Hiring in Finland

The terms set out role, salary in EUR, working time, leave, notice and any applicable collective agreement. The EOR is the counterparty to the employee, which is what removes the need for your own entity.

English is widely used for commercial roles. Finland has no statutory minimum wage, so pay must meet any generally binding collective agreement for the sector.

Since June 2026, a fixed-term contract of up to a year no longer needs a justified reason if the employee has not worked for the employer in the previous five years. It brings extra duties when it ends, and most EORs default to indefinite terms.

Set probation from day one. An extension is only possible for sick leave or family leave, by one month for every 30 days of absence, and the employee must be told before probation ends.

A probation exit still cannot rest on discriminatory or inappropriate grounds. Some EORs shorten probation as policy because they, not you, carry the dismissal risk. Ask before you agree a start date.

Daily overtime is paid at 1.5 times the hourly rate for the first two hours and double after that. Total working time must average no more than 48 hours a week over four months.

Senior managers fall outside the Working Hours Act, but most professional hires are covered and collective agreements often vary the rules. Put the position in writing either way.

Leave days include Saturdays, so 30 days equals five working weeks, and up to 24 days are normally taken as summer holiday between May and September. Most collective agreements add a holiday bonus of 50% of holiday pay, so include it when you budget.

The employer pays sick pay for the day the illness starts and the following nine working days, after which Kela, the social insurance institution, takes over. Parental allowance is paid by Kela, but many collective agreements require the employer to pay salary for part of the leave, so confirm which side the EOR carries.

Dismissal needs a proper reason linked to the employee, or financial and production-related grounds. Since January 2026 a proper reason is enough for personal grounds, but a warning is usually still required first.

The EOR runs the process as the legal employer and will want the paperwork in order, including the hearing, final pay and unused holiday. Unjustified dismissal can cost 3 to 24 months' pay, so keep a documented reason.

Lunch, sport and culture benefits are standard for professional roles even though they are not mandatory, and many employers extend occupational health care to GP-level treatment.

EORs often bundle benefits through a group scheme. Ask what is included in the fee and what is billed on top.

Employer contributions add around 20% on top of gross salary, led by the TyEL pension at roughly 17%. That is before the EOR fee.

The tax card is the trap. Without one on payday the employer must withhold 60%, so make sure a foreign hire has a Finnish personal identity code and tax card before the first salary run.

Ask whether the EOR files as the employer or refers to a partner. On the fast track the employer has two working days to complete its part in Enter Finland, and a partner chain can easily miss that window. Pay must also meet the relevant collective agreement or the EUR 1,600 general minimum.

Set start dates after approval, not before.

Get the data processing terms in the service agreement, not just the privacy notice. Transfers outside the EEA need an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses.

The Finnish act limits collection to data directly necessary for the job and tightly controls testing and monitoring. Ask where payroll data is hosted and who in the partner chain can see it.

Incorporation here is quick and needs no minimum share capital, but the running cost is the point: an EEA-resident board member, accounting, an auditor above the small-company thresholds, a TyEL pension contract, statutory insurance and occupational health care set an annual floor.

Permanent establishment risk is about what people do, not where payroll sits. Revenue-generating activity can create exposure regardless of the employment route.