When Can You Fire an Employee in Finland? What the Law Requires in 2026

I sat across from an entrepreneur who had built his business over twelve years. He was sharp, experienced, and careful. And yet he looked at me and said: "I don't understand how we ended up here."

He had known for over a year that something wasn't working. The employee came in late occasionally. His attitude in meetings had shifted. Customer feedback had been troubling twice. Colleagues had mentioned things in passing.

The entrepreneur did what most people do: he hoped it would sort itself out. He brought it up over coffee, not formally. He gave it more time. He told himself it was a personal situation. It would pass.

It didn't pass. And when he finally decided to act, he acted quickly. By then, the situation felt obvious.

In district court, it no longer felt obvious.

The problem wasn't that there were no grounds. The problem was that the grounds had never been built.

The warnings had been verbal. There was no documentation. The employee had never been told in writing what was expected of him, or what would follow if things didn't change. Any single issue might have been addressable on its own. Together, they painted a picture of an employer who had let things slide, then acted suddenly.

Compensation was awarded. Legal costs added to the bill. The process took nearly two years.

This is not an unusual story. Most employment termination disputes that employers lose don't fail because the grounds didn't exist. They fail because the grounds were never properly managed along the way.

Finland's Employment Contracts Act was amended at the start of 2026, lowering the threshold for individual-based dismissal: a proper reason now suffices, where previously the reason also had to be weighty. But the amendment doesn't remove the need for careful documentation. If anything, the ability to demonstrate the grounds becomes more important, not less.

Entrepreneurs don't usually act carelessly. They act humanly. They give it time, avoid conflict, hope for the best. That's understandable. But the law doesn't bend to how good your intentions were.

If something feels difficult with an employee right now, even something small, that's the right moment to reach out. Not because the situation is already a crisis. But because handled correctly, it may never become one.

Antti Piispanen
attorney, partner