Recruiting an employee

In temporary agency work, the employment relationship is between the temporary agency and the employee, so you do not have to enter into an employment contract with the employee. Instead, you enter into an agreement with the temporary agency on hiring an employee. Among other things, the agreement specifies the duties of the temporary agency employee and the amount of compensation paid by your company.

In apprenticeship training, your company makes:

• an apprenticeship agreement with the student and the education provider
• a fixed-term employment contract with the student for the duration of the training
• an agreement concerning the payment of training compensation by the education provider if the training incurs costs to the employer.

Remember that if you apply for a pay subsidy from the TE Office, the apprenticeship agreement or employment relationship cannot start before a decision on the subsidy is made.

When a suitable student is found, perform the following:

• for unpaid traineeships, create a traineeship agreement with the educational institution
• make an agreement on on-the-job learning with the organiser of labour market training and person to be trained.

When you hire an employee, you enter into an employment contract with them in which you agree on the work, the salary to be paid for the work, and other benefits and terms and conditions of the employment relationship. You can also agree on a trial period in the employment contract, during which it is possible to ensure that the employee is suitable for the work tasks.

An employment contract should always be made in writing and signed before the start of the work, even though an oral and electronic agreement are possible. This makes it possible to prove later what has been agreed between the employer and the employee. Make the employment contract in two copies: one for your company and one for the employee.

It is possible to conclude an employment contract in free form. Using an employment contract template helps you to take into account all necessary things.

For additional information on concluding an employment contract and the employment contract template, visit the Tyosuojelu.fi online service.Opens in a new window.

You can check the main terms and conditions of an employment relationship in the Employment Contracts ActOpens in a new window. so that everything that is necessary is agreed upon in the employment contract.

For help with concluding an employment contract, contact the occupational safety and health authorities' advisory service or the entrepreneurs' organisation, if you are a member of one.

If the demand for labour is not fixed, variable working hours may also be agreed in the employment contract.

Variable working hours refer to work time arrangements where the employee’s work time varies between a minimum amount and maximum amount during a specific period pursuant to their employment contract, or a work time arrangement where the employee commits to carrying out work for the employer when separately called on to do so.

You may conclude an indefinitely valid employment contract also with a minor if they are at least 15 years old and have completed their compulsory education.

Other matters to be taken into account when concluding an employment contract with a minor:

• Young people aged 15 or over may make, terminate and terminate their employment contracts themselves.
• An employment contract can be concluded on behalf of a person under the age of 15 by the guardian or, with the permission of the guardian, by the young person themselves.
• The guardian has the right to cancel the employment contract of a young employee if such cancellation is necessary due to the young person's upbringing, development or health.
• Before concluding the employment contract, employers must provide the young employee with a written account of the terms and conditions of the employment contract at the request of the young employee or their guardian, unless the agreement contract is made in writing.

Read more about matters related to a young worker’s employment contract on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's website.Opens in a new window.

Also note that the rights and obligations of a young worker in an employment relationship are partly determined differently from those of an adult worker.

Give your employee a written account of the terms of employment if you enter into an employment contract orally and the employee works for at least three hours a week during a period of four consecutive weeks. An account must also be provided if the minimum requirements of the employment contract are not stated in the written employment contract.

The written account must be given as soon as possible. You can give the account as one or more documents or by referring to the law or collective agreement applicable to the employment relationship.

If an employee repeatedly works in your company under the same terms and conditions in fixed-term employment relationships of less than one month, you do not have to present the account repeatedly, if the terms and conditions of employment do not change. However, if the terms and conditions change, inform your employee of the new terms and conditions in writing without a separate request.

Foreign employees are subject to the same terms and conditions of employment as Finnish employees.

The employer and the employee must agree on the terms and conditions of the employment relationship before obtaining a work-based residence permit, since the employer must provide information on the terms and conditions of the employment relationship in the application for a residence permit.

An employment contract can be concluded either before or after the employee's arrival in Finland.

The employer must:

• ensure that a foreign worker has a residence permit and the right to work in Finland or that they do not need a residence permit
• ensure that the employee's right to work is valid throughout the employment relationship
• inform the shop steward of the workplace of the employee's name and the applicable collective agreement.

Please note that foreign workers already in Finland may have the right to work even if they do not have a residence permit on the basis of employment. They may have a residence permit in Finland, for example on the basis of family ties or studies.

You can find information on the right to work with different residence permits on the Finnish Immigration Service's Work in Finland pageOpens in a new window..

If the trainee arrives:

• from a Nordic country, they does not need a residence permit. However, they must register their stay at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's service location if their stay in Finland lasts for more than three months.
• a Member State of the European Union, Liechtenstein or Switzerland (EU and EEA countries), they do not need a residence permit. However, they must register their stay with the Finnish Immigration Service if their stay in Finland lasts more than three months. The registration can be done electronically in the Enter Finland service or with a paper application.
• from outside EU or EEA countries, they must obtain a residence permit based on their work practice before arriving in Finland.

If you are hiring for a traineeship a foreigner who is already residing in Finland, check from the residence permit card that they have the right to work. For example, a student can complete practical work training that is part of their studies with a student's residence permit.

If your employee does not live in Finland and:

• is not a citizen of an EU or EEA country, they must apply for a residence permit based on employment
• is a citizen of an EU or EEA country, they must register their right of residence.

There are no work permits in Finland, but there are more than 20 different residence permits that can be applied for on the basis of work. On the Finnish Immigration Service's Applications page, familiarise yourself with the different employee's residence permits and advise your employee to apply for the right type of permit.

The employee must apply for a residence permit themselves in the Enter Finland service before arriving in Finland. As an employer, you must participate in submitting the application by providing the necessary information in Enter Finland, where you can also pay the processing fee for the application.

If you hire an employee from outside the EU, you must provide the TE Office or the local government pilot project with information on the work, i.e. the name of the employee, the duration of the employment relationship, the salary and the applicable collective agreement.

You do not need to submit the notification if your worker has just applied for a residence permit on the basis of work, and you have typed in the terms and conditions of employment in your worker's residence permit application.

You can submit the notification in the Employer's Enter Finland service.

Remote work is a way of organising work. An employee cannot demand a possibility to work remotely and the employer cannot force an employee to work remotely. As a rule, remote work is subject to all laws and agreements concerning the employment relationship.

It is not mandatory to make a separate agreement on remote work; instead, the employer can make remote work possible by providing instructions. In some situations, it is advisable to make a written agreement on remote work and then add the agreement as an appendix to the employment contract.

For additional information on organising remote work, visit the Federation of Finnish Enterprises' website (in Finnish).Opens in a new window.

Employees also keep their business secrets secret even without separate agreements. If necessary, you can conclude a separate non-disclosure agreement with the employee, by which the employee undertakes to keep the employer's business secrets and confidential information secret.

The agreement should always be made in writing. It is a good idea to record at least:

• the parties to the agreement
• what kind of information the agreement covers
• the purposes for which the information may or may not be used.

The agreement should also include a non-disclosure provision for the period after the termination of the employment relationship.

The non-disclosure agreement can be strengthened by a contractual penalty.

A non-compete agreement refers to all agreements or terms and conditions that restrict an employee's ability to find employment with another employer after the previous employment relationship has ended. An agreement that prevents an employee from engaging activity that competes with their employer after the termination of an employment relationship, is also a non-compete agreement under the Employment Contracts Act.

A non-compete agreement can only be concluded for a particularly weighty reason related to the employer's activities or employment relationship. The non-compete agreement does not bind the employee if the employment relationship has ended for a reason attributable to the employer.

A compensation which is 40–60 % of the employee's salary must be paid for the duration of the non-compete agreement.