Finnish court overturns welfare region’s layoffs of social workers replaced by nurses

A Finnish administrative court has ruled that the Pohde welfare region illegally terminated social workers and social service professionals, ordering their reinstatement and back pay after they were replaced by nurses in emergency and crisis services.

The North Ostrobothnia Administrative Court found that the welfare region could not lawfully substitute registered nurses for social workers in social and crisis emergency duties, as the roles did not involve healthcare tasks. The decision, issued Wednesday, is not yet final and may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.

Pohde had laid off several social workers and social service professionals in late 2024, immediately hiring nurses to perform what the court determined were effectively identical duties—including child protection assessments and statutory social work decisions. The court dismissed the employer’s claim that the nurses were performing medical work, stating that social emergency tasks require no healthcare training and fall entirely within the scope of social services.

Konstantin Laakkonen, head of employment advocacy at the Talentia union representing the workers, confirmed that the new hires’ responsibilities mirrored those of the dismissed staff, with no legal basis for requiring nursing qualifications.