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Employment relationship

Posted worker (In accordance with the contexts of the old law)

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Posted worker - Alasivu - Ingressi

A posted worker is an employee habitually working in some other country than Finland who is sent to perform work temporarily in Finland by his/her employer, a company in a country other than Finland. The habitual place of employment of a posted worker is some other country than Finland.

Posted worker - Alasivu - Yleistä

 

General information on topic

A posted worker is an employee of a foreign company who is temporarily performing work in Finland.

Note! Guidelines in accordance with the contexts of the new law can be found here.

The Posted Workers Act (1146/1999) applies to posted workers. This Act stipulates that Finnish provisions on working life shall be applied whenever they are more advantageous for the employee than the legislation otherwise applicable to him/her. For the purposes of applying the Act, it is irrelevant whether the posted worker’s employer is in another EU Member State or outside the EU.

An employee is a posted worker when:

  •  an employer posts a worker to Finland on his own account and under his direction, under a contract which the employer has concluded with the party in Finland for whom the services are intended (e.g. a subcontracting agreement),
  • an employer posts a worker to an establishment or to an undertaking owned by the group in Finland, or
  • the employer, being a temporary employment undertaking or placement agency, hires out a worker to a user undertaking established or operating in Finland (posted agency worker).

Employer’s obligations and client’s obligations

The posting company (the employer) must appoint a representative in Finland and manage other employer responsibilities such as paying wages that are considered reasonable in Finland. The employer is also responsible for ensuring safety at work. In the case of agency workers, the user company is also responsible for the occupational safety of agency workers.

Social security for posted workers is based on the employer company’s obligations or on intergovernmental agreements. Also, the posting company and the user company may agree for instance on the providing of occupational health care services for posted workers. What is essential is that the work performed in Finland must be healthy and safe.

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health: the liaison office for posted workers

The contact point (liaison office) for posted workers in Finland is the Division of Occupational Safety and Health at The Regional State Administrative Agency for Southwestern Finland. The division provides general advice on Finnish legislation concerning posted workers for the sending companies and the recipient companies in Finland as well as for the posted workers in Finland.

Please e-mail any questions related to posted workers to the address postedworkersfin@avi.fi.

The contact person is Anu Ikonen.

Posted worker - Alasivu - Työntekijälle

 

Instructions for employee

Minimum wage

There is no national minimum wage defined by law; minimum wages are determined in universally binding collective agreements for each sector. If there is no universally binding collective agreement in a particular sector or any other agreement or common practice in place, employees must be paid ordinary, reasonable wages.

Collective agreements confirmed as universally binding may be found in the Finlex.fi online service (in Finnish).

Unpaid wages

If your employer has not paid your wages, you must demand your wages from the employer; your first recourse is always to talk to your employer. You may use these forms (doc, in Finnish): Pay receivables claim during employment and Pay receivables claim after termination of employment.

Tax number

If you work at a construction site, you must carry a photo ID with your tax number at all times when you are at the site.

You may request a tax number at your local tax office or by phoning the Tax Administration helpline.

An employer may request tax numbers for all employees at once.

Further information is available on the Finnish Tax Administration website: Individual Tax Numbers.

Information on working life in Finland for foreigners:
Working in Finland – Information for Immigrants (in 13 languages). Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Posted worker - Alasivu - Työnantajalle

 

Instructions for employer

Legislation imposes requirements on both the employer of a posted worker and the company using the posted worker.

By law, the employer of a posted worker must:

  • appoint a representative in Finland,
  • confirm information on foreign employees and their right to work,
  • comply with the legislation and rules on working hours,
  • keep a record of working hours,
  • comply with the provisions on minimum wages,
  • retain information on wages paid,
  • organise occupational health care,
  • take out accident insurance for employees, and
  • ensure that performing the work is safe.

A company using posted workers in Finland must:

  • ensure that the posting company appoints a representative, and
  • ensure the occupational safety of posted workers.

The Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liabilities when Work is Contracted Out principally also applies to posted workers

When a client signs a temporary agency work agreement or subcontracting agreement with the employer of posted workers, the client must take into account the requirements of the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liabilities when Work is Contracted Out. This Act applies to both Finnish and foreign companies whenever the actual work is performed in Finland. It is irrelevant whether the company from which the client obtains agency workers or to which the client subcontracts is Finnish or foreign.

Further information on obligations under the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liabilities when Work is Contracted Out: Contractor’s obligations and liabilities.

Workers at a construction site must have tax numbers

Everyone working at a construction site must display an individual photo ID at all times when on site.

The only exceptions to the photo ID requirement are persons delivering supplies to the construction site on a temporary basis and persons performing construction or repair work for their own personal use. No photo ID is required for such persons. Also, photo ID is not required on construction sites that are not shared workplaces.

The photo ID must show:

  • whether the person in question is an employee or an independent contractor;
  • if an independent contractor, the photo ID must show the name of his/her business enterprise,
  • name and photo of the employee,
  • name of the employer (wage payer), and
  • tax number.

Employees may request a tax number at the local tax office or by phoning the Tax Administration helpline.

An employer may request tax numbers for all employees at once. Further information is available on the Finnish Tax Administration website: Individual Tax Numbers.

Posted worker - Lainsäädäntö

 

Legislation

Aliens Act (301/2004)

Posted Workers Act (1146/1999)

Employment Contracts Act (55/2001)

Working Hours Act (605/1996)

Annual Holidays Act (162/2005)

Occupational Health Care Act (1383/2001)

Occupational Safety and Health Act (738/2002)

Employment Accidents Act (608/1948)

Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out (1233/2006)

Posted worker - Muualla Tyosuojelu.fissä

Related topics in Tyosuojelu.fi

Forms (in Finnish)

Posted worker - Muualla verkossa

Links to other websites

Posted worker - Alasivu - Sanasto

Glossary

Foreign employee A person who is not a Finnish citizen, referred to in the Aliens Act as an alien.
Posted worker A worker who is normally employed in a country other than Finland and whose employer, also located in another country, sends him/her to Finland to work for a fixed period. This posting may be based on a contracting agreement or a temporary agency work agreement between a Finnish company and a foreign company.
EU or ETA Member States EEA Member States outside the EU are Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The rules concerning EEA Member States also apply to Switzerland. Citizens of EU and EEA Member States are treated according to the same rules in many respects.
Third countries Countries that are not EU or EEA Member States.
Grey passport holder A person who has been granted a passport by an EU Member State but is not a citizen of that Member State.
A1 certificate An A1 certificate (previously E101) confirms that its holder is subject to the social security legislation of a country other than the country he/she is employed in; thus, Finnish statutory social security contributions do not need to be paid.
User company The company in which a posted worker performs work.
Client User company.
Client company User company.
Temporary agency The employer of an agency worker. The employer of an agency worker.
Temporary agency work Work for which an employer requiring labour signs an agreement with an agency providing hired labour.
Subcontracting A partnership agreement between companies that is broader in content than a temporary agency work agreement.
Representative A foreign company posting workers to Finland must have a representative in Finland unless it has a place of business in Finland. The function of the representative is for instance to handle official transactions on behalf of the foreign company. The representative must have a registered address in Finland. Domicile is not required.
Employment contract An agreement between the employer and the employee concerning the performing of work and the wages to be paid for it. If the employment contract is concluded verbally, the employer must give the employee a written statement of the principal terms of employment.
Indefinitely valid employment contract An agreement that is valid until further notice, terminated by giving notice to terminate.
Fixed-term employment contract An employment contract that is valid until a predetermined date, until the completion of a specific job assignment or until a specific event.
Regular working hours Under the Working Hours Act, 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, or 40 hours per week on average over an adjustment period of no more than 52 weeks. There may be differing provisions on regular working hours in the applicable collective agreement.
Working hours adjustment system A plan prepared in advance by the employer concerning variations in working hours on a daily and weekly basis when the average working hours scheme is applied. The average working hours will even out to the level specified by law or in a collective agreement within a predetermined period. The adjustment system must define the regular working hours for each week during the adjustment period.
Shift roster A written list prepared beforehand by the employer, showing the beginning and end time of the regular working hours for each employee and the time of the daily rest period. The shift roster must be issued to employees in writing well ahead of time, no later than one week before the start of the period it covers. Collective agreements may contain more detailed provisions on shift rosters.
Record of working hours A record kept by the employer to tally each employee’s daily working hours, additional work and overtime hours, Sunday work hours and the compensation paid for each of these.
Collective agreement An agreement concluded by one or more trade unions and one or more employers' organisations concerning terms and conditions of employment in a specific sector.
Universally binding collective agreement A collective agreement that even unaffiliated employers (employers who are not members of an employers’ organisation) in that sector must comply with.
Annual holiday record A record kept by the employer showing the lengths and times of annual holidays, the amounts of pay and compensation and the grounds for their determination.
Annual holiday pay The wages paid to an employee during his/her annual holiday; this must be at least his/her regular or average wage.
Holiday bonus A bonus equal to 50% of annual holiday pay. Holiday bonuses are provided for in collective agreements, not by law.

Frequently asked questions