Lag om kommunala tjänsteinnehavare

Chapter 1 contains general provisions.

This section says the law applies to municipal office-holders, unless another law or a collective-agreement-based arrangement says otherwise.

This provision defines “tjänsteinnehavare” and “tjänsteförhållande” for the law.

A public office holder may be appointed indefinitely or for a fixed term, but fixed-term appointments are allowed only in specified situations. A person fixed-termly employed without proper grounds, or repeatedly fixed-termly employed without reason, has a right to compensation, and the compensation claim must be made within six months after the employment ends.

Public hiring for a service relationship normally requires an open application procedure, and the application period must be at least 14 calendar days after the notice is published. In some listed cases, hiring may be done without an application procedure.

Vid ett offentligt utlyst tjänsteförhållande får bara den anställas som har sökt skriftligen i tid och uppfyller behörighetskraven; ansökan ska också innehålla en utredning om behörigheten.

To be hired into a public service relationship, a person must have the required special qualification, and only people who are at least 18 may be hired. Temporary hiring can be allowed despite the special qualification rules if separately provided for or if the municipality decides otherwise in an individual case.

A person being appointed to a service relationship must provide health-related information and, if needed, take part in examinations; the employer pays necessary costs for employer-ordered examinations.

A probation period may be set in an employment relationship, with limits on length and restricted grounds for ending the relationship during that period.

A tjänsteinnehavare ska utan dröjsmål, och om möjligt innan tjänsteutövningen börjar, få ett skriftligt tjänsteförordnande eller protokollsutdrag.

A service relationship starts when the appointment decision is made, and the employee’s rights and duties start when work begins unless a different earlier start time is set elsewhere. If the same employee moves immediately to another service relationship with the same employer, the employment is not interrupted.

Employers must ensure that the officeholder receives the benefits and rights due under the employment relationship.

Employers may not treat applicants or officeholders less favorably without acceptable reason, must not impose worse terms on fixed-term or part-time posts solely because of duration unless objectively justified, and must otherwise treat officeholders impartially.

The employer should help the office holder keep performing the job when tasks or methods change, support development, and promote good workplace relations.

The employer must ensure workplace safety to protect employees from accidents and health risks, and should try to move a pregnant employee to other suitable work if her current work or conditions endanger her or the fetus and the risk cannot be removed.

The employer must give the employee a pay specification when wages are paid.

Employers must let employees and their organizations use suitable premises free of charge during breaks and outside working hours for service-related and union matters, and meetings must not disrupt the employer’s operations.

The office holder must perform duties properly and without delay, follow applicable rules and the employer’s instructions, act impartially, and not demand, receive, or accept certain benefits.

A public office holder generally may not take or keep a side job that uses working time, and may not do competing work that harms the employer, unless permission is granted.

A public employee must give the employer necessary health-related information, participate in required checks and examinations when ordered, and the employer must pay the necessary costs.

The officeholder must take care of occupational safety as required by the occupational safety act and any rules made under it.

The employer may unilaterally change an employment relationship to part-time if the notice period is observed, the employee is heard, and the change is based on a termination ground in section 37.

An employer must first offer a qualified part-time permanent employee the chance to move to a full-time position when the employer needs new staff for similar full-time tasks.

A municipal appointing authority may change a permanent employee’s duties if the employee has been given a chance to be heard and the change is needed because of reorganisation or another justified reason.

A civil servant may be transferred to another post if the stated conditions are met; some transfers can last up to one year, and the person must be heard before a transfer or recall.

When a business transfer covered by this section occurs, the new owner takes over the employer’s rights and obligations, with an exception for certain service-relationship rights and duties in transfers to private-law associations or foundations.

A civil servant may be granted leave from service duties for a limited time, in whole or in part, on application.

An employee must apply for leave in writing, unless another rule or a collective agreement says otherwise.

Tjänstledighet kan avbrytas eller återkallas på tjänsteinnehavarens begäran efter arbetsgivarens prövning, och den kan också avbrytas om ledigheten används för ett annat ändamål än det som beviljats. Innan beslut fattas ska tjänsteinnehavaren få tillfälle att bli hörd.

Tjänsteinnehavare har rätt att få tjänstledighet för familjeledighet.

The employer may suspend a civil servant in specified situations, and a temporary suspension can last at most 90 days under stated conditions.

Employers must give advance information about layoffs and deliver layoff decisions in writing at least 14 days before the layoff starts.

A laid-off public employee may resign without notice during the layoff, except in the last week before it ends if they know the end date. They may also get notice-period pay in two stated layoff situations.

If a suspension decision is finally annulled because it conflicts with 30 § 1 or 2 mom., the public servant is paid the income lost for regular working time.

A public service employment ends without notice or notice period in several listed situations.

An employer may not dismiss a service relationship for reasons attributable to the employee unless the reason is sound and weighty.

If dismissal is based on a ground in section 35, the deciding authority must act within a reasonable time after learning of that ground.

A service relationship may be terminated for economic or production-related reasons if the employee’s duties have decreased substantially and permanently, and no suitable alternative placement or retraining is reasonable.

Certain civil servants keep the same dismissal protection as employees if they are on family leave, pregnant, or about to use that leave.

A purchaser of a business may not dismiss a civil servant only because of the business transfer. A civil servant may terminate the service relationship on the transfer date, subject to the notice rules stated here.

This section sets minimum notice periods for ending a service employment relationship, depending on who terminates it and how long the employment has lasted.

An employer may only immediately end an employment relationship for very weighty reasons.

Rätten att häva ett tjänsteförhållande upphör efter 14 dagar från att arbetsgivaren fått kännedom om orsaken, eller från att ett fortgående skäl upphört.

Before terminating or dismissing a service relationship, the employer must give the employee an opportunity to be heard, inform the employee of the right to use an assistant, and record the decision and reasons in the minutes.

Rules on when a public servant’s employment continues or is treated as ended after dismissal or termination decisions.

If a final decision has ended the service relationship and the employer has received the required report, the employer must pay the lost ordinary earnings without delay, after deducting certain other earnings and benefits.

Arbetsgivaren måste inom nio månader efter uppsägningstiden kontrollera hos den lokala arbetskraftsmyndigheten om uppsagda personer söker arbete och, om de gör det, först erbjuda dem arbete om de uppfyller behörighetsvillkoren.

A tjänsteinnehavare kan avstängas från tjänsteutövning under en undersökning eller rättegång i vissa fall.

This section says which authority may decide a suspension from duty, requires the official to be heard before the decision, and allows immediate enforcement.

The body that ordered a suspension from duty must review the reasons for the suspension and, if circumstances have changed, make a new decision. If the official asks, any continuation of the suspension must be decided without delay.

Appeals against employer decisions under this law must follow the Municipal Act’s rules on rectification requests and municipal appeals.

If the court thinks the grounds for termination in section 41 are not met, it must, if requested, examine whether the employer had a termination ground under section 36.

Appeals about dismissal, termination, conversion to part-time employment, and suspension from service must be handled urgently by the court.

This section says who may be ordered to pay reasonable court costs in municipal appeal cases, and when costs do not have to be paid.

Tjänsteinnehavare har rätt att gå med i och delta i föreningar, bilda en förening och avstå från att tillhöra en förening.

A service employee must submit a written claim for salary or another employment-related benefit within three years after the end of the calendar year when it should have been paid or given.

Arbetsgivaren får kräva tillbaka obefogat utbetald lön eller annan anställningsförmån, kan i vissa fall göra avdrag på senare lön, och måste ange belopp och grund i återkravsbeslutet.

Ersättningsyrkanden enligt vissa angivna bestämmelser ska behandlas vid förvaltningsdomstolen som förvaltningstvistemål.

When a service relationship ends, the employee is entitled to a written certificate from the employer on request.

This section says the law enters into force on 1 November 2003 and repeals the 1996 law on the employment security of municipal office-holders, together with its amendments.

If a case covered by this law is pending when the law enters into force, the rules in effect at that time apply.