What do you not know about Finland that might help you with your HR operations there?
Is it that there are no polar bears there, or is that merely reassuring rather than helpful? Is it that back in 1906 it was the first country in Europe to give women the vote, or is that uplifting but not really relevant day-to-day? Is it that in December 2017 Finland celebrated the centenary of its independence from Russia and that to mark the occasion they lit up the Millennium Bridge in Gateshead? Or is that just mildly interesting in an odd kind of way, but not much assistance in a tight HR corner in Helsinki? Did you know either that earlier this month the UN concluded that Finland was the happiest place on earth, despite its having more saunas and metal bands per capita than anywhere else and one of its more celebrated exports being the Angry Birds mobile gaming app? Good dinner party fodder, maybe, but little help in Court.
So how about some things which can help you manage your staff there? Severance pay, for example, is not required under Finnish law. No prior notice of termination is required by either side during the probationary period. And best and most useful of all, by kind courtesy of leading Helsinki employment lawyer Krogerus, Finland now features on Squire Patton Boggs’ award-winning Global Edge international law reference tool. Global Edge covers up to 30 topics across 33 countries around the world, plus a separate section for the EU as an entity by itself, and allows more or less instant access on an individual or comparative basis to key legal and practical HR information in the jurisdictions you select.
