by Paula Määttä

IV. Finland

A. The legislative provisions for equality in pay

Finland uses the term "samapalkkaisuus" for equal pay for work of equal value.

The constitution of Finland contains a provision stating that all citizens are equal before the law (article 5 of the Constitution of 1919). The Employment Contracts Act of 1970 prohibits discrimination based on sex in employment relationships. Employers are required by this Act to treat their workers impartially without making any unwarranted discrimination on the basis of sex, among other grounds.

The Equality Act, which came into force in 1987, is the principal legislation regarding equality between women and men. The purpose of the Act is to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex and to promote equality between men and women, thereby improving the status of women, particularly in the workplace. Article 8 of the Equality Act makes provision for the principle of equal pay for men and women. Under this provision, an employers procedure is to be considered discriminatory if the employer applies less favourable remuneration or any other conditions of work to a worker than those applied in relation to a worker of the opposite sex employed by him or her on the same work or work of equal value.

Finland ratified the Equal Remuneration Convention No. 100 in 1963. Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome and the Equality Directives bind Finland.