NEWCOMER’S GUIDE FOR
WORKING WITH FINESTA
Welcome to work in Finesta’s team in Finland!
What it is like to work in Finland?
In Finland, we have lots of legislation and regulations to protect employees. People are always guaranteed to have their salaries - there are systems to protect employee’s salaries even in the case of bankruptcy! In Finland, all kind of contracts are very highly appreciated. When you sign the work contract with the Finnish company the work is guaranteed. Finnish companies also expect that this appreciation works vice versa. If you sign the Finnish contract everybody expects you to come to the work and do the length of the contract. If you don’t follow the contract, you have signed Finnish employers take it quite badly – usually, word spreads and the next contract is quite hard to get. In Finland, nobody is going to scam you at work. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect: There might be errors in salaries and so on, but they are always fixed. (If the error is complicated it might take some time, but in the end, you surely get what belongs to you!)
Travelling to work
Our accommodation is usually quite near the place of work. There is a few exceptions, but they are always informed before signing the contract. In the bigger cities there is usually very good public transport, but prices can be quite high compared to the Baltics or Southern Europe. In Finland, quite many people walk to work and everything under 5km is considered a walking distance – even if the weather is not perfect. If you come with your car keep in mind that gasoline is pricey in Finland. Another thing worth considering is that if you stay more than six months in Finland you may be needed to register your car and pay taxes. That is also monitored by the authorities!
Weather in Finland
In Finland weather is quite like Baltics. At the summertime days are usually reasonably mild, but winters can be chilly even in the summertime. Wintertime is different though: At Southern Finland there are usually some periods of really cold days meaning that temperatures are even -25 degrees centigrade, but most of the time it’s fluctuating from a couple of minus degrees to a couple of plus degrees. That means that the weather is usually extremely unpleasant, lot of moist snow, water and dampness. Waterproof shoes might be a very good idea as well as water and windproof jackets. In the northern winter, most of the winter months are very cold, from -10 degrees to even -35 degrees centigrade. That means that you need some serious clothing to cope with. On those conditions, usability of clothing should come over style. If you need some good ideas about where to get affordable clothing for the winter season, we are happy to help.
Work culture and social life
In a Finnish job places foreign people are usually very welcomed – almost everywhere is lot of seasonal workers, immigrants and asylum seekers so people are quite used to different nationalities. One of the big social barriers might be the language. Most of Finnish people speak at least some English and usually at least management level people are very fluent on it. In general, there will be many of those colleagues who speaks very good conversational English. However, people usually tend to socialize in their own language so some people might feel a little bit left out. When you work abroad you usually need to accept that it is not very easy to feel to be part of community – especially if you just work for the season. (Of course, that heavily depends on the place. For example, in many Lapland resorts there is so many seasonal workers that it is very easy to find fellow minded people.) If you are staying more or less long term, we very much encourage you to learn at least some Finnish. It will make your life much easier.
Internet connections and mobile phones
In Finland, we have one of the most modern cell phone systems in the world. If you have some limitations on your current mobile plan, it is a good idea to buy a Finnish prepaid. There is plenty of options ranging for just a couple of euros for phone calls to about 15€/month prepaid plans with unlimited calls in Europe and limitless 5G internet on Finland. Most of our accommodation there is also WIFI, but that is not guaranteed. If you need help choosing the mobile plan, we are happy to help you to right direction!
FINNISH WORK CONTRACT
Your career with Finesta begins when you sign a work contract. Once you've put down your signature, congratulations! You're now a Finesta employee! The work contract is made in accordance with Finnish work legislation, and you will receive a copy in English. If there's anything you don't understand, please don't hesitate to ask. We're here to help.
Working at Finesta
You'll be working at one of Finesta's client companies, but please keep in mind that Finesta is legally your employer. This means that Finesta will take care of all employment-related issues, such as paying your salary and providing insurance coverage. The client company, where you'll be working, will be responsible for assigning daily tasks, work schedules, and providing a named supervisor for you.
It's important to always follow your supervisor's instructions when performing your tasks. If you wish to take a holiday or unpaid leave, please first negotiate this with your supervisor and then with Finesta. We generally follow the client company's policies.
If you're unable to come to work due to illness or other reasons, please inform both your foreman and the contact person at Finesta immediately. Your contact person at Finesta will provide you with further instructions if you're unable to find a suitable solution through healthcare instructions provided by email.
If you make any special arrangements with your supervisor, please let Finesta know by sending an email to finsupport@finestaworks.com.
REGISTERING YOUR RESIDENCE
As an EU citizen, you don't need to apply for a work permit in Finland. You can start working immediately after arriving in Finland. To enter Finland, you need a valid passport or EU ID-card. If you plan to work in Finland for more than 90 days, you need to register your right to residence. The application must be submitted within 90 days after arriving in Finland. You can register online or by visiting the immigration services in person. For more information, please visit the Finnish Immigration Services website at https://migri.fi/en/registration-of-right-of-residence.
If you're relocating to Finland for a year or longer, you should also register your residence with the Digital and Population Service Agency. For more information on registration, please visit their website at https://dvv.fi/en/foreigner-registration.
FINNISH ID-CODE AND INCOME TAX CARD
To receive a salary payment in Finland, you need both a Finnish ID-code and an income tax card. You can obtain both from selected service bureaus of the Finnish Tax Administration. To get your ID-code and income tax card, you need to visit a service bureau in person. You can find an up-to-date list of service bureaus that can issue you an ID-code and income tax card at https://vero.fi/en/individuals/tax-cards-and-tax-returns/arriving_in_finland/foreign-employees-can-get-identity-codes-at-a-tax-office/.
When you visit the service bureau, please bring your travel document (passport or ID-card) and your work contract with you, as you will need them to apply for an income tax card and the Finnish ID-code. It's important to visit the tax services as soon as possible after arriving in Finland! For more information, please visit https://vero.fi/en/individuals/tax-cards-and-tax-returns/arriving_in_finland/work_in_finland/.
Please note that if you do not provide an income tax card to Finesta, we can only pay your salary by using 60% as your income tax percentage, as mandated by Finnish legislation.
In Finland so called progressive taxation is in use. It means that income tax percentage varies depending on persons incomes in Finland during the year. When you obtain the income tax card the tax percentage is counted with the information given by you. If you find out that you are going to earn more than the annual salary limit, contact the tax office and raise the limit. (Usually that also raises your income tax percentage.) Please keep in mind that the income tax card is solely in employee’s responsibility so keep eye on your income and adjust the limits as needed. Keep in mind that you might need to declare income and/or pay taxes to your home country. Contact your home country’s tax department for detailed information – unfortunately, we cannot help in this as there is so many different cases when it comes to international taxation.
ACCOMMODATION IN FINLAND
If Finesta has agreed to provide you with accommodation in Finland during your employment, you will receive further information about obtaining keys and arriving at the accommodation before you arrive in Finland. However, you are free to find your own accommodation if you prefer!
Please take good care of cleaning and maintaining the accommodation. We expect that you will leave the accommodation in the same condition as it was before you arrived! If you cause any damage to your place of accommodation due to negligence or on purpose, you will be required to compensate for the damage. Finesta may deduct these compensations from your final salary after notifying you about the deduction.
HYGIENE PASSPORT
Finnish legislation requires that everyone who works with food must have a Hygiene Passport. To obtain your Hygiene Passport, you need to take the Hygiene Passport test, which can be taken in English in larger towns in Finland. (You can work three first month without one, but if you are planning to work in Finland more than that we recommend you do it right away. Finesta will book a time for your Hygiene Passport testing, which is valid indefinitely. We will contact you about the hygiene passport well before you start work.
Your contact person at Finesta will contact you to agree on a suitable time for the test. You can find more information about the hygiene passport from https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/en/private-persons/hygiene-passport/.
SALARY PAYMENT
To ensure timely salary payments, you must provide your working hours. In some places of work, we get hours directly from the client and in some of the places you should provide us with the hours. We will provide you with the information which is the case with your job. Provide hours promptly after each salary period. For example, if you get a salary every two weeks, send hours from 1st to 15th of every month at 16th. That way we have plenty of time to do payrolls and contact you if needed.
We can pay your salary to any European bank account. However, if you plan to stay in Finland for an extended period, it might be a good idea to open a Finnish bank account. With a Finnish bank account, you can access your salary slips through your web banking application. If you do not have a Finnish bank account, you can still check your salary slips in LikeIt – the same system where you register your hours. (Please note that we cannot send salary slips via email due to GDPR privacy regulations.)
If you notice any discrepancies with your salary (such as missing supplements, or incorrect payment amounts), please send an email to hello@finestaworks.com immediately after noticing the error. Please be specific about the issue. We will correct the issue and contact you if we need any further information.
SICK LEAVES AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTHCARE
If you get sick and cannot go to work, please inform your supervisor at our client company and your contact person at Finesta Finland Oy. Informing people at our client (your place of work) is a thing you should do right away.
As an employee of Finesta Finland, you are entitled to the services of occupational health care. You need to obtain a sick leave certificate for all sick leaves.
To obtain a certificate, you need to book an appointment with a doctor at Mehiläinen, which is Finesta's occupational health care provider. You can book an appointment by phone. For phone booking, call +358 10 414 0200. Usually, they will be able to solve your problem by a phone call or video call. Have your Finnish ID-code available, they will ask it on a phone to identify you.
If your place of accommodation is too far from our occupational health care provider, you can also use the services of public health care at a health care center (terveysasema). There is at least one “terveysasema” in every city, and bigger cities have several. Using occupational healthcare services is free for you. However, using the services of terveysasema may have some attending fees, which are usually quite affordable. For more information, you can contact your own health centre.
Days of, work schedules and free time
In Finland, there should be ready-made work schedules which are available to employees at least one week in advance. After publishing the schedule all changes should be agreed upon by both parties. If you need some time off, please let your supervisor at the workplace know about it in a timely manner. Usually, requests can be followed, but in high season there might be times when it’s impossible to.
If something very unexpected happens and you need some unpaid leave after making the schedule negotiate it with your supervisor. Usually, everything can be arranged. Keep in mind that if you just don’t come to work it might lead written warning or even immediately cancelling the contract. So, better negotiate and be open.
ACCIDENT AT WORK
In the event of an accident at work, report it immediately to your supervisor at the client company and the employee responsible at Finesta as soon as possible. If you need to go to the hospital or clinic, please mention there that your visit is because accident at work. Give them the following information: Your employer is Finesta Finland Oy and your insurance company is “If”.
An accident at work is a sudden, unexpected event caused by external factors that result in injury to the employee. An accident at work is considered to have occurred within the employee's workplace area, during their commute from home to work and vice versa, or during a business trip specified by the employer.
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