Instructions and support⁠
Jobmarket Finland - to front page
Instructions and support⁠
Jobmarket Finland - to front page

I need information about supporting the ability to work

Your current or future employee might need support for their ability to work to ensure they can perform their job. At Job Market Finland, you can find information and services that help both in preventing issues related to work ability challenges and in finding solutions when an employee's reduced work ability has already started to hinder their work.

Information about the situation

Do you need a new employee for your work community? When looking for an employee suitable for an open position, you can take advantage of your own networks, various job search sites, social media, or public employment services.

When you are looking for a new employee, you should first go through your own networks, as well as those of your acquaintances and employees. The right person can be easily found this way. However, a person with the required skills is not always found in these networks, and this is when you should publicly announce the vacancy.

Nowadays, there are a lot of different job search and job posting sites online that allow you to easily search for new employees. Also publish the vacancy on your own website.

As an employer, you should also utilise social media. For example, LinkedIn has a wide range of experts from various fields who are looking for a new job. In addition to this, Facebook and Instagram can be used to find suitable employees. With paid marketing, you get more visibility for your job postings on social media. Job postings are also still published in newspapers.

In the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland, you can publish a job posting and get suggestions for suitable candidates. You can also browse jobseeker profiles without publishing a job posting.

You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.

Go to the Business E-services

You can also find aid for recruitment in the employment services offered by your regional employment official.

If you would like to recruit a young employee or skilled labour from abroad, please refer to our related content.

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Financial support for recruitment and services for training a new employee

The employment subsidies granted by the employment official, i.e. the pay subsidy, employment subsidy for those aged 55 or over, and the subsidy for arranging working conditions, are based on the needs of both the job seeker and the employer. A job seeker needs help in finding a job and, as an employer, you need to find a skilled person for the job. A new suitable employee may be found in a job seeker whose job seeking is supported. A person who is partially able to work, has been unemployed for a long time, or is young, can also have useful skills and the right attitude to work and learn new things. You should also find out if your municipality offers employment bonuses.

You may also know a person that you would like to hire for your service but who does not have the skills required for the job. You can train employees in your organisation through an apprenticeship, joint procurement training, labour market training, or pay subsidy. In some situations, you can test a person's suitability for work by means of a work try-out.

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As an employer, you have a wide range of statutory obligations towards both your employees and the authorities.

Paying your employees is not the only obligation that applies to you as an employer. You must also provide occupational health care, take care of occupational safety and health, take out an insurance for your employees, and draw up an equality plan. To ensure that working is as safe as possible, observe the working environment, working spaces and working methods. Remember to also take care of salary-based and other notifications to be sent to different authorities. If there is a valid collective agreement for your sector, the terms of employment must comply with it.

Occupational health care improves the work ability of your employees

As an employer, the Occupational Health Care Act obliges you to arrange occupational health care for your personnel when there is at least one employee. All your employees have the right to occupational health care regardless of their working hours or the length of their employment relationships. The objective of occupational health care is to promote the healthy and safe working conditions of your employees, to support their ability to work throughout their careers, and to prevent work-related illnesses and accidents.

Occupational safety ensures safe working conditions

The aim of occupational safety is to create a safe, healthy, and productive workplace. As an employer, you are obliged to draw up an occupational safety and health policy. Additionally, it is your responsibility to assess and mitigate potential hazards and failures.

Insurances provide cover for accidents

An insurance will provide you with security if your employee is injured in an accident at work, on the way to or from work, or becomes ill with an occupational disease. You can take out an insurance from your preferred non-life insurance company. Different insurance companies have different practices, so the exact prices of insurances vary. If you wish, you can tender for insurance companies. 

Compulsory insurance policies for employees include earnings-related pension insurance, occupational accident and disease insurance, group life insurance, unemployment insurance premiums, and health insurance premiums. If you wish, you can also take out voluntary insurances.

You can contact the employment authority in your region and get support for various employer-related situations through the Business E-services.

You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.

Go to the Business E-services
More information

An employee of yours may need support to be able to work. Certain measures help you prevent potential issues with work ability among your employees. As an employer, you also have an obligation to take certain measures.

You can prevent problems in an employee’s work ability by agreeing on procedures related to supporting work ability, monitoring sickness absences, cooperating with occupational health care and engaging in conversations on matters related to work ability.

Occupational health care works in cooperation with your organisation to maintain the health and work ability of your employees at all stages of their careers. Support for work ability is based on the practices agreed upon in your work community. The practices agreed between management, HR management, employees and occupational health care services are recorded in the workplace's work ability support model.

Supporting work ability (ttl.fi, in Finnish)⁠

If you notice that your employee's work ability has deteriorated or the sick leave limit (more than 90 days) is exceeded, it is your responsibility to raise the issue and discuss it with your employee.

Sick Leave Practices to Support Work Ability (ttl.fi, in Finnish or Swedish)⁠

As an employer, you are obliged to provide at least preventive occupational health care services for each employee in an employment or public service relationship. You can purchase these services from a public or private service provider. It is also recommended that you get occupational health care when you are an entrepreneur, even if it is not compulsory.

You can have an early support conversation with your employee to find solutions to support their work ability. It is a good idea to continue addressing the situation in occupational health discussions, which will be carried out together with occupational health care.

More information

Change measures to support work ability

On the ‘Change measures to support work ability’ page, you can find various solutions to a situation where your employee’s reduced work ability has already started to hinder work.

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The responsibility for work wellbeing is shared between everyone in the workplace. Having healthy, capable and motivated personnel is also very beneficial for the employer.

Are people feeling well in your work community? The values and operating environment of the organisation and its management affect the wellbeing of the work community and individual employees.

As an employer, it is your responsibility to take care of occupational safety. To ensure employee wellbeing at your workplace, anticipate potential problems, set clear goals, and build trust. Also make sure that management works, and that you treat employees equally. When you manage them fairly, openly, and with encouragement, you improve the wellbeing of your work community, and your employees can succeed better in their work.

What can you do as an employer?

  • Be flexible whenever possible.   
  • Make clear agreements with your employees on objectives and roles.  
  • Provide your employees opportunities for developing their expertise, and encourage them to learn new things.
  • Make sure that your work community follows the instructions and that it is easy and safe for your employees to report faults and deficiencies.
  • Treat each of your employees equally.

You can ask the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for advice and instructions on matters related to health, safety, and terms of employment in the workplace. In addition to this, you must notify occupational health and safety of certain dangerous jobs, confirmed occupational diseases and serious work accidents.

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Maintaining work ability at the workplace

Taking care of your employees' working ability is a prerequisite for ensuring wellbeing in your work community. There are different methods and practices for maintaining working ability. As an employer, you also have an obligation to take assigned measures.

You can have an early support conversation with your employee to find solutions to support their work ability. It is a good idea to continue discussing the situation in the occupational health discussions, which will be carried out together with occupational health care. If you notice reductions in work performance that you cannot fix by your own means at the workplace, you can guide your employee not only to the occupational health discussions but also to an assessment of their ability to work.

Occupational health care works in cooperation with your organisation to promote the health and work ability of your employees at all stages of their careers. Support for work ability is based on the practices agreed upon in your work community. The practices agreed between management, HR management, employees and occupational health care services are recorded in the workplace's work ability support model.

Työkyvyn tuki (ttl.fi, in Finnish)⁠

If your employee's illness or disability prevents them from working, you can make adjustments at your workplace. Adjustments refer to changes at work in which the job description is modified to better correspond to and support your employee's expertise and work ability.

Ways of adapting work for the employer

If your new or current employee has a disability or illness and coping with work tasks requires, for example, the purchase of tools or changes made at the workplace, you can apply for a subsidy for arranging working conditions from the employment official.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions

As an employer, you are obliged to provide at least preventive occupational health care services for each employee in an employment or public service relationship. You can purchase these services from a public or private service provider or arrange them yourself. It is also recommended that you get occupational health care when you are an entrepreneur, even if it is not compulsory.

Rehabilitation may help your employee when the disability or illness complicates their work or coping at different stages of life.

If you notice that your employee's work ability has deteriorated or the sick leave limit (more than 90 days) is exceeded, it is your responsibility to raise the issue and discuss it with your employee.

Sairauspoissaolokäytännöt työkyvyn tukena (ttl.fi, in Finnish)⁠

From working life to family leave and back

‘From working life to family leave and back – family leave guide for employers’ contains information that you can use as an employer to facilitate the reconciliation of work and family in your work community and to promote the wellbeing of the entire work community.

The guide summarizes the key issues regarding family leave, the law regarding which was renewed on August 1, 2022. It tells you what you should consider before the employee's family leave, during it, and when the employee returns to work from the leave.

As an employer, you are responsible for maintaining your employees’ work ability and finding solutions to possible problems related to their work ability.

You have various measures at your disposal that may help you find solutions when your employee’s reduced work ability has started to hinder work.

Adjusting work

If the illness or disability of a new or current employee prevents them from working, you can make adjustments at the workplace. Adjustments refer to changes at work in which your employee’s job description is modified to better correspond to and support their expertise and work ability.

Agree with your employee on the necessary job changes and adjustments. You should also make a written agreement on them. In addition, agree when the situation will be re-evaluated together with the employee and occupational health care provider.

When you agree on working time arrangements with your employee, they gain flexibility for their daily work.

For example, you can agree on flexible working hours, which means that your employees can decide the start and end times of working days within certain limits. The arrangement has to comply with the Working Hours Act and the collective agreement for your sector.

Your employees can also work part-time. Possible options include discretionary part-time work, partial old-age pension, partial disability pension and partial childcare leave included in family leave.

Part-time job (erto.fi, in Finnish)⁠⁠

Remote work is work that your employee does either at home or in another agreed location outside the actual workplace. Remote work can be either full-time or part-time. In the latter case, the employee works part of the week remotely and part of the week at the workplace. Your employee can also work remotely on a one-off basis for a separately agreed period of time.

Flexible working hours (ttl.fi, in Finnish or Swedish)⁠

Adjusting work tasks and work processes to fit an employee’s work ability may give them more capacity to work better in different life situations.

You can reorganise your employees’ work tasks within the workplace or adjust their working hours and forms of work. You can together make either temporary or permanent changes to the division of labour. You should discuss the changes together with the entire work community.

Partial work ability in the work community (ttk.fi)

Job rotation, on the other hand, involves moving your employee to other activities or units at the workplace for a fixed period of time, after which they return to their previous assignment. The aim of job rotation may be to increase an employee’s well-being at work or to boost their motivation.

You can use the Ratko method to format and organise work. The method allows you to reorganise tasks in your work community. You’ll break down the work tasks of everyone involved. From the tasks that fall outside your employees’ core competence and ones they are used to performing alongside their own core tasks, you’ll create a completely new set of tasks. You can formulate this new set of tasks in a way that for example matches the work ability of an employee with partial work ability.

You can use the Ratko method for new hires and existing employees. If necessary, you can get help with implementing the method from the Ratko expert service or the user training for the Ratko method.

The target working environment is one which values equality and approachability and which feels comfortable for all your employees.

If an employee’s functional ability is impaired due to injury or illness, they can be supported with assistive devices, for example. Introducing the use of such devices is a personalised part of the rehabilitation or treatment process. Primary health care can provide your employee with the most common aids that support mobility, daily activities and sensory functions. A number of actors are involved in arranging the use of these aids, each of them being responsible for specific areas.

If your employee is unable to cope with certain activities due to injury or illness, they may need personal help. A person has the right to receive personal assistance if the prerequisites for receiving the service specified in the Disability Services Act are met. The wellbeing services county is responsible for organising the assistance.

If your employee needs interpretation due to hearing loss or a sight or speech disability and they live in Finland and have access to some method of communication, they can use Kela’s interpreter service for the disabled.

You as an employer must develop working conditions and ways of working that promote equality. If you regularly employ at least 30 people, you must have a plan of measures for promoting equality. You must address the promotion measures and their effectiveness with your staff or their representatives.

If a new or current employee of yours has a disability or illness and coping with work tasks requires measures such as purchasing tools or making changes at the workplace, you can apply for a subsidy for arranging working conditions from employment services.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions

More information

Other solutions to challenges caused by reduced work ability

Even if work adjustments or other preventive measures have been taken to maintain work ability, your employee’s work ability may nevertheless decrease during the employment relationship. There are various kinds of options and help available for such situations.

You can refer your employee for an assessment of work ability if they experience difficulties in their work performance that you cannot resolve by your own means at the workplace. An assessment of work ability involves assessing the employee’s ability to perform their current tasks, the development of their functional and work abilities, and their capacity to function at work. Your occupational health physician is often the best expert for assessing work ability, as they have information about the conditions in the workplace.

Assessment of work ability (tela.fi)

If a new or current employee of yours has a disability or illness and coping with work tasks requires measures such as purchasing tools or making changes at the workplace, you can apply for a subsidy for arranging working conditions from employment services.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions

Rehabilitation may help your employee when a disability or illness complicates their work or coping in different life situations.

A pay-subsidised employee of yours can be transferred to another employer, for example in a situation where the other employer can offer tasks that are more suitable for your employee’s work ability. The transfer can be either for a fixed period or for the rest of the pay subsidy period.

Transferring a pay-subsidised employee to another employer

Impact of disability pensions of a person with partial work ability on the employment pension contributions of large employers

If you are a large employer, your employment pension contributions are determined by comparing your disability risk with the average risk. The calculation compares the amount of disability pensions previously granted to the average amount of employment pension contributions.

At the beginning of an employment relationship, a customer of employment services who is finding employment with partial work ability must request a certificate from the employment official stating that they have been entered in the employment services' customer register as a job seeker with partial work ability. After this, they must deliver the certificate to you. As an employer, you must keep the certificate.

If a person with partial work ability becomes incapable of work during the first five years of employment, you must submit the certificate of partial work capacity received from the employee to your employment pension insurance company, in which case the employee's disability pension will not affect your employment pension contributions category.

When your employee requests a certificate of their partial work ability at the beginning of the employment relationship and delivers it to you, you will avoid the effects that your employee's possible retirement on disability pension would have on your employment pension contributions. This may, for its part, encourage the hiring of an employee with partial work ability.

More information

Proactive support for work ability

You can find information on the prevention of work ability problems on the ‘Proactive support for work ability’ page. The page describes the work ability support model, sickness absences, occupational health care, early support conversations, and occupational health discussions.

Read more

Services

The employment subsidy is a financial subsidy for employers for the salary costs of an unemployed jobseeker aged 55 or over.

Target Group

Businesses and non-government organizations

The employment subsidy is a benefit intended to promote the employment of unemployed jobseekers aged 55 or over that an employment authority can grant to an employer to cover pay costs. The purpose of the subsidy is to promote the employment of those aged 55 or over by improving their professional skills or entrepreneurial skills. The subsidy is granted and paid to the employer, but its granting is always based on the unemployed jobseeker’s service need.

The employment subsidy requires that the unemployed jobseeker hired for the employment relationship has reached the age of 55 and has been unemployed for at least 24 months in the 28 months immediately preceding the granting of the subsidy.

An employment subsidy may be granted for a employment contract valid until further notice or a fixed-term employment contract. The person hired with the subsidy must work for the recipient for at least 25 hours a week. If the regular working hours in the sector are less than 37.5 hours per week, the working hours must be at least 65 per cent of the regular working hours in the sector.

The unemployed jobseeker’s employment plan or pay subsidy card includes a mention of the subsidy.

The amount of employment subsidy is 70 per cent of the wage costs. The aid may be granted for a period of 10 months but not longer than the duration of the employment relationship. The maximum amount of employment subsidy paid is €1,770 per month. The pay covered with the subsidy is the pay subject to withholding tax that is paid to the employee on the basis of working hours or the performance of a contract.

To whom and on what terms

A company, municipality, joint municipal authority or wellbeing services county or other entity, such as an association, foundation, registered religious community or parish can apply for employment subsidies.

The subsidy cannot be granted for an employment relationship that started before the decision to grant the subsidy was made.

As an employer, you undertake to pay the employee who has been hired with the subsidy at least the salary specified in the collective agreement applicable to the employment relationship or the normal and reasonable salary if there is no applicable collective agreement. The subsidy shall not be granted if the pay of the person to be hired with the subsidy would be determined solely on the basis of their work performance.

The subsidy cannot be granted if:

  • the subsidy distorts competition vis-à-vis others offering the same products or services
  • the employer has essentially neglected their obligation to pay wages or obligations to pay taxes or statutory payments
  • the organisation you represent is a company in trouble as referred to in the General Block Exemption Regulation of EU State Aid or if the European Commission has issued a negative Recovery Order against it, which declares the subsidy as illegal or unsuitable for the internal market.

It is possible to receive support regardless of dismissals or lay-offs when the number of employees in an employment relationship at the time of applying for the subsidy is at least equal to the number of employees at the time of dismissal or lay-off. The subsidy may not impair the position of your other employees.

Do the following

Apply for subsidy well in advance before the start of employment. The employment relationship can only start after a decision on the subsidy has been made.

The granted subsidy is paid retrospectively so that the pay periods ended during one calendar month are included in the pay period. You can apply for a payment of the subsidy for several payment periods. However, the subsidy is paid by each payment period.
 
Submit a payment application to the employment authority within three months of the end of the calendar month during which the last payment period of the subsidy period ends. The subsidy period is the period defined in the decision as the duration of the subsidy.

Apply for subsidy and its payment in the e-service

Apply for subsidy and its payment using an electronic form in the e-service. Log into the e-service with your personal banking IDs, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.

Complete the application in the service and attach the required documents. The service’s internal instructions will help you fill in the application. In the e-service, you can submit an application, respond to requests for supplementary information concerning the application, supplement your application and receive decisions concerning your case.

In the e-service, the application can be submitted by an authorised person. Persons without separate authorisation can act on behalf of an organisation if they have an existing mandate for transactions or a right based on register data. The e-service checks the person’s right to use e-services when logging in.

The mandate theme used for the subsidy is called Applying for pay subsidy.

You can get advice on using the E-service and how to authorise from the Enterprise Finland Advisory Service.

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You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

A pay subsidy is an economic benefit for employers to cover the pay of an unemployed jobseeker.

Target Group

Businesses and non-government organizations

A pay subsidy is a benefit intended to promote the employment of unemployed jobseekers that an employment authority can grant to an employer to cover pay costs. The purpose of work supported by pay subsidy is to promote the employment of unemployed job seekers in the open labour market and to improve their professional competence. Pay subsidy also helps people with reduced work ability and those aged 60 or over who have been unemployed for an extended period to find work and participate in the world of work. The subsidy is granted and paid to the employer, but its granting is always based on the unemployed jobseeker’s service need.

A pay subsidy may be granted for

  • open-ended full-time employment
  • fixed-term full-time employment
  • apprenticeship training
  • part-time employment if the granter of the subsidy feels that it is appropriate and that it promotes the jobseeker’s possibilities to find employment.

The employment authority assesses whether the subsidy is the most appropriate means of promoting the employment of the unemployed jobseeker and decides separately the duration and amount of each support period. The unemployed jobseeker’s employment plan or pay subsidy card includes a mention of the pay subsidy.

The length of the pay subsidy period depends on the duration of the person’s unemployment and the impact a possibly reduced work ability might have on their work performance. Depending on the duration of the unemployment preceding the pay subsidy, the subsidy would be granted for five or ten months. The subsidy is granted for the duration of the employment relationship at most. The subsidy may be granted for hiring a long-term unemployed person aged 60 or over for a maximum of 24 months at a time.

In most cases, the amount of the pay subsidy is 50% of the salary costs incurred by the person hired with the subsidy. The amount of support granted for hiring a person with reduced work ability is 70% of their pay. The amount of support for an association, foundation or registered religious community may be 100% of the pay. The amount of subsidy granted is between 1,260 and 2,020 euros per month, depending on the grounds for granting. The pay covered with the subsidy is the pay subject to withholding tax that is paid to the employee on the basis of working hours or the performance of a contract.

To whom and on what terms

A company, municipality, joint municipal authority or wellbeing services county or other entity, such as an association, foundation, registered religious community or parish can apply for pay subsidies.

The subsidy cannot be granted for an employment relationship that started before the decision to grant the subsidy was made. An exception to this is the granting of a new pay subsidy period when the new period begins immediately after the previous one ends.

As an employer, you undertake to pay the employee who has been hired with the subsidy at least the salary specified in the collective agreement applicable to the employment relationship or the normal and reasonable salary if there is no applicable collective agreement. Pay subsidy shall not be granted if the pay of the person to be hired with the subsidy would be determined solely on the basis of their work performance.

The subsidy cannot be granted if:

  • the subsidy distorts competition vis-à-vis others offering the same products or services
  • the employer has essentially neglected their obligation to pay wages or obligations to pay taxes or statutory payments
  • the organisation you represent is a company in trouble as referred to in the General Block Exemption Regulation of EU State Aid or if the European Commission has issued a negative Recovery Order against it, which declares the subsidy as illegal or unsuitable for the internal market.

It is possible to receive support regardless of dismissals or lay-offs when the number of employees in an employment relationship at the time of applying for the pay subsidy is at least equal to the number of employees at the time of dismissal or lay-off. The subsidy may not impair the position of your other employees.

If the person hired with the subsidy is transferred to another employer during the pay subsidy period due to the transfer of a business, merger or division of an entity or the merger of entities, pay subsidy may be granted to the employer receiving the employee for the remaining period of the pay subsidy period granted to the transferring employer. The receiving employer must submit an application for pay subsidy to the employment authority within one month since person hired with pay subsidy has transferred to the employment of the recipient or the receiving organisation.

Do the following

Apply for subsidy well in advance before the start of employment. The employment relationship can only start after a decision on the subsidy has been made. 

If you are applying for a pay subsidy extension, submit the extension application before the start of the new subsidy period. The employment relationship must continue immediately after the previous subsidy period ends.

The granted subsidy is paid retrospectively so that the pay periods ended during one calendar month are included in the pay period. You can apply for a payment of the subsidy for several payment periods. However, the subsidy is paid by each payment period.
 
Submit a payment application to the employment authority within three months of the end of the calendar month during which the last payment period of the subsidy period ends. The subsidy period is the period defined in the decision as the duration of the subsidy.

Apply for subsidy and its payment in the e-service

Apply for subsidy and its payment using an electronic form in the e-service. Log into the e-service with your personal banking IDs, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.

Complete the application in the service and attach the required documents. The service’s internal instructions will help you fill in the application. In the e-service, you can submit an application, respond to requests for supplementary information concerning the application, supplement your application and receive decisions concerning your case.

In the e-service, the application can be submitted by an authorised person. Persons without separate authorisation can act on behalf of an organisation if they have an existing mandate for transactions or a right based on register data. The e-service checks the person’s right to use e-services when logging in.

The mandate theme used for the subsidy is called Applying for pay subsidy.

In addition to the mandate, organisations need a business ID to use the e-services.

You can get advice on using the E-service and how to authorise from the Enterprise Finland Advisory Service.

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

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You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

Jointly acquired training is labour market training organised jointly by the employment authority and a company.

Target Group

Businesses and non-government organizations

Jointly acquired training is labour market training that the employment authority can organise together with the employer, the commissioner of the person intending to become an entrepreneur or the company transferring its business rights so that they participate in the funding of the training.

As an employer, you can organise labour market training to increase the professional competence and capabilities of current or future personnel. You can arrange jointly acquired training when the training is targeted at employees in your service or temporary agency workers, persons hired for your service or persons laid off or dismissed from your service.

Jointly acquired training may also be aimed at you as an entrepreneur when you are starting a business.

To whom and on what terms

The employment authority will investigate whether the prerequisites for the training are met and whether there is a need for training.

If the training is targeted at persons to be employed by the employer, the employer’s contribution to the total price of the training without value added tax is 30 per cent and the employment authority’s contribution 70 per cent. 

If the training is targeted at persons laid off or dismissed from the employer’s service, the employer’s contribution to the total price of the training without value added tax is 20 per cent and the employment authority’s contribution 80 per cent.

If the jointly acquired training is intended for employees or temporary agency workers employed by the employer or temporary agency workers whose purpose is to continue working for the employer, the employer’s contribution to the total price of the training without value added tax is 30–50 per cent. The contributions from the total price of the training, excluding VAT, are determined on the basis of the number of employees employed by the employer and the employer’s annual turnover or balance sheet.

Jointly acquired training is not to be used for the financing of regular orientation and personnel training for which the employer is the cost bearer or of training that employers must organise in order to comply with the national training standards.

If you intend to become an entrepreneur, you can organise jointly acquired training to increase your entrepreneurial capabilities if you have few commissioners as an entrepreneur or if you intend to acquire entrepreneurship rights from another company. 

Do the following

Contact the employment authority of your area and submit a proposal for jointly acquired training.

The handler of your proposal will contact you to assess training needs and draw up a preliminary training plan.

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

Browse regional services

You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

You can apply for a subsidy for arranging working conditions if your employee’s disability or illness requires new tools or alterations at work.

Target Group

Businesses and non-government organizations

As an employer, you can receive support for arranging working conditions if the disability or illness of a person you are going to employ or who is already employed by you requires

  • new tools or furniture
  • alterations to be made at the workplace or
  • assistance provided by another employee.

The subsidy improves the chances of people with demand-specific work ability 
to find suitable employment or to keep their job in the open labour market.

To whom and on what terms

The subsidy for arranging working conditions is discretionary. The employment authority assesses the appropriateness of the subsidy. The assessment will take into account your employee’s needs and the financial position of your organisation. You must deliver to the employment authority sufficient information for the assessment of the need for the subsidy.

A prerequisite for granting the arrangement subsidy for procurements or alterations due to a disability or an illness of an employee is that you, as the employer, participate in covering the costs with a reasonable sum.

The maximum amount of subsidy for the procurement of work equipment or making alterations is €4,000 per person. The employment authority may grant the subsidy to be paid completely or partially in advance.

The employment authority can grant the subsidy as compensation for the assistance by another employee for a maximum of 20 working hours per month for a period of up to 18 months. The amount of the subsidy is €20 per hour, and it is paid on the basis of the realised time spent for providing assistance. A maximum of €400 per month is paid to compensate for the support provided by another employee.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions is primarily used to eliminate or reduce the harm caused by a disability or illness in recruitment situations. The subsidy may also be granted to support the preservation of the work of an employed person. The subsidy will not be granted for adaptation needs arising from the entrepreneur’s own disability or illness.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions for economic activities is granted in accordance with the General Block Exemption Regulation on State aid.

Do the following

You can only apply for the subsidy using an electronic form. The employment authority will check the conditions for granting the aid and, if necessary, request additional information before the decision.

Apply for the subsidy for arranging working conditions for an alternation or the procurement of work equipment or furniture within a month from the performance of the alteration or the procurement of the equipment or furniture.

The subsidy for arranging working conditions to compensate for assistance provided by another employee is paid monthly and retrospectively. Submit the payment application concerning the subsidy to the employment authority within two months of the end of the payment period.

Apply for subsidy and its payment in the e-service

Apply for subsidy and its payment using an electronic form in the e-service. Log into the service with your personal banking IDs, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.

Complete the application in the service and attach the required documents. The service’s internal instructions will help you fill in the application. In the e-service, you can submit an application, respond to requests for supplementary information concerning the application, supplement your application and receive decisions concerning your case.

In the e-service, the application can be submitted by an authorised person. Persons without separate authorisation can act on behalf of an organisation if they have an existing mandate for transactions or a right based on register data. The e-service checks the person’s right to use e-services when logging in.

The mandate theme used for the subsidy is called “Applying for subsidies for employment, environment, business and transport” (TYPO).

In addition to the mandate, organisations need a business ID to use the e-services.

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

Browse regional services

You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

You can use a work try-out to find out about career choices and career options in practical tasks. You can also use it to support your return to work.

Target Group

Citizens

A work try-out may be suitable for you if you are considering your own field or want to find out whether a field is suitable for you. A work try-out is also an option if you have been outside of employment for a long period. During the work try-out, you will participate in general work at the workplace. A work try-out is not an employment relationship, and it does not create expenses for the employer.

Agree on the duration and working hours of the work try-out together with the employment authority in your area and the employer. The maximum duration of a work try-out is six months. 

During the work try-out, you will receive the same unemployment security as if you were unemployed.

If the costs of participating in the work try-out are incurred, you can receive expense allowance for the days of participation. If you do not receive expense allowance from the payer of the unemployment benefit, that is, an unemployment fund or Kela, the employment authority can pay a discretionary expense allowance.

To whom and on what terms

You can participate in a work try-out if

  • you have registered as a jobseeker
  • the work try-out has been agreed upon in your employment plan
  • the employment authority estimates that a work try-out is the best way to support your employment.

In your employment plan, you agree with the employment authority on whether you will find a work try-out place yourself or whether you need help finding a place.

A work try-out may be organised by a company, entrepreneur, municipality, joint municipal authority, other corporation, foundation or government agency or institution. A private individual may not act as the organiser of a work try-out. You cannot go to a work try-out at a workplace for which you are already employed.

Do the following

Contact the employment authority in your area and ask if you can participate in a work try-out.

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

Browse regional services

You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

All situations