Get support from A&P

Posting workers to Finland

Guide on requirements, obligations and penalties for non-compliance when Posting workers to Finland.

Table of Contents

Based in Italy and active in all EU

Posted Workers Alliance

Quality
ISO 9001 Certified

This guide aims at providing you with an overview on the requirements to comply with when posting workers to Finland. The Act on Posting Workers (447/2016) and the Posted Workers Act (1146/1999) are national transpositions in Finland of Directive 2014/67/EU, regulating the secondment of workers under an employment contract.

For a complete overview of all Directives, take a look at our guide on EU Posted Workers Directives.

Prior obligations when posting workers to Finland

Every foreign employer who wants to post his workers to Finland must notify the upcoming posting in Finnish territory submitting a prior posting declaration online to the competent authority and appointing a contact person for the said assignment. In the declaration of posting you should provide all the requested information related to the foreign posting company, the period of posting, the Finnish client, the workplace, data of the posted worker(s) and so forth.

Employees need to be notified if they are involved in:

  • A service provision to a receiving Finnish company
  • An intra-group posting to a receiving Finnish company
  • A posting managed by a temporary agency
  • A posting you have been appointee for from a provider of yours.

During the posting, employees continue to be hired by their direct foreign employer.

Every posting must be notified to the competent authority, regardless of its duration, at latest before the commencement of the service provision. Moreover, if the duration of the posting exceeds 10 working days, including the previous posting periods over the span of the past 4 months, it is mandatory to appoint a company’s representative domiciled in Finland, who will act as liaison person between the company and the Finnish authorities.

An additional notification must be made immediately in the event of a change in any of the information provided. Such notification is a prerequisite for the continuation of the work.

Construction works and Finnish tax number request

Everyone working at a construction site or on an installation project or at a shipyard must have a tax number. To obtain the mentioned number, you should book an appointment to the nearest Finnish tax office before your arrival to Finland. The tax number is usually issued in two-three hours, and it is necessary to obtain it before the commencement of the provision of service in the construction site in Finland.
Moreover, every worker employed in a construction site, or a shipyard must wear a photo ID displaying their tax number.

A&P can support you in complying with this tax obligation, even thanks to the collaboration of our specialised Finnish partners.

Working and salary conditions in Finland

Once a worker is posted to Finland, s/he has the same rights as a Finnish worker. Collective bargaining agreements or individual labour contracts on national basis regulate working hours, remuneration, rest period and other working and salary applicable conditions.

Working conditions for posted workers to Finland are set by the Act on Posted Workers, with the following Employment Contracts Act, Working Hours Act, Annual Holiday Act.

The standard working week in Finland counts 40 hours.

Is there a minimum wage in Finland?

Finland has no government-mandated minimum wage. Employers must pay a minimum wage determined by collective bargaining for each sector.

Storage of the posting documents

The posting employer sends the prior declaration of posting at the latest before the service provision in Finnish territory begins through an electronic form.

The sending company needs to have at disposal, for the whole duration of the assignment to Finland, the following data:

  • Identifying details of the posting company: name of the company, foreign tax number, national TVA number, postal address, legal representative;
  • Personal data of every posted worker: name, identification number, age and years of experience when requested
  • Information concerning the working and salary conditions and worker’s rights: duration of the posting, address of the workplace, activities to be carried out, salary and working time.

If the posting is expected to last more than 10 days, the posting company should storage, for the whole period of the posting:

  • The timesheets concerning the specific days of service provision in Finland
  • Payslips and documents attesting the payment of the due salary.

In case of inspection, the posting company must send to the Occupational Safety and Health Authority a translation of the documentation into Finnish, Swedish or English.

Non-EU citizen workers to Finland

In the Finnish law, the Aliens Act (301/2004) lays down provisions on residence permits and is applied to employment in Finland.

Third-country nationals can work in Finland without residence permit for maximum of 90 days in a 180 day-period when they come to Finland to perform temporary subcontracting tasks as employees of EU/EEA -country company with a permanent employment contract that has been valid at least for 3 months before coming to Finland. In addition, the total length of a subcontracting project must not exceed 6 months.

If you intend to continue working even after the period of 90 days, you need to apply for a residence permit.

Social security in Finland

According to the European Regulation 883/2004, posted workers to a EU State may continue to be covered by the social security of the Member State where his employer is based.

According to the above mentioned, posting companies that send their workers to Finland must apply to the competent social institution for the issue of an A1 Certificate.

It could have a maximum duration of 12 months. Furthermore, the worker must hold the A1 Certificate for the whole duration of the posting to Finland.

Penalties in case of non-compliance with Finnish obligations when posting workers

Should the posting company not fulfil its reporting duty, it will be obligated to pay a penalty fee for negligence. The fee imposed will be between 1,000 and 10,000 EUR.

A negligence fee may be imposed on the posting company if the posting company:

  • completely fails to report the posting of workers, or performs the notification late, i.e. after the work has begun, or the notification is inadequate
  • fails to provide a supplementary notification on significant changes
  • fails to ensure the selecting of a representative in Finland or the representative does not have the required right to act on behalf of the company or should the OSH authorities in spite of repeated attempts not reach the representative
  • fails to keep the following information and accounts in order for the OSH authorities to inspect them when visiting the workplace.

Regulatory Framework

Directive 2014/67/EU

Reference

Act on Posting Workers (447/2016)

Reference

Posted Workers Act (1146/1999)

Reference

Employment Contracts Act

Reference

Working Hours Act

Reference

Annual Holiday Act

Reference

Aliens Act (301/2004)

Reference 

European Regulation 883/2004

Reference 

Get a Free Quote

Learn more about Posting of Workers to Europe

Have a look at our in-depth guides about Posting of Workers to EU Countries. If you don’t know where to start, you can have a first look at our introduction on Posting of Workers to Europe.

Don't miss out on the latest updates

Get free updates from our Experts on Immigration, Posting Workers, International Taxation and more.