Sivenius Suvanto assisted an employee in a labour law related dispute in which case the Supreme Court gave – after having held an oral hearing – the final decision no. 2019:76 on 10 September 2019. In the judgment the Supreme Court outlined issues regarding validity of an agreement to terminate an employment contract e.g. in that respect what can be expected to be fair and acceptable conduct by the employer if the employer seeks to end an employment relationship with a mutual agreement. The Supreme Court ruled that the termination agreement was pursuant to the section 33 of the Contracts Act invalid and thus the agreement was not binding on the employee. The employer was ordered to pay the employee compensation on basis of unjustified termination of the employment contract, amounting to 12 months salary and to indemnify in full the employee’s legal costs in all court instances. The precedent will presumably serve as guideline to those employees wishing to negotiate with their employee on finding a mutual solution to end the employment contract. The Supreme Court decision was freshly widely elaborated in the media, e.g. in the main newspapers.
