Finnish newspapers are increasingly writing about the negligence of the foreign workforce. Employers are not verifying their workers’ right to work in Finland properly. Is this due to ignorance or willful negligence? Ignorance is not reason enough for the authorities. Employers of the foreign workforce and the principal contractors of a construction project must be aware of the obligations and act accordingly.
When verifying the right to work in Finland, citizenship is the most important factor. The citizenship of a foreign employee is something other than Finnish. However, it is important to note that there are foreign employees as well as foreign employees who are posted workers. The term posted worker refers to a foreign employee who is sent to work in Finland for a limited period of time. The employer of such an employee does not normally conduct business in Finland. The obligation to ensure the right to work also applies to posted workers.
The employee’s employer and the principal contractor of a construction project are responsible for checking the foreign employees’ right to work in Finland. A foreign employee may start work when
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the employee has the right to work in Finland based on citizenship,
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the employee has a valid residence permit entitling work in Finland, or
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the employee is a posted worker to whom an exception to the Aliens Act applies.
If the foreign employee is a posted worker who is not a citizen of an EU or EEA country, in addition to the residence permit entitling work, the principal contractor must ensure that the employee is a permanent employee of the posting company. Establishing the status of employment is not easy. In practice, the information is available in the employee’s employment contract, but the employer company or the employee may not want to disclose the employment contract in its entirety to a third party. The employment contract may contain information that is not justified to be provided to the principal contractor. The employment contract may also be written in a foreign language and would require translation in order for the principal contractor to understand its content. Instead of an employment contract, the principal contractor may, for example, request a written certificate from the posted worker’s employer. In the written certificate, the employer company confirms that the employee is a permanent employee of the company. In addition, the company confirms that the contract with the employee has been in force before the work in Finland and will continue after the work in Finland.
The most important thing to remember is that the right to work must always be checked in the case of a foreign employee. The documents and clarifications must be stored and be available for possible official review. By complying with the obligations, the company acts responsibly and can avoid ending up in the headlines of the news.
