Experts split over whether Piia Vuorela can return to her post

Legal experts disagree over whether Piia Vuorela can return as head of the Central Finland wellbeing services county after leaving during her probationary period. Yle reports that Vuorela has said she wants to withdraw her departure and resume the job.

Public law expert Matti Muukkonen says her departure cannot be reversed because she ended her employment during probation. In his view, there is no decision for Vuorela to appeal. She could complain to the Finnish Supervisory Agency or the Parliamentary Ombudsman or Chancellor of Justice, or ask police to investigate whether she was pressured, but those routes could not restore her employment, he said.

Seppo Koskinen, an emeritus professor of labour law at the University of Turku, says the county council could reverse the departure if there was an error in the process. He also believes Vuorela may have grounds to take the case to court over how she was treated.

Vuorela left after receiving an invitation to a hearing that strongly criticised her leadership. She told Yle she feared negative publicity and decided to leave after being told the invitation could become public if the process continued. She later said she felt she had been given only overnight to make her decision.

Koskinen says the hearing process was flawed because the hearing itself did not take place. He says the invitation may have breached good administrative practice, arguing that its tone was accusatory and that it said the county executive board was considering ending Vuorela’s employment during probation.

Muukkonen disagrees. He says employment can be ended during probation on very limited grounds, provided they relate to the purpose of the probationary period. He considers the invitation’s detailed reasons legally acceptable and says it had to state that termination was being considered.

The county council was informed of Vuorela’s departure on Monday but did not discuss it at its meeting. It decided to reopen the recruitment process for the post.

The county’s administrative rules allow a matter to be handled on the basis of the executive board chair’s report in exceptional circumstances. Muukkonen says the chair led the preparation, including sending the hearing invitation, and that the approaching end of Vuorela’s probationary period required a swift process.