment, no later than by the end of the first payment period.

In all cases, the employee shall be given a wage slip at least once a month covered by the contract law. The calculation shall indicate the number of hours and amount of earnings as well the grounds for the determination of the wage, including specified increments.

Other regulations

The employee has the right to receive paid leave not only according to previous collective agreements, but also on their 70th anniversary and for the cremation day of a family member.

The employee’s personal liability regarding warm clothing when working in the cold is waived. In the future, it will be entirely paid by the employer. In addition, an amendment was made to the collective agreement, whereby the employer reserves the necessary protective gloves and clothing for a fix-termed worker, as well. However, this is only for the duration of the employment relationship.

The collective agreement contains new amendments concerning employees that are designated mentors and workplace instructors. Both tasks increase the determination of a job requirement group for an employee.

Additional information:
Contract Specialist Riikka Vasama