On 20 March the government announced an economic support plan to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, the budget for which will cost an estimated €15 billion. The plan will be implemented via a series of regulatory measures, legislative amendments, and several pieces of remedial financial legislation, which include in particular €10 billion for the Finnish state-owned financing company, Finnvera, so it can guarantee loans being extended to companies in difficulties. The government confirmed it was immediately taking on ‘most of the proposals put forward (…) by the social partners and in the form they suggested.’ The government insisted especially on doing away with the waiting period before receiving unemployment allowances, fast-tracking redundancy measures in order to save companies from insolvency, and implementing rights to partial unemployment for those in fixed term employment contracts. The plan also adds the possibility for retailers and independent workers to access the same benefits as employees and receive unemployment allowances.
Following a government initiative, on 18 March Finland’s trade union and employers bodies agreed on a series of proposals (see here in English) to mitigate the nefarious economic consequences from the Covid-19 health crisis. The proposals contributed to the Government’s plan that was presented on 20 March and impacts several areas including certain elements related to making labour legislation more flexible.
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