Posting of employees means that a foreign company temporarily sends an employee to Finland to work when the company has agreed to provide the service in Finland. The posted worker’s permanent job is in a country other than Finland. The legal basis for posting is in EU legislation, which is provided for in the Finnish Act on the Posting of Workers (447/2016). The aim is to ensure the protection of posted workers during their posting.
The posting company must notify the occupational safety and health authority when it sends workers to Finland. These notifications provide information on, among other things, the extent of the phenomenon. Last year, a total of 10,003 notifications were sent from 57 different countries, involving almost 20,000 workers. The three largest countries of origin were reportedly Estonia, Germany and Poland.
Deficiencies in the salaries of posted workers
The inspections concerning posted workers are aimed at foreign employers who send their employees to work in Finland, as well as at companies that are contractors for posting companies. A total of 238 inspections were carried out last year. The majority of inspections focused on the construction and industrial sectors, which have the highest number of posted workers.
Most of the shortcomings identified were related to employee wages. The salary of posted workers in Finland must be at least in accordance with a valid collective agreement. The legality of the payment of wages was verified by 85 inspections, of which 43 provided written advice to correct employees’ wages. “We see the same shortcomings from year to year,” says the unit’s head Anna Pärtty From the Occupational Safety Division of the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southwest Finland. “The reason is probably the turnover of the employers to be inspected, and those employers who receive a lot of negative feedback will not send their employees to Finland again. Still, some sending companies are correcting their procedures. “
More negligence charges than before
The law of the sender provides for non-payment to the sending company if it fails to fulfill its obligations under the same law. These obligations include making a shipment notification, appointing a representative to Finland and keeping certain information available. Most of the payments related to the non-notification of the posting of workers. The total amount of fees collected so far last year was € 149,000, compared to € 99,500 in 2020. It should be noted that some of the processes started in 2021 are still pending.
More than half of the contractors received written advice
The audited contractors consisted mainly of Finnish companies with a subcontractor or contract partner who sent employees to the contractor in Finland. In more than half of these inspections, the occupational health and safety inspector gave written advice after noticing what needs to be rectified in the contractor’s operations. The most common reason for providing written advice was the contractor’s obligation to ensure that the contractor has given notice of the posting of workers.
The liaison authority will advise and report
The Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southwest Finland acts as a liaison authority that provides general advice on posting legislation in Finland. The liaison body shall also be responsible for compiling an annual summary of the control measures and notifications concerning the shipment.
Source: Occupational safety and health
Source: The Nordic Page