Employing a care provider or a home help

The company or the self-employed person selling domestic help (e.g. a cleaner who works as a sole trader) gives you an invoice for the services and you will pay it as normal. The company or the self-employed person pays the required taxes and social insurance contributions. It is a normal customer relationship between the company and you.

Contact the local tax office to find out, if you can get deductions in your tax assessment.

If the day care provider or the domestic help does not work for a company or as self-employed, the form of work is an employment relationship in which you are the employer. 

When you become an employer

• Draw up an employment contract with the employee in which you determine the hours of work, work tasks, salary, pay day and other similar matters. 
• You have to arrange preventive occupational health care.
• You are obligated to request the employee to show an extract from criminal records if the employment relationship is to last longer than three months during the year. The employee orders the extract from the Legal Register Centre themselves.

Statutory insurance

• As an employer, you have a responsibility to deduct and remit the earnings-related pension contributions and  sickness insurance premiums from the salaries you pay. 
• If you pay a salary of more than 1 500 euros during a calendar year and the employee is 18–64 years old, you must pay the unemployment insurance contributions.
• You are also responsible for purchasing  occupational accident and disease insurance if you pay more than 1 500 euros during a calendar year. You must purchase insurance before the employee begins work. The insurance cannot be purchased retrospectively. You should also consult the insurance company on whether you need to take out group life insurance. 

Payment of salary

• Ask your employee to produce their tax card and provide their bank details.
• Remit withholding tax from the salaries you have paid to the Tax Administration. 
• As an employer, you are responsible for paying, in addition to the regular salary, the  salary for the days of leave accrued during the employment relationshipOpens in a new window.  (tyosuojelu.fi).

You can pay the salary and related costs, for example, through the Palkka.fi Opens in a new window.service (finnish). The service sends the necessary notifications to the relevant authorities and pension insurance companies and provides guidance on how to calculate the salary and the additional costs. If you do not use the Palkka.fi service, remember to report the salary and related costs you have paid to the Incomes Register. Please note that, when reporting the salary information, Palkka.fi does not send details on occupational accidents and disease insurance to the Incomes Register or non-life insurance company.

Read more about employment relationships on the Työsuojelu.fi website.Opens in a new window.

Already agree on how the employment relationship can be terminated when you sign the employment contract. A fixed-term contract is in force for a fixed period of time and can only be terminated during the contract period if both parties agree on this. Statutory periods of notice apply to an employment contract that has been made until further notice.

As an employer, you have the obligation to comply with the legislation on employment relationships. You may be held legally responsible if you break the law.

If you employ a day care provider to look after your under-3-year-old child at home, you can choose which of the following to apply for from Kela:

• child home care allowance 
• private day care allowance. 

If you choose home care subsidy, you can use the subsidy to pay the day care provider’s salary. If you choose private day care allowance, Kela will pay the allowance directly to the day care provider you have employed.

When the child is over three years old, you can apply to Kela only for private day care allowance. You are eligible for the private day care allowance until your child begins going to school. 

If you employ a day care provider together with other parents, each family is separately entitled to child home care allowance and private day care allowance.