If you have posted workers in Finland, you have probably heard of the new legislation coming into force early this autumn, which obligates a posting company to notify the authorities about the posting. If you’re wondering how the legislation will affect you, here’s a summary of the basics!
A posted worker is an employee temporarily posted in Finland for a certain time period by their employer. The employee normally works in a country other than Finland and their employer is established in another country where they are significantly engaged in the trade. The posted worker can be posted in Finland either to work under a subcontract, as an internal transfer within a company, or as a temporary agency worker.
Both the new Act on Posting Workers (447/2016) and the old Posted Workers Act (1146/1999) apply to posted workers. Note that the old act will still apply to posted workers when the new act comes into force if these workers have been posted to Finland based on a contract that concluded before 18 June 2016. The aim of this legislation is to place posted workers on an equal footing with Finnish workers. More information on the act and its scope of application can be found on the website of the Regional State Administrative Agencies.
Starting from 1 September 2017, a posting company must also submit a notification on the posting of workers to the Regional State Administrative Agencies. In the construction sector, a notification must always be submitted. In other cases, a notification is to be submitted when the work takes over 5 days. The notification must be given before the contractual work begins.
When must I submit a notification?
- When a contract has been made after 18 June 2016 and when the posted worker’s work begins after 1 September 2017.
- Before or at the very latest on the same day that the contractual work begins.
- A complementary notification must be submitted if information in a notification changes substantially
- In the construction sector, a notification must always be submitted.
- In the construction sector, a notification must also be given to the builder and main contractor in addition to submitting it to the Regional State Administrative Agencies. This also applies to complementary notifications.
The notification is contractor- and workplace-specific. In other words, if work is done for several different contractors or in several different locations, separate notifications must be submitted for each of them.
When am I not required to submit a notification?
- A notification does not have to be given if the worker is posted in Finland as an internal transfer within a group of undertakings for a maximum period of 5 business days. In determining this time period, the duration of the current posting period and all previous posting periods for the last four months, during which the posted worker has worked in Finland, will be considered. In the construction sector, however, a notification must always be submitted.
What information must I include in the notification?
- Identifying details of the company, contract information, foreign tax identification number and information on the responsible persons of the posting company.
- Identifying details and contact information of the contractor
- Estimated number of posted workers
- Identifying details and contact information of the posting company’s representative in Finland or information indicating why a representative does not need to be selected
- Starting date of the posting of workers and the estimated duration of the posting
- Place where the work will be carried out
- Branch in which the worker will work
- Identifying details and contact information of the builder and the main contractor for companies in the construction sector
How can a notification be submitted?
A notification can be submitted with an e-form on the Regional State Administrative Agencies’ website. More information on this can be found on their website.
For more information on the duty to report, please read the Regional State Administrative Agencies’ brochure on the topic.
