Working

Work culture in Finland
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Working Life in Finland

Finns are hardworking and punctual, and they also expect others to take care of their duties and come to meetings promptly. Also, when negotiating, Finns tend to get straight to the point. You can trust even an unwritten agreement with a Finn – nevertheless, agreements are always made in writing. The dress code at work and negotiations is quite formal; however, this depends on the branch of industry and nature of the work.

Over 80 per cent of Finnish wage earners are trade union members, and the employer sector too is well-organised in Finland. The main function of trade unions and employers’ federations is to negotiate collective agreements for their members, including agreement on details concerning wages, annual holidays, and hours of work. The Finnish authorities work in close co-operation with labour market organisations. Thus many issues are solved together, including social security issues such as unemployment benefit, pension benefits, parental leave, and accident insurance policies.

The cornerstones of the Finnish welfare society are a comprehensive social insurance system, public services, and moderate income differences, evened out by progressive taxation and various kinds of financial assistance granted on the basis of income.

Employment Contracts

When employment begins, you sign an employment contract, whereby the employee commits him- or herself to performing some specified work for the employer in return for specified wages and other compensation. Employers are obliged to provide the employees with the employment conditions in writing.

The main principle is to conclude an employment contract ‘until further notice’, i.e. a permanent contract, but the contract can also be signed for a certain period only, which means that the contract will end automatically when this period expires. A well-justified relevant reason is required for making a fixed-term contract.

When the employment begins, the parties concerned can agree on a trial period, to last a maximum of four months. During the trial period, both parties can terminate the employment contract without notice.

Employment wages

In Finland, the collective agreements for various branches of industry specify minimum pay rates, and salaries in general. There is no universal statutory minimum wage for all. The salary levels specified in the agreements must be applied to both Finnish and foreign workers. In addition to the basic wages, you are entitled to special compensation for work done in the evenings or on Sundays, for instance, and other compensation specified in the collective bargaining agreements.

Working times

According to Finnish law, regular working hours are 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week maximum. Collective agreements for most sectors specify shorter hours, such as 37.5 hours per week. Overtime work is limited, and higher rates of pay apply. Usually, one can work 250 hours per year of overtime at most. Depending on the field and workplace, the workday begins between 7 and 9 a.m. and lasts until 3 or 5 p.m.

Annual leave

According to the law, you earn two days of paid holiday per month at work if the employment has lasted less than a year, and if the job has continued over one year, you earn 2.5 days a month of paid holiday. You will receive normal wages for the annual vacation. Many collective agreements also provide for special end-of-holiday pay, which usually amounts to 50 per cent of the monthly pay.

Family leave

Finland offers many possibilities for parental leave to allow for care of small children. When the parental leave ends, employees are entitled to return to the same or corresponding work with the same employer. The maternity and parental leave period totals 263 weekdays, of which the maternity leave accounts for 105 days. As regards the parental leave period after that, the mother and father can decide which parent will take the leave. The father is entitled to parental leave of 18 weekdays at the same time as the mother, and to paternal daily benefit payment for that time.

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, KELA, pays an allowance for the family leave periods. The allowance is calculated on the basis of the employee’s income. These benefits also require permanent residence in Finland, which means that in order to receive the parental allowances, you are required to have been resident in Finland for 180 days prior to the calculated time of birth.

Termination of employment

Employers are entitled to terminate employment for a relevant and cogent reason. The reason for terminating employment may be specific to the individual (e.g., serious breach of contract or negligence of obligations) or the company’s financial situation.

Termination of employment by the employer requires a notice of dismissal, varying on the basis of the length of employment from 14 days to six months. When the employee terminates the contract, notice of quitting is 14 days if the employment has lasted less than five years, or one month if the employment has lasted over five years.

Unemployment Benefit

In order to receive unemployment benefit, a person must always register with the labour force bureau as an unemployed job applicant. Members of unemployment benefit societies are entitled to earnings-related daily unemployment benefit if they have been employed and members of the unemployment benefit society for a minimum of 10 months. The daily allowance accounts for approximately 60-70 per cent of the person's previous income. Others can receive the basic unemployment allowance from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, or labour market subsidy, if they do not satisfy the condition of 10 months of employment. This benefit too requires residence in Finland. The labour market subsidy will be withheld if the person’s other personal income or his/her spouse’s income are sufficient to provide for the family.

Members of unemployment benefit societies will receive an earnings-related daily allowance for 500 days, after which they will begin receiving the KELA unemployment subsidy.

It is advisable to join an unemployment benefit society, most of which operate in connection with trade unions.

If you happen to become unemployed, you should immediately acquire up-to-date information on the benefits you are entitled to and the related obligations.

Looking for Work

The Pori Employment Office
Teljänkatu 5, FI-28130 PORI
Tel. +358 (0)2 622 9800
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
www.mol.fi/english/index.html

Employment offices are government offices that will help you with matters concerning job-seeking and finding employment, unemployment benefits, choice of profession, and career planning as well as choice of education. The employment offices also provide information on work permits. All services are free of charge.

Employers will inform the employment offices of most of their vacancies. In addition, you should seek employment through newspaper advertisements, by contacting prospective employers yourself, via private recruitment agencies and staff hire agencies, and also through your personal contacts. Your own activity, determination, and persistence are important when seeking work.

Licences and formalities

Residence permits
The Police Station of Pori
Satakunnankatu 5, FI-28130 PORI
Tel. +358 (0)2 623 7500 
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/pages/index_eng

Citizens of other than Nordic countries will need a residence permit for a stay in Finland lasting over three months. You also need a permit for periods shorter than three months if you intend to work during your stay in the country. A residence permit can be granted if the applicant has a valid passport or other travel document. The residence permit is usually granted by a Finnish diplomatic mission abroad; the Directorate of Immigration; or, for citizens of ETA countries, the local police.

When applying for a residence permit, you will need to bring with you a completed residence permit application (forms available from the local police station), a valid passport, and two passport photographs. In addition, you will need to provide grounds for seeking the permit: when necessary, an account of your livelihood and financial status and/or an account of your family relations, marriage, or cohabitation without marriage; your marriage certificate; and the birth certificates of your children. The residence permit decision will cost 134 eur.

Change-of-address notification

The Pori Registry Office
Isolinnankatu 28, FI-28100 PORI
Tel. +358 (0)2 622 7310
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
www.maistraatti.fi/en/index.html

When you have a residence permit granted for at least one year, inform the Pori Registry Office so this can be included in the population register, preferably within a week of moving.

When registered in the Population Information System, you will be assigned a personal identity number, consisting of your date of birth, an individual number, and a control code, which can be either a number or a letter. The personal identity number is used as a means of identification in Finland – for instance, at banks, at hospitals, and in various official registries.

The basic information on people residing in Finland is entered in the Population Information System. Details to be registered include your name, date of birth, and nationality; information on your family relations; and your address. A Finnish home municipality is registered for foreigners moving to Finland if they plan to remain in Finland permanently and have a residence permit for at least one year. Citizens of Nordic countries do not need to have a residence permit. Under the law, foreigners are required to submit the same information for registration as Finnish citizens if they reside in Finland for at least one year. The information in the system is used, among other things, in the organisation of elections and for taxation, health care, judicial administration, and statistical purposes.

When reporting to the local registry office, bring your passport and valid residence permit with you. Other documents needed for registration include a certificate of marriage if applicable and the birth certificates of any children you may have. All documents are required to be notarised originals or translations by authorised translators. Fill out and sign the Registration of Foreigners registration form at the local registry office. Also, remember to submit an official change-of-address notification to the local registry office whenever you move. It is a requirement for registration. A person moving from another Nordic country must present the local registry office with an Inter-Nordic Migration Form. Citizens of Nordic countries are not required to report to the local registry office separately. When you move away from Finland, please remember to file a notification of moving away from the country.

Work permits

The Police Station of Pori
Satakunnankatu 5, FI-28130 PORI 
Tel. +358 (0)2 623 7500 
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
www.poliisi.fi/poliisi/home.nsf/pages/index_eng

Citizens of Nordic countries, citizens of EU/ETA nations with family members, and those granted a permanent residence permit for Finland do not need a work permit, but other foreigners do. Abroad, applications for work permits are submitted to a Finnish diplomatic mission. In Finland, they always are given to the local police. The permits are granted by either the police or the Directorate of Immigration.

When applying for a work permit, you need to bring with you a completed application for a residence and work permit (forms available from the local police), a valid passport or other acceptable travel document, and a certificate from the employer of having hired you (forms available from the local employment office). The work permit will cost 134 eur, a renewed permit 40 eur.

Taxation

The Pori Tax Office
Itäpuisto 7, FI-28100 PORI
Tel. +358 (0)2 521 3500
Opening hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
www.vero.fi/default.asp?language=ENG&domain=VERO_ENGLISH

Taxes are quite high in Finland. Every employee in Finland pays taxes to the state and to the municipality of residence, on all income. The municipal income tax rate is a fixed percentage of income, which varies per municipality. The state tax rate depends on the income. All employees also pay an employment pension fee and an unemployment insurance contribution. These are withheld from the salary automatically. Insurance fees are salary-based.

For the Finnish average wage of 2,100 eur per month, taxes and fees come to approximately 33.5 per cent. Half of the taxes go to the taxpayer’s home municipality, the other half to the state and for funding of social security. Tax funds cover, for instance, education, children’s day care, and health care services, hence the system will work only if everyone makes a contribution by paying his/her share of taxes. Finns disapprove of moonlighting, but still the grey economy is flourishing in Finland just like in other European countries.

Persons arriving in Finland for a maximum of six months are subject to limited source tax, which must be paid for income. An employee who works in Finland for less than six months does not submit a tax return here.

Employees working in Finland for six months or longer are taxed on their earned income progressively, in the same way as other Finnish residents. If it is uncertain whether the stay will last over six months or not, tax at source will be levied at first. The six-month period is not tied to a calendar year, and temporary absence from the country will not prevent the authorities from considering the presence continuous.

When you begin work, do not forget to apply to the local tax office for a tax card and submit it to your employer without delay (phone applications are possible, too). Without a tax card, the tax will be 60 per cent of wages. Do not forget to take to the tax office an employment contract indicating your salary. The tax card shows your taxation rate. If you have an extra job in addition to your principal work, use the tax card for this additional income. Give the card to the employer immediately. The taxation rate depends on your income, and you can alter it whenever you need to during the year if your income changes. In addition to your income, certain deductions will influence the tax rate, such as interests paid for home loans and costs for commuting to work. You should monitor your income and tax rate yourself because if you pay too little tax, you will have to repay more the next year.

Do not forget to complete and check your tax return every year. The tax return forms will be sent to your home address. Check the deadline for returning the tax return on the forms. Most employees no longer need to complete a tax return; instead, they will receive a tax proposal by post to check and correct.