Employers posting workers to Finland have an obligation to give notification of this

From 1 September 2017, any foreign company posting workers to Finland must provide notification of this to the occupational safety and health authorities before work is commenced. This advance notification must be made when the posting of workers is based on a contract made after 18 June 2016 and the work to be performed by the posted workers begins after 1 September 2017.

The obligation to notify relates to all workers covered by the provisions of the Act on Posting Workers. This means all workers that a foreign employer (the ‘posting undertaking’) posts to Finland for a limited period on the basis of a contract concerning the cross-border provision of services as subcontracted work, as temporary agency work or as an internal transfer within a group of undertakings.

A notification of the posting of workers is not required if the employer is posting workers to Finland by means of an internal transfer within a group of undertakings for no more than five working days. The calculation of the number of days must include not only the period of the posting in question but also all other periods in the four months preceding the end of the posting during which the worker transferred internally by the same group of undertakings was working in Finland. However, this exemption does not apply to building work. In the case of building work notification must always be submitted before work is performed.

Content of notification

The notification must include the following:

• the posting undertaking's identification details, contact information, foreign tax identification number and details of those responsible within the posting undertaking in the country in which it is established
• the identification details and contact information of the contractor
• the identification details and contact information of the builder and the general contractor in the case of building work
• the anticipated number of posted workers
• the identification details of the posting undertaking’s representative in Finland and his or her contact information in Finland, or details of the grounds under which no representative need be appointed
• the starting date of the workers' posting and the anticipated duration of the posting
• place of work
• the sector in which the posted workers will work.

If the previously notified information changes significantly, the posting undertaking must submit a supplementary notification immediately the changes take place. The provision of such a supplementary notification is a requirement for the work to continue.

In the case of building work, this supplementary notification must also be submitted to the builder and the general contractor before work can be performed; the same applies to the advance notification.

Notifications about the posting of workers may be submitted to the occupational safety and health authorities using the online form given on the Tyosuojelu.fi website. Alternatively, notifications may be submitted to a private service provider, for instance in the Tilaajavastuu.fi service, which will then forward the information to the occupational safety and health authorities.

Negligence fee

A negligence fee may be imposed if the posting undertaking has not submitted a notification about posted workers, if there is a deficiency in the notification or if significant changes have occurred but the posting undertaking has not submitted a supplementary notification of these. The exact amount of the negligence fee, which is a minimum of EUR 1,000 but no more than EUR 10,000, will be determined by the occupational safety and health authorities.