Emergency work refers to an exceptional situation in which the employer can have work performed in deviation of the restrictions on working time (Working Time Act 872/2019, Section 19).

Having emergency work performed can be done only if an unforeseen event has caused or threatens to cause an interruption in the regular activities of the employer or a serious danger to the life or health of people, property, the environment, animal welfare or national security, and the danger cannot be reasonably avoided by other means.

Emergency work can only be performed if all of the following conditions are met:

1. the event or situation in question is unforeseeable
2. the situation involves an imminent and serious danger
3. the danger cannot be contained by other reasonable means
4. the work is necessary to prevent danger and cannot be postponed to a later date.

Emergency work does not require stopping all normal operations or a threat thereof. For example, the interruption or threat of interruption of even one machine, appliance, or production line, which accounts for a significant part of a plant’s production capacity, may justify emergency work if the interruption or its threat has been caused by an unforeseen event.

When assessing the criteria of emergency work, the following, among other things, must be considered:

• the nature of the operations (e.g. an energy production and distribution plant, a large process industry plant, a wholesale business, an agricultural enterprise)
• the scope of the operations
• the amount of capital invested in the operations
• the amount of damage or the estimated damage caused by the interruption or the threat of interruption of normal operations.

An employer may have emergency work performed by another company for a disruption in its own operations if the general criteria for emergency work are met.

Even regular operations involve different malfunctions. Regularly recurring but as such unforeseen events do not, as a rule, justify emergency work. The employer must prepare for such situations through working time arrangements and technical aids, for example. However, emergency work may be justified if:

• a regularly recurring, unforeseen event is exceptionally difficult in terms of its proportions or other characteristics, or
• regularly recurring events exceptionally occur at almost the same time.

When interpreting the criteria for emergency work, sickness or other absences that are exceptionally extensive can be considered.

Many of the normal restrictions, such as those relating to night work, shift work, rest periods and Sunday work, do not apply to emergency work. In theory, there is no ceiling for employees’ working hours in the context of emergency work. However, even when employees are performing emergency work, it is not practical or, from the perspective of occupational safety and health, even possible to expect them to work continuously over a long period of time without breaks.

Employees can never be ordered to perform emergency work for longer than is necessary. Only essential work duties can be performed as emergency work. Any further actions that may be necessary must be carried out as work other than emergency work.

The employee's consent is not required for having them perform emergency work. A person under 15 years of age may not perform emergency work; a person aged 15 may only perform emergency work if a person aged 18 is not available for the work.

The normal overtime compensation must be paid for emergency work, and the Sunday work compensation must be paid for emergency work performed on Sunday.

When emergency work ends, working hours must be averaged to a maximum of 48 hours per week over a four-month period. The employee must be given a compensatory daily rest period in connection with their next daily rest period. Where this is not possible due to practical or other valid reasons, compensatory daily rest must nevertheless be provided as soon as possible, and in any case within 14 days. The entire compensatory rest period must be provided in a single block, and it must not fall on the employee’s on-call duty.

A compensatory weekly rest period must be provided for the employee as soon as possible, and in any case within three months of the performance of the emergency work, by shortening the employee’s regular working hours by the duration of the missed rest period. Subject to the employee’s consent, compensation for work carried out during the weekly rest period can also be paid in cash by adding an amount based on the basic rate of overtime pay to any overtime and Sunday work bonuses owed to the employee.

In certain exceptional situations, emergency work can also be considered when the interruption of operations is related to an industrial action. However, the industrial action alone or its foreseeable effects do not, as a rule, meet the criteria for emergency work.

The use of emergency work in industrial action situations is assessed on the basis of the provisions of the Working Time Act and the Labour Disputes Act (Working Time Act 872/2019, Section 19; Act on Mediation in Labour Disputes and Conditions for Certain Forms of Industrial Action 420/1962, Sections 8d and 8e).

Essential work and safeguarding essential functions

According to the Labour Dispute Act, when implementing industrial action, the association of employees must ensure that the industrial action does not directly, concretely and seriously jeopardise the essential functions referred to in law. This obligation can be fulfilled by limiting the industrial action or arranging essential work.

Essential functions include:

• social and health care tasks necessary for safeguarding human life or health
• essential tasks of the rescue services, the police, the Emergency Response Centre Agency and other safety authorities
• prevention of environmental damage and tasks related to the handling of hazardous substances
• tasks necessary to safeguard animal welfare
• securing access to energy, water, food, pharmaceuticals, fuels and payments
• the urgent tasks of the State’s highest decision-making, the court system or the prosecution service
• the functioning of the information and communication systems necessary for the security of society.

Obligation to negotiate during industrial action

If the employer is notified of industrial action that is expected to jeopardise essential functions, the employer must, without delay, seek to clarify matters concerning the limitation of the industrial action or essential work with the employees’ association.

If the employer considers that the consequences cannot be reasonably avoided by other available means, the employer and the employees' association must negotiate on how to safeguard the essential functions during the industrial action.

In the negotiations, the employer must provide the association with sufficient information about:

• the need for essential personnel and its grounds
• the means available to the employer to avoid consequences.

Turning to courts during industrial action

If, despite the negotiations, it is likely that the industrial action will result in consequences that jeopardise essential functions and the employer cannot reasonably avoid such consequences, the employer may file for a temporary prohibition of the industrial action in a court of law, in accordance with the Labour Disputes Act.

At the risk of a fine, the court may temporarily prohibit the execution or continuation of the industrial action in urgent situations. The prohibition may only apply to tasks or functions within the scope of the industrial action, the performance of which is necessary to prevent serious consequences.

The relationship between emergency work, essential work and industrial action

Emergency work is not the primary means in an industrial action. The use of emergency work may be considered only as a last resort if

• essential work or the limitation of the industrial action is not sufficient
• the obligation to negotiate between the parties has been fulfilled
• the situation creates an imminent and serious danger under the Working Time Act, which cannot be avoided by other reasonable means.