(1) Unless otherwise agreed in writing or laid down in a collective pay agreement, a period of one month's notice shall apply to either party. Before notice has been given, an agreement on a shorter period of notice may only be concluded between the employer and the employee's elected representatives at undertakings bound by a collective pay agreement. The Ministry may issue regulations providing for a shorter period of notice for participants in labour market schemes.(2) In the case of employees who, when notice is given, have been in the employ of the same undertaking for at least five consecutive years, at least two months' notice shall be given by either party. If the employee has been in the employ of the same undertaking for at least ten consecutive years, at least three months' notice shall be given by either party.(3) If an employee is dismissed after at least ten consecutive years' employment with the same undertaking, the period of notice shall be at least four months when given after the employee is 50 years of age, at least five months after the age of 55, and at least six months after the age of 60. The employee for his part may terminate his contract of employment with not less than three months' notice.(4) Periods of notice laid down in the first to the third paragraph run from and including the first day of the month following that in which notice is given.(5) The continuous employment required by the second and third paragraphs is not interrupted by a temporary interruption of employment owing to a lawful labour conflict. However, the period during which the employee is absent shall not be included unless otherwise agreed on settlement of the labour conflict.(6) Calculation of the length of consecutive employment pursuant to this section shall take into account periods of employment by other undertakings within a corporate group to which the employer belongs or within any other group of undertakings affiliated through ownership interests or joint management in such a way that it is natural to regard the employment as being consecutive. If the undertaking or part of it has been assigned to or leased by a new employer, the period of consecutive employment shall include any periods in which the employee was in the employ of the previous employer or of any undertaking within a group of undertakings or activities to which the previous employer belonged.(7) In the case of written contracts of employment under which the employee is engaged for a given trial period, 14 days' notice shall be given by either party unless otherwise agreed in writing or a collective pay agreement.(8) The periods of notice required under the second or third paragraph may not legally be set aside by the parties in collective pay agreements or other agreements concluded before notice is given, nor may the parties decide that the notice to be given by an employee shall be longer than that to be given by an employer.(9) An employee who has been laid off without pay in connection with a reduction or suspension of operations may resign by giving 14 days' notice calculated from the date on which the notice is received by the employer. This shall apply regardless of the periods of notice ensuing from this Act or any agreement.(10) If operations must wholly or partly be suspended owing to accidents, natural disasters or other unforeseeable events and employees are laid off for that reason, the period of notice for laying off employees engaged in the work suspended may be reduced to 14 days counted from the date of the event. If the period of notice in force is less than 14 days, the shorter period shall apply. The period of notice may not be reduced pursuant to this paragraph because of the employer's death or bankruptcy nor on suspension of operations owing to the impossibility of using working premises, machinery, tools, materials or other aids furnished by the employer unless the employee himself is responsible for the suspension of operations.
