Court of Appeal dismisses breach of obligation to cooperate
Tulikivi Corporation’s stock exchange release of 11 October 2013 about a decision of the District Court of Varsinais-Suomi stated that the district prosecutor from the Prosecutor’s Office of Western Finland had pressed charges against Heikki Vauhkonen, Managing Director of Tulikivi Corporation, and Jouko Toivanen, CFO of Tulikivi Corporation, concerning a breach of the duty to inform that had allegedly occurred in Taivassalo on 15–30 June 2011, pursuant to the Act on Cooperation Within Undertakings. In its decision issued on 3 December 2014, the Court of Appeal dismissed the breach of the obligation to cooperate.
On 11 October 2013, the District Court of Varsinais-Suomi ordered Heikki Vauhkonen and Jouko Toivanen to pay a total of 15 ‘unit fines’ each (Vauhkonen EUR 1,470 and Toivanen EUR 1,125) due to a breach of the cooperation obligation concerning the need for prior, appropriate provision of information to employee representatives in connection with the business transfer of Tulikivi Corporation’s building stone business executed on 1 July 2011 in Taivassalo.
Vauhkonen and Toivanen denied that they had committed a breach of the obligation to cooperate, and considered that they had duly followed the procedure required under the Act on Cooperation Within Undertakings. Both Vauhkonen and Toivanen considered the District Court’s decision erroneous and appealed against the decision to the Court of Appeal.
In its decision issued on 3 December 2014, the Court of Appeal dismissed the breach of the obligation to cooperate concerning Toivanen and Vauhkonen. The Court of Appeal interpreted section 41(2) of the Act on Cooperation Within Undertakings the same way as the Helsinki Court of Appeal in its decision 212/31.1.2014 and considered that the obligation to provide information described in section 41 of the Act does not exist before the final agreement on a business transfer. In its decision the Court of Appeal states that in Tulikivi Corporation's situation, the main terms and conditions had only been agreed upon just before signing the agreement, and the employee representatives had been given the information referred to in section 41(1) of the Act right after the creation of the agreement. Tulikivi Corporation thus followed its legal duty to inform the personnel in due time before the execution of the business transfer.
TULIKIVI CORPORATION
Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
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www.tulikivi.com
Tulikivi comprises the Tulikivi Corporation, which is a listed family enterprise, and its subsidiaries. Tulikivi is the world’s largest manufacturer of heat-retaining fireplaces. The company has three product groups: Fireplaces, Sauna and Interior. Tulikivi and its customers value wellbeing, interior design and the benefits of bioenergy. Tulikivi’s net sales are approximately EUR 40 million, of which exports account for about half. Tulikivi employs approximately 300 people.
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