Circular Note, 9 June: Locally employed staff - conditions and principal terms of employment
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs present their compliments to the Diplomatic Missions, Consular Posts and International Organizations accredited to Helsinki and have the honour to remind of the applicable rules on hiring locally employed staff.
General information about conditions and principle terms of employment, statutory earnings related contributions and health care is available in the Ministry’s handbook on Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities in Finland.
Locally employed staff are, as a rule, permanently resident in Finland prior to their employment with a mission. EU citizens and citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland may work in Finland without a special permit. This requires registering the right of residence with the Finnish Immigration Services. Nationals of a Nordic country may register their right of residence at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Non-EU citizens need a residence permit for an employed person issued by the Finnish Immigration Service prior to taking up their duties.
Locally employed staff are not exempt from the relevant taxes and fees. They do not enjoy privileges nor immunity.
Conditions of employment
Work performed in Finland is governed by Finnish employment legislation if the employment contract does not indicate connection with another state.
The mandatory provisions of the labor laws are fully applicable to the employment contracts of locally employed staff and must be adhered to. This includes mandatory terms of employment found in general collective wage agreements. It is recommended that Diplomatic Missions acquire assistance from a lawyer accredited in Finland when drawing up employment contracts.
Employers and employees can also opt for the applicable law in employment contracts of an international nature that specify the connection with another state. However, it is the opinion of the Government of Finland that the minimum level of employment terms provided by the mandatory and absolute provisions of the Finnish labour and social laws must be respected whenever a mission hires local staff.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides instructions and advice on questions related to terms of an employment relationship governed by the Finnish employment legislation.
Missions are kindly requested to send to the Ministry annually an updated list of their locally employed staff.
Working contract
It is strongly recommended that Diplomatic Missions conclude a written working contract for the legal protection of both parties and to avoid misunderstandings. A format for a working contract is available of the website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Working hours
Regular working hours total a maximum on eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. During the 24 hours following each work shift, employees have a daily rest period of at least 11 hours and, once a week, a rest period of at least 35 hours.
When the employee’s daily working time exceeds six hours and the employee’s presence at the workplace is not essential to the continuity of the work, the employee shall be given a regular break of at least one hour during which break the employee is free to leave the workplace. A collective agreement notwithstanding, the employer and the employee may agree on a shorter break of at least thirty minutes, however.
For working overtime, overtime compensation must be paid. The employee can check the provisions on overtime compensation in the collective agreement.
The employer must keep records of the hours worked by the employee and the salaries paid for these. The employee has the right to receive a copy of the working time records from his /her employer.
Salaries and other working terms
Salary levels should be in par with the payment levels in similar employments in Finland. If in-kind benefits such as housing benefits are provided, their tax value can be counted as part of the salary.
In Finland, there is no general minimum wage defined by law, but the salary is determined in accordance with the collective agreement of the sector in question. If there is no applicable collective agreement on the specific sector, a normal and reasonable salary must be paid.
The labor laws provide that women and men working for the same employer shall be paid equal wages and enjoy equal terms of employment for the same job or jobs of equal value. The labor laws also ban any kind of discrimination based on race, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Income taxation
Pursuant to Section 12 of the Income Tax Act, the Finnish nationals employed by Missions are liable to pay income tax in Finland. However, Missions are not obliged to withhold taxes from the salary paid to locally employed staff member. The employee pays the income tax him-/herself in advance. More information is available from local Tax Offices or vero.fi.
Statutory earnings-related contributions
In Finland both employers and employees contribute to the social security system through statutory insurance contributions. These include health insurance, earnings-related pension, accident insurance and unemployment insurance.
It is recommended that the Diplomatic Missions would use an accounting firm or a company offering payroll administration services for the payment of the salaries and statutory earnings-related contributions.
Health Insurance
Foreign Missions are not required to pay the employer’s share of the health insurance contribution but the payment of health insurance contribution is a prerequisite for receiving compensation from the Social Insurance Institution for e.g. necessary and reasonable cost of occupational health care.
Whenever hiring local staff missions should contact the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) in order to check which social security scheme is applicable for each employee.
Earnings related pension
As regards to statutory earnings-related pension, it is advisable to contact the Finnish Centre of Pensions.
Occupational Health Care
A mission is, as a rule, responsible for the occupational health of local staff members, as provided in the Occupational Health Care Act. This legislation is applicable to employment relations in Finland.
Termination of employment
A fixed-term employment contract will end at the time indicated in the employment contract. An employment contract valid until further notice must be terminated separately.
An employment contract can be terminated as long as provisions on minimum notice periods are respected, either as stated by law or the respective collective agreement, if it provides for better rights for the employee.
Additional information
Handbook on Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities in Finland, pages 27-34:
https://um.fi/diplomatic-privileges-and-immunities-in-finland
Information about Finnish labour legislation is available on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland:
https://tem.fi/en/labour-legislation
Website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Finland (työsuojelu.fi):
Collective agreements in Finnish:
www.finlex.fi/fi/viranomaiset/tyoehto/
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs avail themselves of this opportunity to renew to the Diplomatic Missions, Consular Posts and International Organizations accredited to Helsinki the assurances of their highest consideration.
Helsinki, 9 June 2025
To
Diplomatic Missions, Consular Posts and International Organizations
accredited to Helsinki