Let me share one example from my work.
A session day regarding a Tehy member’s termination dispute in the district court is ending, and it’s time to review the lawyers’ bills, i.e. the legal costs of the dispute parties.
The employer’s lawyer states that they will charge EUR 53,000 as expenses. At this stage, the employee who had disputed their termination could easily start to fear being indebted for life.
Some trade unions offer a membership benefit of a legal expenses insurance, which reimburses some lawyer and court costs, i.e. the costs that are accrued when using legal aid in cases brought to district court.
The maximum reimbursement amount of the legal expenses insurance is usually quite modest, around EUR 15,000 or even lower. The YTK Unemployment Fund, for example, reimburses a maximum of EUR 8,500 as legal costs. Any expenses exceeding this maximum sum come from the member’s own pocket. There is likely no dispute where EUR 15,000 would be enough to bring the case to even the district court, and even less to higher courts.
Tehy members do not pay court costs
In cases we have dealt with this year, the court costs claimed by the employer have frequently exceeded EUR 30,000. In labour disputes, even costs climbing over EUR 100,000 are not uncommon.
In the example in the beginning, the costs would likely be around EUR 100,000, and after insurance the losing party would still have to pay around EUR 85,000. With a risk this high, few would dare to take the matter to court even if they have a well-founded case with good chances of success.
We offer more comprehensive protection than a legal expenses insurance. Tehy offers its members legal aid without an excess fee or maximum amount. This benefit is available to cases that have been granted legal aid. Read more about the decision to grant legal aid.
Before the session, we can remind the members – our clients – that they have nothing to fear during the discussion on court costs. No matter how high the number is, they will never have to pay for it, not even partially. If it happens that we lose the case, Tehy will also pay for the opposing party’s expenses that would otherwise fall on the member.
Tehy’s legal aid is a significant benefit
If we didn’t manage our members’ cases ourselves but instead gave them to external lawyers, using a legal expenses insurance, the members, should they lose their cases, would need to pay for similar amount of expenses to both their own lawyer and the employer’s lawyer.
There are enough stressors related to legal proceedings even without the financial risk. The district court process alone can take several years, and sometimes the cases move on to the court of appeal and, in worst case scenarios, to the Supreme Court.
Often, the court cases focus on matters that are very important and highly personal to the member, such as termination of employment or pregnancy discrimination. It is great to be able to tell a victim of e.g. pregnancy discrimination that taking the matter to court will take courage, but at least they have nothing to fear when it comes to the financial side of things.
Thanks to our legal aid, we have been able to take to court many cases where moving forward with the case could not be recommended for the member if there was the risk that they would have to pay for the costs.
It is also impossible to assess the magnitude of the risk in advance, as one can never know how expensive a lawyer the employer will hire.
Tehy’s own lawyers take care of labour disputes
Tehy members also don’t need to worry about finding a good lawyer, as they won’t need to find one themselves. Often, I can tell a member during our first phone call that I will take care of their case from start to finish. Or if not me, then one of the other lawyers of Tehy’s legal services.
We do not use any external lawyers, as we have Tehy’s own lawyers managing the disputes and criminal cases of our members across Finland. This allows us to always guarantee the best possible services for our members, regardless of where they live in Finland.
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