Laura Häyrinen

Senior Associate, Member of the Finnish Bar

Services

Employment

Contact details

I am specialised in employment law. I assist our clients in various questions that can arise during employment, such as questions related to working hours, termination of employment, the acts on equality, non-discrimination and co-operation, and the applicable collective agreement. I advise our clients in various matters related to employment law and represent them in courts. I also enjoy providing training in employment law matters.

I have spent most of my career working with employment law cases, and I still find this branch of law extremely interesting. Employment law cases usually derive from concrete real-life problems, and that is what keeps me motivated year after year. I have a wide experience from the legal services industry, but I have also worked in an employer organisation and in the Confederation of Finnish Industries. This diverse background gives me a valuable perspective on various kinds of employment law issues. Thanks to my background, I am also very familiar with the national collective agreement system.

I am a very approachable and sociable person, and clients find it easy and comfortable to work with me. I have an ambitious and curious attitude towards every assignment: I take a personal interest in each case and leave no stone unturned to find the perfect solution. Sometimes it is necessary to resolve the matter in court, sometimes it may be wise to consider a settlement. I always have the customer’s interest in the centre of my action, and I find it extremely rewarding to work in close contact with our clients.

I am currently on family leave.

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Latest references

VR – Supreme Court decision clarifies working time practices

We successfully represented VR Group before the Supreme Court in a case concerning the meal break practice of commuter train drivers. On 6 February 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in VR’s favour (decision KKO:2026:12), confirming that VR had the right to amend the commuter train drivers’ meal break practice in 2021 by rendering the break unpaid in accordance with the applicable collective agreement. This decision clarifies the interpretation of collective agreements and employment legislation as well as the limits of the employer’s right to direct work. Over 250 commuter train drivers challenged the unpaid meal break practice which VR introduced in April 2021. Before the change, meal breaks had a long history of being paid. The change was based on the train drivers’ collective agreement, which allows for meal breaks to be organised either as paid or unpaid time. The Supreme Court ruled that the scheduling and managing of breaks falls within the core area of the employer’s right to direct work. This increases the threshold for an established practice becoming a binding condition for the parties. Merely following a practice consistently and over a long period of time does not make the practice binding; instead, the employer’s intent to commit to the practice must be clearly evident from the employer’s conduct or other circumstances. As both alternatives – paid and unpaid – for organising meal breaks had been retained in the collective agreement despite other amendments over the years, it could not be considered that VR had intended to commit to the paid break practice and waive its right to direct work as regards break scheduling. It was also significant that the employment contracts explicitly referred only to the collective agreement as regards working time. The Supreme Court deemed that the employees’ paid meal break was not an established term of employment and that VR was entitled to change the practice based on the collective agreement. The employer had the right, by virtue of its right to direct work, to unilaterally change the meal break practice by choosing to apply the other arrangement permitted by the collective agreement.

Neoen – Sale of data centre

We advised Neoen Renewables Finland Oy, part of the French Neoen Group, in its sale of a data centre project to a consortium consisting of international data centre developers and operators. This marked Neoen’s first data centre development project in Finland. Founded in 2008, Neoen is one of the world’s leading independent renewable energy producers. The company operates in 15 countries. It develops, finances, builds, owns, and operates solar power plants, wind farms, and battery storage systems. Neoen Group is owned by global alternative asset manager Brookfield Corporation.

Jolt Capital and Tesi – Investment in VEV

We advised Jolt Capital and Tesi in connection with their investment in VEV, a leading provider of commercial fleet electrification solutions. The investment, led by Jolt Capital with Tesi as co-investor, will support VEV’s next phase of growth and expansion across Europe. As part of the transaction, VEV became an independent company following the acquisition of Vitol’s stake in the business. Founded by Vitol, VEV provides integrated fleet electrification solutions combining fleet strategy, charging infrastructure, energy supply and operational services. Through its VEV IQ platform, the company supports more than 6,000 commercial electric vehicles across Europe and has been deployed across more than 600 sites spanning the transport, logistics and waste sectors. Jolt Capital is a private equity firm focused on growth investments in European deeptech companies. Tesi is a Finnish state-owned investment company that promotes Finnish business and economic growth through investments. We advised Jolt Capital and Tesi on the equity financing and structuring aspects of the transaction. International law firm Goodwin advised the investors on the acquisition of VEV.

VR Group – Intellectual property matters

VR-Group Plc is a transport and logistics group owned by the Finnish State, operating passenger and freight rail transport in Finland with activities also in the Swedish market. VR Group provides passenger, logistics and maintenance services with over 160 years’ experience in developing responsible transport of the future. We advise VR Group in intellectual property matters as part of the company’s wider brand protection efforts. Our assignments have included advice on copyright, design rights and trademarks, focusing on the protection of the company’s visual identity – including its distinctive green colour – in connection with transport services as part of a comprehensive IP protection strategy. VR Group’s consistent brand building has also received recognition, including the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Brand of the Year award in 2026. In the competition, brands were viewed comprehensively from various perspectives, including their story, strategic role, brand renewal ability and intellectual property protection. The jury found that VR had understood the importance of the protection of its brand as part of a comprehensive business strategy.

NoHo Partners – EUR 50 million secured notes and EUR 97 million senior secured facilities agreement

We advised NoHo Partners Plc on the issuance of EUR 50 million senior secured floating rate notes. The notes have a tenor of four years and mature on 10 September 2030. The notes bear interest at a rate of three-month EURIBOR plus a margin of 4.375 per cent. per annum. The notes were allocated to a mix of domestic and international investors. We also advised NoHo Partners on the negotiation of its new senior facilities agreement. The facilities agreement comprises a EUR 60,000,000 term loan facility, a EUR 10,000,000 capex facility and a EUR 27,000,000 revolving credit facility. “We are delighted by the interest investors have shown in the company’s Notes, which reflects confidence in our strategy. The successful issuance of the Notes, together with the new loan agreement, extends the maturity profile of our financing and enables the company to continue executing its growth strategy going forward. I would like to thank all investors for their participation, as well as our partner bank for the excellent execution of the Notes issuance”, says Jarno Suominen, CEO of NoHo Partners. OP Corporate Bank plc acted as the sole lead manager and bookrunner for the issue of the notes. NoHo Partners Plc is a Finnish group established in 1996, and it specialises in restaurant services being the creative innovator of the Northern European restaurant market. The company was listed in Nasdaq Helsinki in 2013 becoming the first Finnish listed restaurant company, and it has continued to grow strongly throughout its history. NoHo Partners’ vision is to be the leading restaurant operator in Northern Europe.

Topfoods – Acquisition of Delice Plus

We advised Topfoods Oy, a Triton-backed Geia Group company, on its acquisition of Oy Delice Plus Ab, a Finnish supplier of cakes and pastries. Through the acquisition, Topfoods strengthens its retail business and further reinforces its position in the cakes and pastries segment. Founded in 2008, Topfoods supplies selected food products to professional kitchens, the retail sector, and the food industry.

Deka Immobilien – Acquisition of a prime logistics property

We advised Deka Immobilien on its acquisition of a prime logistics property located at Turvalaaksonkuja 4, Vantaa, for the Deka-ImmobilienEuropa open-ended real estate fund. The property is situated within the Aviapolis logistics cluster, which is Finland’s leading logistics hub, benefiting from its location next to Helsinki Airport and its connections to the country’s main transport routes. Completed in 2022, the modern property comprises 32,947 sqm of lettable space and is fully let on a long-term basis to Barona Varastopalvelut Oy. The tenant is a Finnish 3PL provider offering warehousing and e-commerce logistics services to companies in Finland and internationally and uses the property as its central logistics hub. The property has achieved a BREEAM International New Construction rating of Excellent and an EPC rating of A, and it features photovoltaic and geothermal systems, among other things.

HANZA – Divestment of its Nivala and Sievi operations

We advised HANZA on the divestment of its Nivala and Sievi operations. The transaction was part of HANZA’s larger strategic reorganisation, where the company optimised its Finnish manufacturing cluster. Founded in 2008, HANZA is a Swedish mechanical engineering and electronics contract manufacturing company listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm main list. HANZA has approximately 5,000 employees and annual sales of SEK 10 billion.

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