Collective and Local Bargaining

Collective and Local Bargaining

In Finland, employment legislation is mostly mandatory law. Nevertheless, employers can deviate from these provisions by employer-specific agreements to the extent permitted by law. These possibilities are currently being extended.

We assist employers in negotiating and concluding employer-specific agreements. Our experts have an excellent understanding of how the labour market works. We have represented numerous employers and employer federations in demanding contract negotiations with the aim of reaching a local agreement.

We offer both legal and practical perspectives on bargaining. At best, well-managed local negotiations can leverage strategic business objectives and increase employee engagement.

We can help you with all matters relating to employer-specific agreements, such as:

  • Assessing the exit from the nationwide collective agreement
  • Assessing the suitability of an employer-specific agreement for the employer’s needs
  • Ensuring the legality of the employer-specific agreement
  • Drawing up an employer-specific agreement
  • Participating in contract negotiations

Latest references

We advised DNB Bank ASA in its agreement with Fennia Mutual Insurance Company on the development and lease of the premises at Fabianinkatu 8, Helsinki. With the lease agreement, DNB Bank ASA will focus all its Finnish operations at the Fabian 8 office. The other tenants at the renewed premises will be DNB Carnegie Investment Bank AB’s Finnish operations and DNB Auto Finance Oy. In connection with the long-term lease agreement, the parties also agreed on a major renovation project to completely refurbish the premises. The object of lease will be completed in the second half of 2027.
Case published 10.10.2025
We advised Yellow Film Studios, the largest independent film and television production company in the Nordics, in its strategic merger with Danish film industry sales and financing studio REinvent Studios. Together they form Reinvent Yellow, a unified hub for television and film production, sales, financing and innovation, combining over three decades of production experience and a vast catalogue of titles.
Case published 8.10.2025
We successfully represented a panel of reinsurance companies in an international ad hoc arbitration. The dispute arose out of a reinsurance treaty under the terms of which the reinsurers had reinsured a portfolio of risks underwritten by the cedent. The parties disagreed as to whether the reinsurance provided coverage for a certain loss that had occurred because of the market turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The case involved highly complex legal and contractual questions requiring special expertise on reinsurance law and practice. The arbitral tribunal rejected the counterparty’s claims for reinsurance compensation against our clients in full. The amount in dispute was approximately EUR 34 million.
Case published 16.9.2025
We supported byFounders.vc as the Finnish counsel in their investment in DataCrunch Oy in a USD 64 million Series A funding round. DataCrunch provides scalable AI compute solutions from energy-efficient data centers in Iceland and Finland. byFounders.vc is the community-powered early-stage venture fund investing in globally ambitious teams connected to the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Case published 11.9.2025