Foreign workers
A foreign employee must have a right to work in Finland during their entire employment relationship. The same terms and conditions of employment, occupational safety requirements and statutory insurance obligations that apply to your Finnish employees also apply to your foreign employee.
Ensure that the foreign employee’s right to work is valid for the entire duration of the employment relationship. Keep the documents stating the grounds for the employee’s right to work and other information concerning your foreign employee for four years after the end of their employment relationship. This information must be available at the workplace so that occupational safety officials may inspect them as required.
Ensure that your company arranges its foreign employee’s salary-related matters and statutory insurances in compliance with the applicable regulations. You must also pay your foreign employee’s earnings-related pension contribution, occupational accident and disease insurance contribution as well as unemployment insurance contribution. You must pay the employer’s health insurance contribution for every employee with a monthly wage of EUR 800.02 or more. You must take out employment pension insurance for every employee with a monthly wage of EUR 68.57 or more. The insurance policy must be in effect from the employee’s first working day.
At the webpage To Finland from Abroad of the Finnish Centre for PensionsOpens in a new window., you can find more information about taking out pension insurance for foreign employees. The Social security contributions when working abroad serviceOpens in a new window. helps you find out if you as an employer are obliged to pay statutory social insurance payments concerning your employees
Read more:
- The employer's statutory insurances
- Prepayment of taxes, health insurance and unemployment insurance contributions
Statutory occupational health care services also apply to your foreign employees. If your employees work in conditions where there is a distinct risk to health, arrange regular medical examinations for them regardless of their nationality.
Your foreign employee’s employment contract or the statement on the essential terms and conditions of their employment relationship must state all the same information as the corresponding documents of your Finnish employees.
Ensure that your employee understands the content of the contract or statement. Pay particular attention to explaining to the foreign employee all matters related to salary, working hours and overtime because the practices in the employee’s home country may differ significantly from the Finnish terms and conditions of employment.
If your employee is not an EU or EEA national
- provide the TE Services with the employee’s employment contract or the statement on the essential terms and conditions of their employment relationship and copies of their passport and residence permit card
- inform a representative of your personnel, such as a shop steward or an occupational safety and health representative, about the employee’s name and the applicable collective agreement.
If the duration of your foreign employee’s employment relationship is longer than six months, instruct them to apply for a Finnish tax cardOpens in a new window..
A Finnish tax card is also required if your foreign employee is considered to reside in Finland even if their employment relationship in Finland would last less than six months.
If your employee’s employment relationship lasts less than six months, and their domicile is abroad, they must apply for a tax-at-source card. Withhold tax at source from the foreign employee’s salary in compliance with the tax card.
Alternatively, your employee may apply for a nonresident’s tax card. In that case, they will be taxed progressively which means that their tax rate increases as their income increases.
If it is not certain whether the duration of your foreign worker’s employment relationship is longer or shorter than six months, they must apply for a tax-at-source card or a nonresident’s tax card at first.
If your foreign employee comes from an EU or an EEA country or Switzerland, they usually have the right to receive social security and health insurance benefits. Their rights depend on the extent of their right to work.
If your employee comes from a country not mentioned above, and the salary-related minimum requirements are met, they have the right to receive health insurance benefits. In addition, they may have the right to receive certain other benefits provided by Kela. If the work does not meet the minimum requirements, your employee is usually entitled to public health care.
Your foreign employee may provide you with authorisation to act on behalf of them in matters related to Kela’s services. When the employment relationship ends, remind the foreign employee that they must notify the Digital and Population Data Services Agency if they no longer work and live in Finland.
For further information about the conditions of eligibility for social security, visit Kela’s From other countries to Finland pageOpens in a new window..