Ombudsman for Equality

Countermeasures by employers

Any practices of employers where an employee is dismissed or otherwise treated unfavourably after asserting his or her rights, seeking to enforce obligations governed by the Finnish Equality Act or contributing to an investigation of a suspected case of discrimination on the basis of sex or gender are deemed to constitute violations of the anti-discrimination provisions of the Finnish Equality Act.

Employers may be found guilty of discrimination under the Finnish Equality Act if they treat a person unfavourably after the person in question has

• asserted his or her rights or sought to enforce obligations governed by the Finnish Equality Act, or
• acted as a witness or a party in a case involving discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.

In other words, the prohibition of countermeasures protects both employees asserting their rights under the Finnish Equality Act and any witnesses or persons who assist them in the matter.

Countermeasures

Countermeasures can comprise changes to duties or terms and conditions of employment, or perceived changes in other people’s attitudes. Changes in duties can involve reducing the number of tasks and the level of responsibility or otherwise giving less demanding assignments. Countermeasures can also entail burdening employees unjustly or unreasonably with additional responsibilities.

In practice, countermeasures can also comprise withholding pay rises and promotions. Employees may also suffer from unjustly increased supervision in the workplace as a result of reporting violations of the Finnish Equality Act. This can manifest itself both as increased supervision of work performance and as increased difficulty in securing desirable working hours and holidays. At the extreme, countermeasures involve actions aimed at terminating employment contracts.

Prohibited countermeasures may be instigated or promoted by employers and supervisors, but co-workers and even employee representatives can be guilty of such practices. However, only employers have the power to influence working conditions and therefore only employers can be held liable for compensation on account of countermeasures.

Any countermeasures originating from the direction of co-workers or employee representatives, for example, can be dealt with on the basis of the principles included in the Finnish Employment Contracts Act and provisions governing public-sector employment, according to which employees are expected to behave appropriately towards their co-workers. The obligation of employers to actively promote equality also compels employers to ensure that employees do not become victims of countermeasures by other employees in the workplace.

Protection against countermeasures also extends beyond the termination of employment. Employers can therefore be ordered to pay compensation for discrimination even on the basis of countermeasures instigated after the termination of employment. The Finnish Equality Act also prohibits employers from taking countermeasures against an applicant who has previously asserted his or her rights under the act after applying for a job from the employer in question.

Due to the principles governing evidence, for example, employees should react to countermeasures immediately by informing a representative of the employer or by reporting the countermeasures to an employee representative, a health and safety officer, or a co-worker.