Working Hours Act also protects experts and managerial employees

Working hours shall be monitored, according to the Working Hours Act. Working hours are measured so that working days’ length remains reasonable, employees are fit to work and to ensure that long working days are appropriately compensated. The act is strongly based on labour protection.

Working Hours Act creates a framework for work

Working hours are hours used to perform work and the time the employee has to be present in the workplace, available for work even though he or she wouldn’t actually work. According to the act, regular working hours may not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

Working hours are agreed in the employment contract. The most common regular working hours in Finland are 7.5 hours a day and 37.5 hours a week. The law obliges the employer to monitor the actual working hours and their compensation.

Towards a more dynamic working life

Most expert work is no longer time-bound and location-based. Work is performed in a mobile and flexible way, and in multiple locations. A working day is not necessarily an uninterrupted period of time but can consist of several time blocks of different lengths.

Professionals highly appreciate flexibility in their working hours. Possibility to have an impact in one’s own working hours is considered as one of the key factors in increasing well-being at work. Flexible working hours can be an asset in competing for best experts and talents. Flexibility is also needed in determining location of work and working methods.

Many options to increase flexibility

There are many options to increase flexibility in working time arrangements. One of the most common is flexitime, i.e. the employee may, within certain limits, decide when to start and when to finish work. Also distant work, i.e. working outside the workplace is on the increase. In addition, the employer and employees can opt for a working hours bank where working hours, accumulated leave or monetary benefits swapped to compensatory leave are saved or borrowed.