Collective agreement for employees in hotel, restaurant and leisure industry

The new collective agreement includes wage increases, more say for employees in scheduling their days off, the creation of a working group to address challenges in part-time work, and new procedures for dismissals on grounds to do with the employee. 

Wages will increase by a total of 7.8 percent during the agreement period. 

Under the new agreement, the increases are: 

• 2.5% from 1 September 2025 

• 2.9% from 1 June 2026 

• 2.4% from 1 July 2027 

The wage increases apply to both minimum wages (pay scale) and individually agreed wages.

See pay scale wages here

During the agreement period, supplements will be as follows: 

From 1 September 2025: 

• Evening supplement: €1.40 

• Night supplement: €2.37 

From 1 July 2027: 

• Evening supplement: €1.43 

• Night supplement: €2.43 

The compensation paid to chief union representatives (pääluottamusmies) and occupational safety representatives for duties outside working hours will increase by 7.8% from 1 September 2025. 

Orientation practices have been clarified. In addition to job-specific instruction, the employer must also introduce employees to workplace break procedures, working time systems, and instructions related to violence and harassment. 

The notice period for lay-offs will be shortened. Employers must inform employees of a lay-off at least 7 days in advance. 

If the employer terminates the contract, notice periods will be longer for employees with over 4 years of service.

For employment that has lasted 4-8 years the notice period is 2 months, for 8-12 years of employment notice is 3 months, and over 12 years  

When employment ends on the worker’s initiative, the worker and employer can still agree on a notice period of no more than 1 month. 

PAM and MaRa agreed on procedures to follow when the employer plans to dismiss an employee based on grounds related to the employee. 

The agreement confirms the employee’s right to have a union representative (luottamusmies), a trade union official or union branch representative present in the hearing on the dismissal. The hearing must be arranged so that the employee has a real chance to prepare and participate. 

Employee rights: 

• reasonable time to prepare for the hearing 

• sufficient information on the reasons behind the dismissal plan 

• real opportunity to present their own view 

Employer duties: 

• inform the employee of their right to support 

• assess the conditions for continuing employment during the hearing 

PAM will carefully review all dismissals and take unclear cases to court when needed. 

The collective agreement requires employers to regularly check whether the agreed working hours in part-time contracts have been realised — this is called average minimum working time review. 

This review must be carried out every six months, unless the company’s seasonal nature requires a review period of up to one year. 

If the employee is not entitled to V and X days, they can request every fifth weekend off, with combinations like Friday–Saturday, Saturday–Sunday or Sunday–Monday. 

Accrual: Annual leave is earned each calendar year based on actual working hours. Leave begins to accrue after the employment has lasted two months (a waiting period). Previous service reduces the waiting period if the employee returns to the same employer within 30 calendar days from the end of the previous employment.

Taking annual leave: Employees have the right to take at least two annual leave days at a time of their choosing each year, if the timing is not impeded by reasons related to the employer’s business operation. The request must be made at least 10 days before the work schedule or roster (työvuoroluettelo) is published. 

If the employer always schedules annual leave on certain days (e.g. public holidays), this right does not apply. 

For union representatives (luottamusmies), earned annual leave reduces working time and job release time in proportion to how the leave has been earned from each. 

A new clause supports recovery and work-life balance for full-time employees. In addition to weekends off, there must be at least one set of consecutive days off during a 18-week working time balancing period. 

If a longer 27-week balancing period is used locally, there must be at least two sets of consecutive days off. 

Employers and employees can agree on a proportional monthly salary instead of hourly pay when the employee temporarily works part-time due to partial sick leave or partial family leave. 

If an employee’s child under 10 (or another child under 10 permanently living in the household) becomes suddenly ill, the employee may take 1–3 calendar days of paid leave based on self-reporting. The employer may request a certificate if needed. 

Employees now have the right to unpaid leave to attend appointments related to fertility treatments or adoption counselling. These appointments are often scheduled at short notice, so knowing they can get time off makes it easier to commit to the treatment plan. 

A new recommendation allows employees over 55 to take V/X leave as a continuous period if they request it. This supports the wellbeing and recovery of older workers. 

Additionally, the agreement now includes diversity and multiculturalism as examples of areas to promote workplace wellbeing. 

A workplace group elected locally can now act as a party in local agreements. 

The following working groups were agreed for the new agreement period: 

• A part-time work workgroup will investigate challenges related to part-time work and ways to increase full-time work

• An occupational safety and health workgroup will address safety issues in the hotel, restaurant and leisure industry, with the goal of creating a comprehensive safety guideline 

• A wage system workgroup will prepare a reform to base pay more strongly on job demands 

• A sector-wide agreement workgroup will explore the possibility of a common collective agreement for the entire hotel and restaurant sector 

Employee representatives have the right to attend courses approved by a joint working group for up to 14 days. 

Once the agreement is approved, the new clauses will be added to the agreement texts in cooperation between PAM and MaRa. This takes time, but it is expected to be completed by June 2025, after which the updated agreement will be available in full on PAM’s website.