You will receive advice and guidance on job seeking when you register as a jobseeker with the employment services in your area. As a jobseeker, you can apply for unemployment benefit from Kela or your unemployment fund. The employment authority issues a statement on the matter to Kela or the unemployment fund.

The employment authority will advise and guide you in applying for work and selecting the right services. Your employment will be supported through an initial interview, an employment plan and job search discussions.

Once you have registered as a jobseeker, the employment authority will arrange an initial interview with you within five working days. In the interview, you and an expert will discuss what kind of jobs you could apply for or whether you need to acquire training or change fields. The employment authority will also draw up an employment plan with you.

During job search discussions, you will be in regular contact with the employment authority in your area. Between the discussions, you apply for work independently or participate in services promoting employment in accordance with the employment plan.

To whom and on what terms

If you are unemployed and your employment situation could be improved by using labour, social, health and rehabilitation services, the employment authority, wellbeing services county or the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) can direct you to a multisectoral assessment of service needs.

You can use the joint service for multisectoral support promoting the employment of young people if you are under the age of 30. You can also use the low-threshold service anonymously. 

Do the following

If you have a Finnish personal identity code and can identify yourself electronically, start your job search in the e-service.

If you do not have a Finnish personal identity code or cannot use the e-service, contact the employment services in your area.

You can get support for using the E-service from the Job Market Finland's E-services advice.

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.

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.