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Enforcement of summer jobs: some young people were underpaid

Publication date 16.9.2024 8.35 | Published in English on 20.9.2024 at 12.24
Press release

Over the summer, the occupational safety and health authority inspected the jobs held by young people under the age of 30. Some young people were paid less than what they should have been paid according to the collective agreement and their work experience. Approximately 150 inspections were carried out at workplaces where young people held jobs during the summer.

A number of inspections revealed clear shortcomings in the pay of young people. The most common form of negligence was that their pay was below the minimum wage specified in the generally applicable collective agreement. In some cases, their pay grade was too low in comparison to their experience. For example, a person who had worked for more than a year was paid a trainee's salary. Overtime pay, evening bonuses and Sunday compensation had also been left unpaid.

"Some employers do not pay a young person the salary they are entitled to of their own initiative. Young people are particularly vulnerable in working life and may find it difficult to claim their rights. They may not know how to demand their missing pay and often do not even know the amount they should be paid. Many young people are not members of a trade union, so they cannot request help from the trade union", says occupational safety and health inspector Saila Lähdesmäki from the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland.

Young people can request help with the recovery of unpaid wages from actors such as your own trade union, a legal aid office or a private lawyer. 

The occupational safety and health authority may require the employer to pay wages correctly in the future if the employee's employment relationship is still valid. In addition, the occupational safety and health authority may investigate whether the young person's employer has been guilty of discrimination based on age. The occupational safety and health authority’s telephone service is available at + 358 295 016 620.

Young people must be carefully familiarised with safe work methods

In addition to employment matters, occupational safety was monitored at the workplaces where young people held jobs. The inspections revealed a number of shortcomings related to induction training. The employees had not received training on

  • how to act in threatening customer service situations, even though the workplace e.g. served alcohol
  • the use of machinery and equipment
  • the safe use of chemicals
  • the content and location of occupational healthcare
  • the practices in place in case of illness or occupational accident. 

At one workplace, induction training was provided in languages that some employees did not understand. At another workplace, trainees did not receive the same safety training as other employees. At a third, the induction training was held so quickly that the employees did not have time to internalise it.

"In many cases, young people have relatively little work experience, so they must be carefully familiarised with safe working methods. No employer wants to be responsible for a serious injury to a young person," emphasises Lähdesmäki.


Contact persons

Employment relationships: Inspector Saila Lähdesmäki, +358 295 016 028, Division of Occupational Safety and Health of the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland

Occupational safety: Inspector Jori Sinisalmi, +358 295 018 186, Division of Occupational Safety and Health of the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southwestern Finland

emails [email protected]

Employment relationship Grey economy Occupational Safety and Health