The new Cooperation Act applies if a company regularly employs 20 or more employees. The scope of application is the same as previously. The obligation for the employer and the employees to engage in regular dialogue constitutes one of the key aspects. In companies with less than 30 employees, the employer and the employees' representatives - the shop steward or another employees’ representative, as labour unions are not officially party to the negotiations, even if they can assist and support the shop steward between the negotiation meetings - should meet at least twice a year; in larger companies, there should be at least four meetings each year. The matters to be addressed cover a wide range of employment related issues including the financial situation of the company, changes in the company's business environment, training of employees, use of different types of employment relationships, outsourced workforces at the workplace and other policies and practices.

Previously, the employer had an obligation to discuss and handle in the spirit of co-operation with the employees’ representatives the grounds, objectives, purposes and effects prior to implementing or changing plans, objectives, principles or other arrangements determined in the legislation. According to the new legislation, the employer can make decisions and implement actions in these matters prior to dialogue with the employees’ representatives. However, the dialogue must be constructive and the parties must take into account each other's interests, needs and status.

Another important aspect is related to the obligation, before making workplace changes, of simple (in case of changes to work arrangements, working hours or places of work) or full-scale (in case of terminations, temporary lay-offs or changes to the employees' terms of employment) consultations, giving the employees or the employees' representatives a written invitation and explaining the topics to discuss. Employees' representatives have the right to submit a formal proposal or suggest alternative solutions to a situation and the employer’ refusal must be explained and motivated. Otherwise, the negotiation obligation, timing of consultations, consultation periods and other formal provisions related to the negotiations remained unchanged.

The Act also provides fines and compensation in case of a breach of duty. It is important to consider that, if the employer fails to comply with the consultation obligation before making a dismissal or a temporary lay-off, employees may claim for a compensation. The content of the compensation provisions is same as previously. In the other cases, the Ombudsman Officer - a fiduciary body of the Parliament, overseer of legality - may issue a request to remedy the omission. If the employer does not comply with the request the employer may be fined. This two-stage sanction system is new compared to the previous legislation. 

Employers have to implement those previsions, also through internal policies that meet the legislative requirements and protect them from being challenged for breaching cooperation and consultation obligations.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) expressed its disagreement with the new law, as it doesn´t tackle the biggest problems in the old legislation, namely long consultation periods and excessive fines.