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03.06.2026 14:04

Instructions for wages lost due to complying with instructions issued by a government authority

Do this if you lost wages due to complying with official instructions on Friday 15 May 2026.

Picture of red and white PAM flag flying outside a window, trees in background.

Complying with instructions issued by a government authority may lead to situations where employees are unable to get to their workplaces. For example, on Friday 15 May 2026, a wide-ranging emergency warning was issued in Uusimaa due to a drone threat. The emergency warning instructed people to stay indoors. As a result of complying with the instructions, many employees in the service sectors were late for their shifts or were prevented from getting to work altogether.

Some employer associations and the Confederation of Finnish Industries have instructed their member companies to refrain from paying employees’ wages in situations where an employee has complied with instructions issued by the authorities and, for this reason, has been unable to get to their workplace during a dangerous situation.

The position of the Service Union United PAM is that when employees comply with orders or instructions by a government authority, the obligation to pay wages should remain with the employer in these situations.

PAM considers that in these cases the employee has been prevented from working for a reason independent of both the employee and the employer, and that on this basis the employer’s obligation to pay wages is determined in accordance with chapter 2, section 12, subsection 2 of the Employment Contracts Act.

What to do if your employer does not pay you wages for the period during which you were prevented from working because you complied with instructions issued by a government authority:

  1. Keep the payslip showing the unpaid portion of your wages.
  2. Write down the period during which you were unable to work because you complied with instructions issued by an authority.
  3. Contact your employer and make a claim for the unpaid wages.
  4. If the employer does not pay the wages:
    • contact your workplace union representative, or
    • if there is no union representative at your workplace, contact the union.
  5. If the matter is not resolved, contact the union.You can send a message in PAM’s E-Service or contact PAM’s employment advice line at 030 100 625. The union representative can contact the union on your behalf if the matter is already being handled by them.

The Service Union United PAM will review each individual case and, if necessary, consider legal action to bring the matter to a conclusion.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has appointed a tripartite working group to examine measures related to possible future drone threats. If this working group reaches a common set of instructions, the Service Union United PAM will act in accordance with the instructions agreed by the working group.

Keywords:

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