HR Services in Finland

Yes, if agreed: up to 6 months from the start, and at most half of a fixed term. You can extend it a month per 30 days of sick or family leave if you tell the employee before it ends. Either side can end the contract during probation, but not on discriminatory grounds or grounds unrelated to probation, and you must hear the employee first. We make sure your contracts reflect these rules.

Non-wage costs, such as employer social contributions, add about 21% on top of gross wages (Eurostat, 2025). If employment has lasted at least a month, the employer also pays full salary for the day an employee falls ill and the next 9 weekdays (Monday to Saturday). Our Compensation & Benefits Strategy builds a reward framework aligned with Finnish law, market data and internal equity.

Regular hours are up to 8 a day and 40 a week; with overtime, 48 a week on average over four months, or a longer period under a collective agreement. Overtime needs consent and earns 50% for the first 2 daily hours, 100% after. Daily rest is at least 11 hours, as a rule; managers who set their own hours are excluded. We structure work schedules that comply and still leave room for flexibility.

If employment has lasted at least a month, you pay full salary for the day the illness starts and the next 9 weekdays (Monday to Saturday); if less, 50%. Then Kela’s sickness allowance can take over; if you keep paying salary, the allowance goes to you, up to the salary paid. Employees must give reliable proof of illness on request. We put clear sick leave policies in place.

Employees earn 2.5 days per full month worked, or 2 if employed under a year by March 31: up to 30 weekdays (Monday to Saturday) a year. As a rule, 24 days go in the summer season, May 2 to September 30, and staff paid weekly or monthly keep that pay on leave. We keep you compliant with leave entitlements and help you offer a competitive benefits package.

It’s strict, not impossible. Unless agreed otherwise, your notice runs from 14 days to 6 months, by length of service. Since January 1, 2026, personal-grounds dismissal needs a proper reason, as a rule after a warning and a hearing, and economic dismissal a substantial and permanent drop in work. Unjustified dismissal costs up to 24 months’ pay (30 for shop stewards), at least 3 on personal grounds. We guide you through every step.

Not as a rule. A fixed term you initiate needs a justified reason, and repeated fixed terms can’t cover a permanent need. Two exceptions allow up to a year without one: a first contract with someone you haven’t employed in five years (since June 1, 2026), or someone unemployed for the past 12 months. One you initiate that breaks these rules counts as open-ended. We make sure every fixed-term contract meets these rules.

If a generally binding collective agreement covers your sector, yes, even outside an employers’ association: apply at least its terms; conflicting contract terms are void. Employers bound by another national agreement, usually through their association, may apply that one instead. With no agreement and no agreed pay, you owe usual and reasonable pay. We keep you compliant with any agreement that applies, with as much flexibility as it allows.

From 20 regular employees, the Co-operation Act requires dialogue with staff or their representatives, and change negotiations before economic dismissals, layoffs, part-time moves or essential changes to terms: from 50 even for one person, from 20 to 49 when 20 or more are affected within 90 days, as a rule. Representatives are shop stewards or elected representatives, plus an occupational safety representative at workplaces of 10 or more. We guide you in working with employee representatives.

Finland missed the June 7, 2026 deadline for the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Its bill (HE 129/2026), still in Parliament, would apply from January 1, 2027: starting pay or its range for applicants, pay information on request and, from 2028, gender pay gap reports from employers of 150 or more (100 to 149 from 2031). Already, employers with at least 30 employees need an equality plan with a pay survey, as a rule at least every two years. Our Compensation & Benefits Strategy covers EU Pay Transparency readiness.

Occupational safety and health inspectors (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, since January 1, 2026) give written instructions or a notice to fix breaches, such as missing written terms or working-time records. If you don’t comply, the authority can order a fix under a conditional fine, and reports suspected work offenses to the police. Missing written terms and breaking working-time limits are punishable by fines. We conduct regular compliance audits so your documentation is ready for inspection.