Responsibilities and roles in supporting work ability

Maintaining and supporting work ability is the responsibility of everyone in the workplace. Employees can influence their well-being at work and work ability through the choices that they make. The employer has a legal obligation to promote healthy and safe conditions at work and to support coping at work.

If the workplace has human resource management, it is responsible for:

• planning and coordinating activities that support work ability
• developing and maintaining occupational well-being models and processes together with management, supervisors and occupational safety and health
• supporting management and supervisors in issues related to work ability.

Some organisations may have designated specialists whose duties include work ability issues. These may include work ability coordinators or employees responsible for work ability issues.

Meanwhile, in small companies, the employer or the occupational safety and health manager may manage work ability issues alongside other work.

All members of the work community influence the atmosphere at work and the interactions in the community. Continuous dialogue between the employer and personnel promotes the flow of information and employees' opportunities to influence matters at their workplace. For this reason, matters concerning work tasks, the working environment, occupational health care and competence development should be discussed with the personnel regardless of the size of the workplace.

Cooperation with personnel is a statutory obligation for profit-making companies and organisations that regularly have at least 50 employees.

Companies or organizations with 20–49 employees must comply with a lightened dialogue obligation. In certain exceptional circumstances, change negotiations must also be conducted in companies and organizations with 20–49 employees.

In smaller companies or organisations, cooperation may be based on the collective agreement.

Read the instructions:

• Cooperation guide - Office of the Cooperation OmbudsmanOpens in a new window.
• Cooperation and interaction in the daily life of the workplace (in Finnish) - Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.

Cooperation with personnel is a statutory obligation in

• municipalities and wellbeing services counties
• state agencies and institutions.

Read the instructions:

• Learn about cooperation in the local government and wellbeing services sector (in Finnish) - Local Government and County Employers KTOpens in a new window.
• Cooperation in state employment (in Finnish) - Ministry of FinanceOpens in a new window.

Cooperation in occupational safety and health involves cooperation between the employer and employees, which promotes the health and safety of work. Its key objective is to maintain employees’ work ability.

In cooperation with occupational safety and health, a labour protection officer represents the employer. The officer may be the company’s entrepreneur or owner or an employee appointed by the employer. The labour protection officer is responsible for organising cooperation in occupational safety and health.

Remember to enter the details of the employer and the workplace, all persons appointed and selected for the cooperation in occupational safety and health tasks and the provider of occupational health care services into the occupational safety and health register.

More information on other websites:

• Cooperation in occupational safety and health matters - Tyosuojelu.fiOpens in a new window.
• Occupational Health and Safety Work is All about Cooperation - The Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.
• Tasks of the Occupational Safety and Health Manager - Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.

If the workplace regularly employs at least 20 workers, an occupational safety and health committee or a similar cooperation body must be established for cooperation in occupational safety and health at the workplace. The occupational safety and health committee must discuss matters that concern a large group of employees or the workplace in general.

Read more: Occupational Safety Committee - The Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.

Occupational health cooperation means systematic and goal-oriented cooperation between the employer, employees and occupational health care.

• Occupational health care provides advice to the employer in organising occupational health care and in creating and developing approaches that support work ability and occupational health.
• Based on a hazard assessment and a workplace survey, the employer and the occupational health care provider prepare an action plan that describes how the employees’ work ability is supported at the workplace and in cooperation with the occupational health care provider.
• Occupational health care guides the employer, employees and other workplace actors in matters related to occupational health and safety.
  

When the implementation of occupational health cooperation follows legislation and good practices, the employer can receive compensation for occupational health care costs from Kela. Read more about subsidies and compensations for employers

More information on other websites:

Occupational Health Cooperation - The Centre for Occupational SafetyOpens in a new window.

Employment pension companies help their customers prevent the risk of disability by offering

• up-to-date situational awareness of risks to work ability at the workplace
• advice and tools for describing workplace practices and developing support for work ability
• training to support work ability in the workplace.

Read more: Management of disability risk as part of the activities of earnings-related pension insurers - Finnish Pension Alliance TELA (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.

Keva is an employment pension company that administers the pensions of local government, wellbeing services counties, joint authorities for health and wellbeing, the State, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Bank of Finland and the Local Government and County Employers KT.

• Keva helps its customers in the strategic management of well-being at work and work ability.
• Keva also has a statutory duty to reduce disability risks.

Keva's services for employers:

• Consultation and advice on earnings-related pension insurance
• Support for the management of well-being at work and work ability
• Events, training and workshops
• Services for supporting employees’ work ability

Contact your customer manager when you need help in developing your workplace practices or occupational health cooperation.

Read more:

• Services for employers (in Finnish) - KevaOpens in a new window.
• Diminished work ability support for employees - KevaOpens in a new window.

Other employment pension companies and insurers advise their customers in the assessment, management and reduction of work ability risks. An employment pension company may financially support measures aimed at reducing the risk of disability, but it cannot itself provide them to the customer.

Ask your employer's employment pension provider what kind of support they can provide:

• Elo’s work ability management servicesOpens in a new window.
• Ilmarinen's work ability servicesOpens in a new window.
• Farmers' Social Insurance Institution Mela work ability services Opens in a new window.
• Seafarers’ Pension Fund’s well-being at work servicesOpens in a new window.
• Varma’s work ability management servicesOpens in a new window.
• Veritas’ work ability servicesOpens in a new window.