Hire employees and manage payroll in Finland

Our guide to employing in Finland.

Country Facts

The Republic of Finland. It is a member of the UN, the OECD, the EU and the Eurozone, as well as being involved in the NATO partnership for peace and the Euro-atlantic partnership council.

Finland’s nominal GDP is 277 billion dollars, making it the world’s 43rd largest economy. It’s Human Development Index is at 0.931, which ranks as very high, with a global ranking of 11th. Finland is a regular top performer in metrics of national performers. For example, between 2011-2015 they were ranked as the most stable country in the world in the Fragile State Index and since 2018 they have continually been ranked as the happiest country in the world.


Capital Helsinki	Currency Euro (EUR)	Languages spoken Finnish, Swedish
Population size (2020) 5,53 million	Ease of doing business (world bank ranking) 20	Cost of living index(2021) 77,46
Payroll frequency Monthly	VAT - standard rate 24%	GDP - real growth rate(2020) -2,87%

Employing in Finland

Employing in Finland comes with a variety of rights and obligations for the employer.

The employer’s obligations are in general about maintaining a healthy workplace environment, equality and the general well-being of the employee. These are informed through collective agreements and legislation.

When dealing with Finnish authorities, in certain instances official documents must be written in one of Finland’s official languages (Finnish or Swedish).

If an employee does not have a written contract (which is not obligatory, although customary), the employer must still describe in writing his/her employment terms. This writing must include:

Main work duties
Duration of contract if fixed-term
Probationary period (if applicable)
What collective agreement applies
Salary and pay terms
Working hours and holidays
Notice period

The employer must provide statutory insurance for its employees and pay for such insurances. (This includes employment pension insurance, accident insurance, group life insurance, unemployment insurance contribution, and social insurance premium.)

The employer must also provide an “annual wage slip” which details the sum of salary paid over the year as well as related taxes. In addition to this the employer must also inform the tax administration about their payroll on a monthly and annual basis. Finally employers must pay for employees occupational healthcare.

List of Public Holidays - 2024


Date	Holiday Name
1 January	New Years Day
6 January	Epiphany
29 Mars	Good Friday
31 Mars	Easter Sunday
1 April	Easter Monday
1 May	May Day
9 May	Ascension day
19 May	Whit Sunday
21 June	Midsummer Eve
22 June	Midsummer Day
2 November	All Saints Day
6 December	Independence Day
24 December	Christmas Eve
25 December	Christmas Day
26 December	2nd Day of Christmas


Minimum wage	There is no minimum wage in Finland. Collective agreements cover most employees which specifies the minimum pay rates for various sectors. The employer must give the employee a calculation which indicates the amount of pay the grounds for determination.


Salary payouts	Finland has a monthly payroll frequency, usually paid on the last day of each month. There is also a 13th month salary payout, which is usually paid out before the employee’s holiday. A standard workweek in Finland is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. All working hours that exceed this number are to be paid as overtime and are regulated by the employment contract/collective agreements. It must also be mutually agreed upon before the commencement of any overtime working hours. 138 overtime hours over a four month period (and 250 hours annually) is usually the maximum limit. The first two hours are usually paid at 150% of the regular salary rate and 200% for subsequent hours. Overtime work on weekends/sundays/rest days are paid at 200%.

Salary payouts

Finland has a monthly payroll frequency, usually paid on the last day of each month. There is also a 13th month salary payout, which is usually paid out before the employee’s holiday.

A standard workweek in Finland is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. All working hours that exceed this number are to be paid as overtime and are regulated by the employment contract/collective agreements. It must also be mutually agreed upon before the commencement of any overtime working hours. 138 overtime hours over a four month period (and 250 hours annually) is usually the maximum limit. The first two hours are usually paid at 150% of the regular salary rate and 200% for subsequent hours. Overtime work on weekends/sundays/rest days are paid at 200%.

Taxes in Finland

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Finland.


Employer	Corporate income tax rate : 20%


	Pension insurance : 16,95%
	Health insurance : 1,53%
	Unemployment insurance: 0,05% (1,90% for the part of the salary amount that exceeds 2,169,000 EUR per year)
	Total cost for employer : 18,53% to 20,38%


Employee	Pension insurance : 7,15% (8,65% if the employee is between 53-62 years old)


	Health insurance : 0,68% (1,86% for salary above 14,766 euro)
	Unemployment insurance : 1,40%
	Total cost for employee : 9,59% to 10,73%

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