As an employer, you can sometimes need help for different situations you face. You can learn where you can get services, monetary support, or advice at Job Market Finland.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Conflicts may arise in the work community. As an employer, you must identify the challenges in the work community and try to solve problems.
Your employees will certainly have different views on how to do their work. If different opinions cannot be discussed in the work community, disagreements may arise. Listen to and consider your employees' thoughts to help you improve your organization's performance. Try to make your work community a place where everyone can have a natural and constructive discussion.
Conflicts may also be based on discrimination or other inappropriateness. Create an atmosphere in the work community so that your employees can easily report bullying at the workplace, for example. As an employer, you must intervene in discrimination or bullying.
The Centre for Occupational Safety offers comprehensive guidelines for dealing with conflicts in a work community. You should familiarise yourself with them so that you know how to act in difficult situations.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 – 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 tasked with supporting your diverse work community and different employees.
There is diversity in every work community, so treat your staff equally. Make diversity an asset and a competitive advantage for your organisation. Fair and equal treatment affects your employees' motivation and wellbeing at work.
Remember equality in all situations. You must treat everyone equally when you recruit, provide orientation, distribute tasks, and promote or terminate employees.
Ensure that your employees treat each other with respect as well. If conflicts arise, intervene as early as possible. Discuss equality and possible discrimination with your work community. Make sure that your entire work community is aware of the prohibited grounds for discrimination under the Equality Act and the Non-Discrimination Act. In one-to-one development discussions, you have a good opportunity to find out if there are any equality-related problems in the work community.
If you have at least 30 employees, you must draw up an equality plan at least once every two years with representatives appointed by the staff. They must have a genuine opportunity to influence the content of the plan. Among other things, the equality plan should address recruitment, pay, performance assessment, influencing opportunities, and well-being at work. A plan alone is not enough; as an employer, you must ensure that the issues presented in the equality plan become part of the work community's practices. Also remember to update the plan and make sure that your employees familiarise themselves with it.
By showing your appreciation to your personnel, you can create a positive employer image.
One way you as an employer can tell your staff that their contribution is important is to remember them on different important days. For example, birthdays, the winter holidays, or important milestones of service are good opportunities to commemorate an employee with a gift.
Offer gifts or benefits equally to all employees, regardless of their position or performance. A gift can be an object, an entry ticket, a service, or an individualised gift card.
Make sure to find out how gifts and employee benefits should be considered in taxation.
When your employee retires, your employment relationship ends. Read what you should remember as an employer before the retirement of an employee.
When your employee notifies that they will retire on old-age pension, agree together on their last working day. Also remember to terminate the employment relationship. It is advisable to end the employment relationship on the last day of the month, because pension payments always start at the beginning of the month.
Remind your employee to apply for pension well in advance, approximately one month before their last working day. Submit a report on the cancellation of the employment relationship and payment of the final salary to the Tax Administration's Incomes Register well in advance.
Your employee may also choose another alternative than old-age pension, such as partial old-age pension or years-of-service pension. In questions related to these, you should contact the employer's pension insurance company.
If your employee’s work ability changes, retirement is not the only option. Your employee's reduced work ability may prevent them from performing their current work, but they may be able to do other work or to continue in their current work on a part-time basis.
There are many ways to help your employee to continue in working life. For example, you can
You can only dismiss your permanent employee for a justified reason. Dismissal of an employee in a fixed-term employment relationship is only possible if it has been agreed upon separately. If your employee has violated their obligations very seriously, you can terminate the employment relationship. After the dismissal, you also have obligations regarding the offer of work and the reinstatement of the employee.
You must have a justified reason for dismissing an employee with a permanent work contract. Also remember that the dismissed employee's employment relationship does not end immediately, but after the period of notice. The length of your employee's employment relationship affects the duration of the period of notice. You must consult the employee before ending the employment relationship.
However, your employee may resign from a permanent employment relationship without a reason. They are still obliged to observe the period of notice.
You may have a reason for dismissal if
Read carefully the accepted and prohibited grounds for dismissal on the website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Finland.
A fixed-term employment relationship ends at a time agreed in advance in the employment contract or when your employee has completed the work agreed in the employment contract. It is only possible for you to dismiss your fixed-term employee in the middle of the employment relationship if you have separately agreed upon it either in the employment contract or during the employment relationship.
If you enter into a fixed-term employment contract with your employee for more than five years, the practices of terminating a permanent employment relationship apply to the employment relationship.
In the case of termination of an employment relationship, the employment relationship is cancelled immediately without a period of notice. As an employer, you can only terminate an employment relationship if your employee has violated their obligations very seriously. Your employee may also cancel the employment relationship if you have seriously violated your obligations as an employer.
During the trial period, both you as an employer and your employee can terminate the employment relationship without a specific reason.
You can find detailed instructions on terminating an employment contract and its possible reasons on the website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Finland.
When you dismiss your employee, you have an obligation to offer them employment, primarily employment corresponding to their current duties. In the absence of such work, the employee is to be offered other work corresponding to their training, professional skills, or experience.
You must provide the employee with the training required for new tasks given that organising and participating in it are reasonable for both you and the employee.
If you also control human resources matters in another organisation, you must determine whether the obligation to offer work or training can be fulfilled in these other organisations. A person who has been dismissed is not required to be a job seeker for this obligation, and their status must not be checked from the employment services. The fulfilment of this obligation does not eliminate any subsequent readmission obligation.
Please remember that when you need more employees for tasks that are suitable for part-time employees, you must first offer work to your part-time employees.
If you employ new personnel within four months of termination of the employment relationships of persons dismissed for production-related and financial reasons, you have the obligation to first offer the work to the employees dismissed from the same or similar work.
If the employment relationship has lasted for 12 years, the rehiring period is six months. For municipal office holders, the duration of the re-employment obligation is nine months. The duration of the re-employment obligation for civil servants is 12 months and for employees nine months. Longer re-employment periods may also be agreed upon in collective agreements or change negotiations. The re-employment obligation does not apply to lay-offs.
If your organisation has a vacancy that would be suitable for an employee subject to the re-employment obligation, you can check by secure email whether the employee is a job seeker in the employment services, unless otherwise agreed during the change negotiations. The employment official will record the query in its information system. If the person is a job seeker at the time of the check, you must offer them employment. You are responsible for keeping the employee's contact information, offering employment, and for ensuring that it is a genuine need for labour.
The obligations described above also apply to the employer who has dismissed employees as a result of the restructuring procedure.
You can contact your local employment authority and get help with various employment-related matters through the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
If your company’s financial situation has deteriorated, laying off employees or ending their employment may be the first solutions that come to mind. However, you should familiarise yourself with the different options, especially when a difficult situation only seems temporary.
Using working hours arrangements, such as a work hours bank, you can regulate the working hours of your employees and create flexibility for seasonal work, for example. With working hours arrangements, you can have your employees work more in busy times and have them accumulate paid leave for a quieter period. Remember to take care of your employees’ wellbeing particularly well during busy times.
You may be able to avoid dismissal or lay-off of an employee by transferring annual leave. Remember to negotiate the transfer first with your employee.
You can develop your employees' skills in a changing work environment through complementary training. First, discuss with your employee whether they are interested in the training and the new tasks it enables.
Offering other available work before dismissing employees is an employer’s legal obligation. As an employer, you should always determine whether your company would have another possible job for the employee about to be dismissed. You should arrange training for a new position if it is reasonable for both you and your employee.
You can contact your local employment authority and get help with various employment-related matters through the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
If the organisation of your employees' working hours or additional training does not solve your company's difficult situation, you can avoid dismissals with lay-offs. In this case, the employee's work and payment of salary will end, but the employment relationship will continue.
In the lay-off process, your employee's work and payment of salary are temporarily interrupted, but your employment relationship does not end. Lay-offs can be either full-time or part-time. In part-time lay-offs, your employees only work part of their daily or weekly working hours.
As an employer, you can decide on the need for lay-offs unilaterally, but you can also agree on lay-offs together with your employee.
As an employer, you can lay off your employees either indefinitely or for a fixed term. You may lay an employee off on two different grounds.
You may lay off an employee for an indefinite period if you would have a financial or production-related reason to also dismiss the employee. The amount of work must have decreased substantially and permanently, and you must not be able to offer the employee any other work or training.
If your opportunity to offer work has been temporarily reduced, you can lay off your employee for a fixed term. Fixed-term lay-offs can last up to 90 days. In this case, too, the precondition for lay-offs is that you cannot offer your employee other work or training.
Lay-offs primarily apply to your permanent employees. You can lay off a fixed-term employee only if they work as a substitute for your permanent employee and you would be entitled to laying off said permanent employee.
As the employer, you may only agree with your employee on a lay-off for a fixed period and on the basis of the employer's activities and financial status.
You must always give notice of the lay-off to the employee who will be laid off. The notice of lay-off must be given in person. If this is not possible, you can submit the notification by letter or electronically. The notice of the lay-off must also be delivered to the representatives of the employees to be laid off.
You must give notice of the lay-off 14 days before the start of the lay-off at the latest. The notice period may also be longer, so check the possible collective agreement for your field.
The notice of lay-off must state
In case of fixed-term lay-offs, state the exact duration. You must provide a written certificate of the lay-off if your employee requests it.
You can contact your local employment authority and get help with various employment-related matters through the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
Change negotiations are joint activities between the employer and the personnel, the aim of which is to ensure the employees' possibilities of influencing their working conditions.
As an employer, you are subject to a statutory obligation to negotiate if you regularly employ at least 20 employees, and your organisation is about to experience
Before starting the change negotiations, you must submit a written negotiation proposal, which must include at least the date and location of the negotiations and a proposal on the issues to be discussed. A written negotiation proposal must also be submitted to the employment authority no later than when the change negotiations begin. The negotiations shall address the rationale, impact, and options of measures directed at personnel. Often both parties have a separate representative in the negotiations. In the change negotiations, the parties must act constructively and negotiate in a spirit of cooperation in order to reach consensus.
You can contact your local employment authority and get help with various employment-related matters through the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
The change negotiations involve fixed time periods. Violating these can incur compensation payments or fines. Read the instructions for change negotiations carefully.
If you have under 20 employees, the change negotiations will not apply to you. However, before dismissal, you must provide your employees with an explanation of the reasons and alternatives for dismissal and inform them of the employment services available to them
If you need to dismiss employees for production-related and financial reasons, familiarise yourself with transition security. Transition security helps both the employer and the employee who is to be dismissed.
The objective of transition security is to help the dismissed employee and make the change situation easier for you as an employer.
The transition security operating model includes
The employment official offers you transition security services. There are designated transition security specialists in the employment services who are responsible for services in transition security situations.
Transition security includes obligations that apply to you as an employer. The obligations depend on the number of your subordinates and the number of people you are about to dismiss.
Extended transition security is intended for you if you are 55 or older. The purpose of the service is to promote your quick employment and to improve your position in the labour market.
You are entitled to transition security for those aged 55 or over if
Transition security for those aged 55 or over includes
The transition security allowance corresponds to your average monthly salary. Remember to apply for transition security allowance to your unemployment fund or Kela within three months of the end of your employment relationship.
Transition security training is a service intended for persons aged 55 or over who have been dismissed from their employment relationship. The employment official must arrange and grant it once information on the person’s dismissal has been gained from the employer.
If you intend to dismiss at least ten employees, you must prepare an action plan to promote employment together with your personnel. This must be prepared when the cooperation procedure begins.
The action plan must include
Please notify the employment official of the termination of the employment relationship of the dismissed employees. Inform the employment official of the number of employees to be dismissed, their professions, work duties, and the dates of termination of their employment relationships.
You can contact your local employment authority and get help with various employment-related matters through the Business E-services section of Job Market Finland.
You can find the employment authority's services for employers and entrepreneurs in the Business E-services.
Inform the employees that they are entitled to an employment plan. If there are fewer than ten employees to be dismissed, you must explain in the change negotiations how your employees can apply for other jobs, training, or employment services during their period of notice.
If you regularly employ at least 30 employees, you must offer those dismissed the opportunity to participate in coaching or training that promotes employment. This applies to employees who have been employed by you continuously for at least five years. You can offer the possibility either during the period of notice or in the early stages of unemployment.
You must pay for the coaching or training you offer. You can also agree with the employee that you will pay for the training or coaching that they themselves acquire.
The principles governing the organisation of training or coaching are recorded in the work community development plan, which must be updated after the change negotiations.
If you fail to comply with the obligation to provide coaching or training, you must pay your employee a sum equivalent to the value of the coaching or training.
If you regularly employ at least 30 employees and the dismissed employee's employment has lasted for at least five years, as an employer, you are obliged to arrange occupational health care for six months as of the termination of the obligation to work. For this period, you will receive compensation under the Health Insurance Act.
Employees and employers receive advice and support from the employment authority when an employment relationship is changed or terminated.
Citizens,
Businesses and non-government organizations
The employment authority gives employees and employers advice and support when an employment relationship is changed or terminated.
The employment authority helps laid-off and dismissed employees find new work or training in cooperation with employer representatives and staff or their representatives.
You will receive advice and support from the employment authority for job seeking, re-employment and improving your professional competence.
Employees made redundant on production or financial grounds receive support for re-employment already during the period of notice. As a dismissed employee, you will be entitled to paid leave when you draw up an employment plan or participate in labour market training agreed upon in the plan, job-seeking or re-employment training.
The employment authority provides employers with advice in situations where they need adjustment of activities. In most cases, situations refer to measures targeting personnel, such as part-time work, lay-offs or dismissals.
In the event of a change in the employment relationship, the employer has obligations that depend on the number of employees and the number of people to be dismissed or laid off.
The employer is obliged to notify the employment authorities of any redundancies if the redundancies concern at least ten employees. In such a change, the employer must make an action plan that promotes employment and explains how the job search and training of those made redundant will be supported.
The employer must also provide information on the extended change security of employees over 55 years of age.
If you are dismissed from your job and need personal guidance or intend to apply for unemployment security, you must register as a jobseeker with the employment services in your area.
The service the employment authority offers to organisations in situations involving personnel changes is statutory if the organisation falls within the scope of the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings and is about to enter into negotiations leading to personnel changes. The company must notify the employment authority of the change situation.
The employment authority also provides guidance and advice in change situations to companies and other organisations other than those covered by the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings where employees have to be laid off or dismissed.
If you wish to receive personal guidance and advice, register as a jobseeker with the employment services in your area already during your notice period. If you have a Finnish personal identity code, start your job search in the e-service. You can get advice on using the e-service from the employment services in your area.
If you do not have a Finnish personal identity code or cannot use the e-service, contact the employment services in your area.
If you need advice in situations of change or dismissal, contact the local employment authority.
The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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:
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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.
You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.