A three-year collective agreement for the church sector
The new collective agreement for the church sector came into force in the beginning of March. Employees get the first pay rises in April 2025.
The church sector collective agreement negotiation result that was achieved on Friday 28 February 2025, and JHL’s Union Council approved it on Thursday 6 March.
JHL’s Bargaining Specialist Keijo Hiltunen, who negotiated on this agreement, is satisfied that the negotiation result was achieved in due time.
– A period without agreement always brings restlessness to workplaces, and we avoided that, he sums up.
The church sector union formed by JHL and Jyty, Negotiation Organisation for Public Sector Professionals JUKO, and Kirkon alat ry represented the employees in the negotiations, and Kirkon työmarkkinalaitos represents the Evangelical Lutheran church employers.
Mixed-approach pay rises
The new agreement has a so-called mixed approach to pay rises in year 2025. It means that the pay rise of lower-paid groups is specified in euros instead of a percentage.
In this agreement the pay rise of the basic pay in 2025 is either a 2.5% across-the-board increase or an increase of at least €53.
– This is what we have pursued in negotiations for years. This improves the purchasing power of the lowest-paid employees, Hiltunen states.
The agreement will be reviewed in 2027
The new church sector collective agreement term is from 1 March 2025 to 29 February 2028. The agreement will be reviewed in January 2027 regarding how the goals of the agreement have been achieved and how well it works. It will be possible to give a notice of termination at that point. In that case, the agreement would come to an end already on 28 February 2027.
The pay settlements of the agreement are described below. Working groups continue to negotiate during the agreement term for example on clarifying the practices for rewarding employees and on the compensation for mobile availability. Working groups will also update guidelines for working time and work shift planning.
Pay rises in 2025
Pay rises in the general pay system on 1 April 2025:
- a 2.5% across-the-board increase or at least a €53 increase to basic pay
- minimum pays of competence requirement groups are revised as follows:
- experience increments are raised by 2.5%
Pay rises in the hourly wage system on 1 April 2025:
- the basic hourly wages in the hourly wage system are raised by a 2.5% across-the-board increase or at least a €0.33 across-the-board increase
- hourly pay rating is revised as follows:
- experience increment and personal pay increment are raised by 2.5%
Other hourly wages that are not determined according to the hourly wage pay system are likewise revised with a 2.5% across-the-board increase on 1 April 2025.
Pay of young employees and apprenticeship employees on 1 April 2025:
- Monthly salaries are revised with a 2.5% across-the-board increase, but the increase will be at least €53.
- Hourly wages are revised with a 2.5% across-the-board increase, but the increase will be at least €0.33.
Pay rises in 2026
Pay rises in the general pay system on 1 March 2026:
- 2.4% across-the-board increase to basic pay
- experience increments are raised by 2.9%
Pay rises in the hourly wage system on 1 March 2026:
- 2.9% across-the-board increase to job-specific basic hourly wage
- hourly pay rating is revised as follows:
- experience increment and personal pay increment are raised by a 2.9% across-the-board increase
- 2.9% across-the-board increase to working conditions bonuses
Other hourly wages that are not determined according to the hourly wage system are revised with a 2.9% across-the-board increase.
Local allowance on 1 May 2026:
0.5% of the pay sum is reserved for revising basic pays. The sum is calculated from the pay sum of basic pays in the general pay system (year 2025). This money is intended for securing competitive pay according to the needs of the parishes. If agreement is not found on the allocation of the allowance amount, the employer decides how it is distributed.
Pay rises in 2027
The agreement can be terminated with a notice of termination in January 2027, in which case it ends on 28 February 2027.
Pay rises in the general pay system on 1 February 2027:
- 2.2% across-the-board increase to basic pay
- experience increments are raised by 2.2%
- 0.22% is reserved for performance-based bonus increases that will be paid from 1 January 2028
Pay rises in the hourly wage system on 1 February 2027:
- 2.4% across-the-board increase to job-specific basic hourly wage
- hourly pay rating is revised as follows:
- experience increment and personal pay increment are raised by a 2.4% across-the-board increase
- 2.4% across-the-board increase to working conditions bonuses
Other hourly wages that are not determined according to the hourly wage system are revised with a 2.4% across-the-board increase.
Performance-based bonus becomes a permanent personal pay component of the ordinary pay:
- Performance-based bonuses that are based on assessments will be paid monthly as a permanent personal component of the ordinary pay from the beginning of 2027.
- At least 1.1% of the basic pay budget of 2027 will be used to the permanent performance-based bonuses.
More information:
Bargaining Specialist Keijo Hiltunen, 050 438 8105
Your trade union JHL negotiates on a number of collective agreements in 2025. Follow the negotiations on our website.
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