SaiPa’s former head coach Tero Lehterä and former assistant coaches Tuomo Ropo and Kari Martikainen considered the layoffs last spring illegal. The District Court of South Karelia came to the same position.
28.3. 14:18 • Updated March 28th. 14:42
The South Karelia District Court sentenced the hockey team SaiPan to pay damages to its former coaches.
The Lappeenranta hockey team SaiPa will have to pay their former head coach To Tero Lehterä damages of approximately EUR 26,000 for unjustified dismissal, holiday pay and waiting time pay. In addition, SaiPa will have to pay Lehterä’s costs, which amount to EUR 5,750.
SaiPa will also have to pay similar compensation to Lehterä’s assistant coaches To Kari Martikainen and To Tuomo Ropo more than € 8,000 each. In addition, their costs must be reimbursed.
In addition, SaiPan must pay a contribution to the employment fund in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act, ie a total of approximately EUR 15,600. The total amount of compensation is approximately EUR 75,000 before interest.
The South Karelian District Court ruled on a salary dispute with former SaiPa coaches today.
Dispute over layoffs
The pay dispute is about layoffs. SaiPa laid off Tero Lehterä and his assistant coaches last season due to financial problems caused by the corona epidemic twice. The first layoff took place between 13 November and 31 December 2020 and the second between 28 December 2020 and 27 March 2021.
The district court considered whether the latter layoff was illegal. Lehterä, Ropo and Martikainen considered it illegal and demanded a total of 50,000 euros in compensation. The amount is calculated from the wages lost during the spring layoff.
In its decision, the District Court ruled that SaiPa did not have the right to lay off the trio of coaches as of December 28, 2020. According to the district court, the dismissal of the coaches between 1.1.2021 and 27.3.2021 has been unjustified, which is why they are entitled to the damage caused to them under the Employment Contracts Act.
The decision of the district court may be appealed.