Photo: ICPonline
- Next Article Summer cottage sales rise nearly 10 percent
Twelve foreign healthcare workers dismissed by the North Savo wellbeing services county plan to take their case to court, claiming unlawful termination during probation.
The group includes ten nurses and two doctors, all hired in 2024 and all from foreign backgrounds. Eleven of them have now sought legal representation.
The employer said the workers were dismissed for lacking professional competence and adequate Finnish language skills. The terminations took place during probation periods.
The workers deny these claims and believe the decision was based on discrimination.
“Employment relationships can be terminated during a probationary period, but even then the employment contract may not be terminated on grounds that are discriminatory or otherwise irrelevant to the purpose of the probationary period,” said Jouni Lehtimäki, a legal adviser representing the group.
He said the county failed to make any effort to support the workers or help them improve their skills before ending their contracts. He also questioned the language assessment methods used.
“According to the employment contracts, the language skills should have been determined via a general language examination, but the welfare county arranged the language tests itself,” Lehtimäki said.
None of the affected workers have been publicly identified. According to Yle, their names are known to the broadcaster, but have been withheld to protect their future employment prospects.
The dispute comes at a time when Finnish health authorities are facing growing staff shortages and have increasingly recruited workers from abroad to meet demand.
North Savo has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Separately, the wellbeing services county announced new restructuring talks with staff representatives on Friday, aimed at saving more than €8 million from the 2026 budget.
Up to 140 jobs may be at risk, although the regional authority said it hopes to avoid direct redundancies where possible.
“The goal is that as few as possible, if any, will be implemented as redundancies,” said council chair Riitta Raatikainen of the Centre Party.
HT
- Next Article Summer cottage sales rise nearly 10 percent
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
