Posted workers
Posting of workers means a situation where a foreign employer sends an employee to Finland for work. The employee must normally work outside Finland and the posting must be of limited duration. The employee can be sent to Finland to do subcontracting work, temporary agency work or as part of a group-internal transfer.
The Posted Workers Act applies to employees posted to Finland, irrespective of whether the employer is from an EU country or from outside the EU. However, the act is not applied to the crew working on board ships of enterprises practising merchant shipping.
Certain provisions and regulations of Finnish law must be applied to the employment contract of workers posted to Finland in so far as they are more favourable for the worker than the provisions otherwise to be applied to them.
All provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Occupational Health Care Act and the Young Workers’ Act apply to posted workers. Some of the provisions of the Act on Equality between Women and Men also apply to posted workers. Furthermore, the provisions on working hours, annual holiday and occupational safety laid down in the generally applicable collective agreements must be observed in the employment relationships of posted workers.
Information on the social security of posted workers is provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The Finnish Centre for Pensions issues A1/E101-certificates for posted workers and makes the decisions regarding applicable social security legislation. Information about the taxation of posted workers is provided by the Finnish Tax Administration.
Amendments to the Act as of 1 May 2024
The Act was amended after the European Commission initiated infringement proceedings against Finland. The infringements concerned the EU’s implementing Directive on the posting of workers and the national implementation of the Directive concerning the Mobility Package in road transport. The purpose of the amendments is for the Act to comply with the requirements of the Directives better.
- To protect posted workers, a new provision was added to the Act, which prohibits retaliatory measures and imposes a liability for damages were the prohibition violated. The company posting the worker may not impose negative sanctions on the posted worker as a retaliatory measure or otherwise treat the worker unfavourably because the posted worker has initiated legal or administrative proceedings or contacted the authority in order to claim their rights under this Act. The purpose is to ensure that posted workers have the right to claim their rights under the Act on Posting Workers before the authorities and in court proceedings without fear of retaliation.
- The Act repeals the posting company’s obligation to notify the builder and the general contractor of the posting of workers and the contractor’s obligation to act at the request of the occupational safety and health authorities to contact the contracting partner, as well as a related negligence fee.
- The qualification requirements of the representative of the posting company have been specified. The Act also clarifies the representative’s role in communication. The Act states that the representative serve as a contact person between the posting company and the authorities.
- The information required in the notification of posting has been specified concerning the responsible persons of the posting company, which are determined in accordance with the legislation of the posting company. The responsible persons to be notified must be named. However, the persons need not be in the company’s country of establishment.
In addition, the amendments have enhanced the supervision of drivers posted in road transport by specifying the storage period of the required documents and the right of the occupational safety and health authorities to request translations.
Amendments to the Act as of 1 February 2022 (EU mobility package)
The road transport sector employees working as posted workers were placed in an equal position with posted workers in other sectors as regards the terms of employment. The provisions on pay, the employer’s responsibility for travel and accommodation costs, quality requirements for accommodation and the notification procedure for posting will apply.
The Act does not apply to the following road transport services:
- bilateral transport of goods and passengers;
- when the driver drives across the territory of a Member State without loading or unloading cargo and without picking up or setting down passengers (transit situations);
- bilateral combined transport operations subject to the restrictions laid down by law.
In future, special administrative requirements and measures supporting enforcement will be applied to subcontracted transport services in accordance with harmonised requirements implemented at EU level. At the same time, the requirement to appoint a representative will be abolished. Special obligations include:
- Employer’s (road transport operator’s) obligation to submit a notification of posting via the EU’s electronic IMI system to the EU portal Road Transport - Posting Declaration
- The notification must include the following:
- number of the Community licence issued to the transport operator;
- contact details of the competent transport manager or other contact person in the Member State of establishment who is responsible for responding to inquiries from the authorities and receiving documents or notifications;
- personal data necessary to identify the driver, personal identification number, address of residence and driving licence number;
- date of commencement of the driver’s employment contract and the legislation governing the contract;
- planned starting and ending dates of the posting;
- details of the registration numbers of the motor vehicles used;
- details of whether the service is transport of goods or passengers, international transport or cabotage.
- The driver must have the following information for roadside inspections
- a copy of the notification of posting;
- documentation of the transport service to be discharged in Finland;
- tachograph information.
- Obligation of transport operators to submit information to occupational safety and health authorities after the transport has ended
- employee work timesheets of work performed in Finland;
- proof of payment of wages;
- details of the applicable terms and conditions of employment;
- information on transport services;
- tachograph information.
Amendments to the Act as of 1 December 2020 (revised directive on posted workers)
The amendments concern
- more detailed guidelines on pay provisions applicable to posted workers;
- restrictions to the employer’s right to set off receivables against an employee’s salary;
- a new provision for making pay comparisons according to which any payments made by the employer of an uncertain nature would be regarded as compensation for expenses and not as wage or salary;
- extension of applicable collective agreements in transfers within a subcontracting or corporate group;
- application of the same accommodation quality requirements to posted and local workers;
- additional employment conditions to be applied in long postings lasting at least 12 months; and
- the employer’s obligation to compensate the posted worker’s travel, accommodation and meal expenses incurred during travel from the worker’s regular workplace in Finland during the posting.
The amendment introduce also a protection provision concerning travel and accommodation costs arising from the person’s posting to Finland. The provision apply in situations where the posted worker is not entitled to protection on the basis of the law, standard practice or employment contract of the country of origin, or the protection would be substantially below what is considered normal and reasonable for the work in question in Finland. The new provision reconciles the level of protection in the country of origin, protection agreed in the employment contract, and protection in the country of employment.
Changes to the Posted Workers Act 1.12.2020 (tyosuojelu.fi)
Supervision
Compliance with the Posted Workers Act is supervised by the occupational safety and health authorities. Compliance with the provisions of the Equality Act is supervised by the Ombudsman for Equality and the National Discrimination and Equality Tribunal.
The occupational safety and health authorities advise employers and employees in questions related to legislation on employment relationships and to generally applicable collective agreements.
The OSH Division of the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southwestern Finland serves as the Finnish liaison office required under the directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers, e-mail: postedworkersfin(at)avi.fi.
Further information
Guidance and supervision of labour legislation: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha)
Law-drafting: Päivi Kantanen, paivi.kantanen(at)gov.fi