The Act on the posting of workers (447/2016) was amended (166/2024), the changes came into force on 1 May 2024. The amendment to the law eased some of the requirements, and the principal contractor and the buyer are no longer obliged to collect notifications from companies that are posting employees. However, the posting company must still submit a notification and it is recommended that the principal contractor and the buyer continue to collect notifications, because they contain information that must be collected and stored.
A company ordering foreign labor must ensure that the company who posts employees is aware of the following obligations:
- obligation to notify the authorities of the posting of workers
- obligation to appoint a representative in Finland
The buyer’s obligation to inform is fulfilled when information about the obligations is stated in the agreement. The information can also be provided, for example, by email, the main thing is that it can be verified. By collecting the notifications, the principal contractor and the buyer can check that the notification has been made in the right way and that the notification has altogether been made. For a foreign company, filling in some sections of the notifications may be unclear, so it is a good idea to check, for example, that if the work is performed on a shared construction site, it is correctly indicated in the notification. It is also important to check that if the posting exceeds ten (10) days within four (4) months, the company must appoint a representative for the posted workers. It is also good to make sure that the posting company has understood the appointing of the representative correctly. For example, the buyer’s contact person can not be named as representative without having agreed on the matter with the buyer. The representative has responsibilities for having access to and keeping certain information and documents concerning employees, so a person who is not aware of the responsibilities cannot be appointed as a representative.
Consequences of neglecting the obligations
According to the report of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Supervision and notification of posting of workers in 2023), in 2023 the occupational safety and health authority set negligence fees worth over 300,000 euros on companies that had posted workers to Finland. The most common reason was failure to comply with the notification obligation. An example of a single case can be found on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website (available in Finnish): https://tyosuojelu.fi/-/tyosuojeluviranomaisen-maaraama-laiminlyontimaksu-pysyi-hallinto-oikeudessa-tyontekijoita-lahettava-virolainen-yritys-vetosi-tietamattomyyteen.
The posting company was imposed a negligence fee of 8,000 euros because the company had failed to comply with all obligations relating to a posting company. The company had failed to submit a supplementary notification of posted workers and had named a person as the representative of the posted workers, who stated that he did not act as a representative of the company. The posting company appealed against the amount of the negligence fee, arguing that they were not aware of the posting-related requirements when working in Finland. This example shows how important it is for a company ordering foreign labor to ensure that the posting company is aware of its obligations in Finland, because the posting company will be held liable if any shortcomings arise. The amount of the negligence fee is a minimum of 1,000 euros and a maximum of 10,000 euros.
How to fill out the notification
The posting company can make the notification of posting of employees as soon as the start date of the posting and the employees to be posted are known. If the company who is ordering work is the same, then one notification can serve as notification for several work sites. If there are several companies that order work at different sites or if the work is in the construction area, the notification must be made for each site separately. Notification must also be made for short work periods. The only exception is an internal transfer within a company group, which lasts a maximum of five (5) working days. In this case, the notification can be omitted if the work is not in the construction area. In the construction area, the notification must always be made.
The notification can be found on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website Notification duty. Filling out the notification does not require identification. Once the notification has been submitted, a saving option will appear at the bottom of the page. The form can be saved in PDF format, check that all the necessary information is visible. If, for example, the employees’ tax numbers are not visible in the saved PDF file, it is worth checking the browser’s print settings and saving the PDF file again. If there are any significant changes to the information in the notification, a supplementary notification must be submitted immediately. The supplementary notification is submitted on the same form as the original. Relevant information that requires a supplementary notification is, for example, a change in the buyer, place of work or employee, and a change in the working period of the posted worker. The employee may not continue working until the supplementary notification of the extended working period has been submitted. As the example of the negligence fee shows, the lack of a supplementary notification can result in fines.
If there is anything unclear about the obligations, it is worth contacting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and verifying the uncertain matters. Checkfin’s consulting services also include guidance in completing the notification of posted workers and other obligations of the posting company. It is worth clarifying unclear matters, as the authorities may return to them even after the work has ended.
