Recently, we’ve seen a growing number of sad headlines about labour exploitation in Finland.
Labour exploitation means a situation where a person is forced to work under unfair and illegal conditions. Often, the victim is a foreign worker who may not know their rights and fears getting into trouble if they speak up about the problems.
Sadly, this is the reality. Labour exploitation and even modern slavery is a real issue in Finland across various industries.
The risk of labour exploitation and even human trafficking entering your business increases significantly with long subcontracting chains. The longer the chain, the less transparency there is. There’s much to say about the risks involved, but here are a few key points.
Without proper oversight, work can end up being done by people who may not have the legal right to work or the required skills. This can seriously affect the safety of your business and your employees. From the perspective of business confidentiality, it’s also crucial for the buyer to know who is operating in their premises. A subcontractor far down the chain who does not take care of their responsibilities can seriously damage the buyer company’s reputation, even if the buyer is managing their own operations responsibly. And perhaps most importantly what’s truly left for the worker at the end of a long subcontracting chain?
So what can a buyer do to prevent labour exploitation?
By complying with the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability, we already help combat the shadow economy and support responsible companies in succeeding in competition. It is true that legislation will need to be tightened in the future, but nothing prevents actors from making their own processes more responsible already now.
Here are a few practical steps:
- Do not allow long subcontracting chains.
- Always check the background of your contracting partners as required by the Finnish Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability.
- Collect and verify all required documents from the entire chain, not just your direct contractors.
- Assess whether additional checks are needed if several subcontractors are working as light entrepreneurs or independent contractors.
- Train your own staff to identify and report risks.
Many see the obligations of the Act on the Contractor’s Liability as an unnecessary burden or a slowdown to “real work”, but this law exists for a reason. Combating labour exploitation and the grey economy is a shared responsibility.
