COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT for retail supervisors

This in an English translation of the original Finnish collective agreement. The contractual parties to the collective agreement are not bound by the English translation. If the English translation allows for a different interpretation than the original Finnish wording, the Finnish wording shall prevail. The contractual parties to the collective agreement are not responsible for any damage resulting from possible errors in the translation.

Tämä on käännös suomenkielisestä työehtosopimuksesta. Työehtosopimuksen sopijaosapuolet eivät ole sopineet englanninkielisestä työehtosopimustekstistä. Mikäli englanninkielisen käännöksen tulkinta johtaa erilaiseen lopputulokseen kuin alkuperäinen suomenkielinen työehtosopimus, tulee noudattaa suomenkielistä työehtosopimusta. Työehtosopimuksen sopijapuolet eivät vastaa käännöksen mahdollisista virheellisyyksistä aiheutuvista vahingoista.

1 February 2023–31 January 2025

Section 1 Scope of the agreement

1. This agreement applies in companies engaged in retail.

2. The agreement applies to retail supervisors covered by the Working Hours Act and cash-and-carry supervisors as referred to in the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector.

Section 2 Supervisor

1. Supervisors act as shop managers, the people in charge of shops or departments or in equivalent positions.

2. The supervisor is responsible for the service or other operational readiness of the shop or department within the limits of his/her authority.

3. When the supervisor is on leave, the supervisor’s duties should be arranged in a way that enables the purpose of the leave to be fulfilled by, for example, employing a deputy or by any other means decided upon by the employer.

Section 3 Employment contract

The written employment contract shall include the minimum details specified in the pro forma agreement in this collective agreement.

Section 4 Working conditions and times

1. The working conditions are determined in accordance with the provisions applying to sales assistants in the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector, with the exceptions set out below.

Meal and coffee breaks

1. When locally agreed, the meal break may be:

• reduced by no more than 30 minutes, or
• completely eliminated, whereupon the supervisor shall be able to take a meal during working time.
• agreed between the person and his/her own supervisor.
  

If operational factors render it impossible to take a meal and coffee break in the agreed or prescribed ways, the supervisor shall decide independently on when to take a break.

2. When preparing the schedule of work shifts, supervisors must be given the opportunity to express their opinions on
the length of shifts, the placement of shifts, suitable practices regarding breaks, and the granting of days off and annual leave.

3. Annual leave shall be arranged with the supervisor’s wishes in mind, as well as arrangements that contribute to the capacity to cope with work.

4. The actual realisation of leisure time and working time shall be discussed at the initiative of either party.

5. This agreement does not otherwise affect the company-specific working time arrangements for supervisors.

Section 5 Notice period

1. The employer shall comply with the notice period stated in Section 5, Clause 1 of the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector:

2. The supervisor shall comply with the notice period stated in Section 5, Clause 2 of the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector:          

3. By way of derogation from clauses 1 and 2, the notice period for both parties can be set at one month by agreement.

If the employer’s notice period in accordance with clause 1 is longer than the one-month notice period agreed on the basis of this section, the employer must comply with the longer notice period.

Section 6 Wages

Salaries

1. Supervisors’ wages are determined by agreement.

2. The wages of a supervisor with a fixed salary shall be incremented by at least the general raise at the same time as the sales assistants receive a raise.

3. Supervisors’ wages shall be increased in such a way that the wages in relation to those of other personnel are not unduly altered.

4. The supervisor’s wages must be higher than those of his/her subordinates unless there are justified grounds for deviating from this.

5. The employer and the supervisor shall annually discuss the remuneration and the bases for determining remuneration, such as the application of any remuneration schemes that the employer may use and the bases for any bonuses and/or supplements. A further purpose of this discussion is to enhance the supervisor’s understanding of the remuneration system and the associated grounds.

Occupational wellbeing

6. At the end of the remuneration discussion or at a separate time in the workplace, a discussion shall be held concerning the supervisor’s ability to cope with the work and the work-related burdens. The discussion should also cover the realisation of leave, as referred to in Section 2, Clause 3, and the training and orientation required to enhance the supervisor’s competences.

7. At the supervisor’s initiative, the discussion may also cover the time allotted for supervisory work, the adequacy of resources, and the arrangement of deputies.

Call-out pay and work outside regular working hours

8. Call-out pay is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector concerning sales assistants.

If there are compelling reasons for the supervisor to handle work duties outside of regular working hours, the time spent on such work shall count as additional work or overtime and shall not be subtracted from the hours in the averaging system unless otherwise agreed at the supervisor’s initiative.

Section 7 Miscellaneous regulations

Social benefits

1. This agreement does not apply to the company’ social benefits.

Bylaws

2. The supervisor must comply with the company’s applicable bylaws.

3. The bylaws must not conflict with this agreement.

Applicable agreements

4. As part of the Collective Agreement for Retail Supervisors, the agreements made in Section 25 of the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector shall apply.

Uniforms

5. The employer shall acquire uniforms for permanent supervisors if the supervisors’ working duties so require.

The employer shall look after the uniform unless otherwise agreed with the supervisor for extra remuneration.

Supervisors’ shop steward

6. The supervisors may elect a shop steward from among their number.

The Agreement on Shop Stewards, which forms part of the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector, shall apply to shop stewards in accordance with Clause 1.

The supervisors’ shop steward and the employer shall discuss the arrangements related to job release if necessary. The discussion shall cover topics such as the workload required in supervisory posts, the areas of responsibility, the number of people represented and other considerations.

Supervisors’ labour protection delegate

7. Supervisors may elect their own labour protection delegate and two deputies to the labour protection delegate from among their number.

The Labour Protection Co-operation Agreement, which forms part of the Collective Agreement for the Commerce Sector, shall apply to labour protection delegates in accordance with Clause 1.

The supervisors’ labour protection delegate and the employer shall discuss the arrangements related to job release if necessary. The discussion shall cover topics such as the workload required in supervisory posts, the areas of responsibility, the number of people represented and other considerations.

Section 8 Disputes

Local grievance procedure

1. Disputes arising from the collective agreement shall be negotiated initially between the employer and the supervisor or between the employer and the shop steward.

2. If no settlement can be reached, a memorandum of the dispute shall be prepared in duplicate, corresponding to the template in this collective agreement.

Inter-federation negotiations

3. The local parties may refer a dispute to the federations for settlement.

Negotiating procedure

4. Local and inter-federation negotiations shall be initiated and conducted without delay.

Labour Court

5. Any dispute that remains unresolved in inter-federation negotiations may be submitted to the Labour Court for settlement.

Section 9 Industrial peace and breaches of the collective agreement

1. All industrial action against this agreement shall be prohibited.

2. The consequences of infringing this collective agreement shall be governed by the Collective Agreements Act that is current at the time of signing this agreement.

Section 10 Duration of the Agreement

1. This agreement shall remain in force until 31 January 2025.

2. After 31 January 2025 the agreement shall continue in force for one year at a time unless written notice of termination is served no later than one month before the end of the validity period.

3. The said notice of termination shall include detailed written proposals for amending the agreement; otherwise the notice of termination shall be null and void.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE MEMORANDUM OF DISPUTE

General

The memorandum of dispute procedure only applies to members of the Service Union United PAM working for member companies of the Finnish Federation where the employment relationship is subject to the Collective Agreement for Retail Supervisors.

Disputes regarding the working and wage conditions of clerical employees should primarily be resolved in the workplace in compliance with the local order of negotiation set out in Section 8 of the collective agreement. Each party can avail itself of its own union’s advisory services during workplace-specific negotiations. The purpose of any support or advice that may be provided by unions is to help the negotiations to flow smoothly and identify a solution to the dispute within the workplace.

The memorandum of dispute should only be completed after a sufficiently thorough local negotiation when the parties wish to have the dispute settled at union level.

Subject of the dispute

The subject of the dispute is described in brief by way of a title, such as the requirement to pay wages during sick leave.

Agreed course of events

The undisputed facts underlying the dispute are described under the course of events. This statement accelerates the unions’ handling of the matter as it provides the handling personnel with a rapid overview of the events without them needing to request further clarification. These undisputed background details should be brought to the fore by both parties when requesting their own union’s views on the events.

Claims of the local parties, with detailed grounds

The clerical employee must present his/her own detailed demands and grounds for these demands during the local negotiations. The employer’s response and grounds for the response are reviewed during the negotiations.

Sending the memorandum to the unions

If the memorandum is not sent to the unions electronically, the parties shall deliver the memorandum with appendices to their own unions.