Under the Accident Insurance Act, employers in Finland must take out accident insurance for their employees from the start of their work. The Posted Workers Act contains no provisions on the application of the Accident Insurance Act; liability to take out insurance thus depends on the country from which the posted worker is posted to Finland.

Liability to take out accident insurance depends on the country from which the posted worker is posted to Finland.

EU/EEA Member States

Social security for persons relocating from one EU/EEA Member State to another is governed by EU social security legislation (Social Security Regulation 883/2004).

An employee posted by the employer to work in another Member State on his own account shall remain subject to the legislation of the country of origin if the estimated duration of the employee’s work is no more than 24 months and if the employee is not posted to replace another employee. In such a case, an A1 certificate may be issued to the employee. If the estimated duration of employment of a posted worker posted from another EU Member State to Finland is more than 24 months, Finnish legislation will apply to that posted worker from the beginning of the work.

United Kingdom

As of 1 January 2021, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement will be applied to new postings from the UK. Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a posted worker from the UK may, under certain conditions, continue to be covered by the social security of their country of origin for a period of 24 months. In this case, an A1 certificate may also be issued to an employee from the UK.

Social security agreements and third countries

Finland has entered into bilateral social security agreements that are relevant for the social security of persons relocating between Finland and the relevant partner countries. Finland has a bilateral social security agreement with Australia, Chile, Israel, Canada, the USA, China, South Korea and India. A separate agreement on social security has been made with the Province of Québec.

The bilateral social security agreements entered into by Finland with countries outside the EU may contain provisions as to how a posted worker’s status is determined. For further information on bilateral social security agreements, visit the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: Social security internationally.

Not all bilateral social security agreements cover the same employee benefits. For instance, the agreements with Canada and the USA do not require mandatory accident insurance. For posted workers from these countries, accident insurance must be taken out separately in Finland.

For posted workers from countries with which Finland has not entered into a social security agreement (e.g. Russia, countries in Asia and most countries in South America), the national legislation of both the country of origin and of Finland apply.

Posted worker’s A1 certificate

A posted worker coming from an EU or EEA Member State or United Kingdom who has a valid posted worker’s certificate (an A1 certificate) does not need to have an accident insurance policy taken out in Finland. This certificate must be based on the posted worker being sent to Finland by an employer with regular operations in its country of domicile. If there is no such certificate, the posted worker will fall under Finland’s social security legislation, and the employer must take out accident insurance for them in Finland.

For posted workers from a third country (not an EU or EEA Member State), accident insurance must be taken out in Finland.

More information: Occupational accidents

Neglecting to take out an accident policy

The OSH authorities monitors that the employer has fulfilled his duty to take out insurance. Should the OSH authorities have reason to suspect that the employer has not taken out accident insurance for his employees, the OSH authorities must immediately inform the Workers´Compensation Center. A fee and a penalty fee for negligence may be imposed on the employer.

Further information: Finnish Workers' Compensation Center: Insurance supervision

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