The Act on Posting Workers (447/2016) provides provisions on posted workers. Its scope of application includes new contracts made after the Act came into force on 18 June 2016, on the basis of which employees are sent to Finland.

Those parts of the Finnish labour legislation which must always be applied are determined in the Act. Moreover those parts of the labour legislation and the provisions of generally applicable collective agreements are determined which are applied if they are more beneficial for the employee than the law applied on the contract of employment of the employee.

Legislation to be applied according to the new Act of Posting of Workers:

Applicable legislation	Legal provision          (* - always applicable)
Young workers Act (998/1993)	Must be applied as a whole *
Occupational Health Care Act (1383/2001)	Must be applied as a whole *
Occupational Safety and Health Act (738/2002)	Must be applied as a whole *
The Act on Equality between Women and Men (609/1986)	Sections 6, 7, 8, 8 a, 8 d, 9 ja 9 a *
Non-Discrimination Act (1325/2014)	Section 7 subsection 1, Sections 8-10, Sections 12-16 and Section 28 *
Employment Contracts Act (55/2001)	Chapter 1 Section 9  * Chapter 2 section 2 subsections 1-2 * Chapter 2 Sections 11–12 Chapter 2 Section 7: Wages, working hours, annual holiday and occupational safety according to the collective agreement Chapter 2 Section 9: Wages, working hours, annual holiday and occupational safety according to the collective agreement of hired employees Chapter 3 Sections 1-2 Chapter 4 Sections 2, 8 and 9 Chapter 13 Sections 1-2 * Chapter 13 Section 5
Working Hours Act (872/2019)	Chapter 3 Section 5-9 Chapter 4 Section 10-15 Chapter 5 Section 16-23 Chapter 6 Section 24-28 Chapter 7 Section 29-32
Work in Bakeries Act (302/1961)	Sections 5
Annual Holidays Act (162/2005)	Sections 5-19 Section 29

Translations of Finnish acts and decrees are available in Finlex.

Applying legislation in intra-group transfers

The Act on Posting Workers applies to internal transfers within a group of companies with the exceptions mentioned in section 1a of the Act. For more information on transfers within a group of companies, see the page Workers posted to Finland on the basis of an internal transfer in an international company.

Choice of law in international employment relationships

The legislation applicable to a posted worker’s employment contract is determined according to the Convention on the Law applicable to Contractual Obligations (Finnish Treaty Series 30/1999, contract of employment signed before 17.12.1999 and the Rome I Regulation (contract of employment signed on after 17.12.2009).

Rome I regulation starting point is that the employer and the employee may agree on which country's legislation in the employment contract (legal refenrence) shall apply. Legal reference to the law applicable to the contract of employment must not lead to the fact that the employee would actually receive less favorable working conditions than what belongs to him, if the above-mentioned choice of law should not have been made. The employee must always be subject to a minimum level in accordance with the mandatory provisions, unless the chosen law in the contract of employment provides him a higher level of protection. Mandatory rules can not be derogated by an agreement to the detriment of the worker.

For this reason, the provisions specified in the Act on Posting of Workers shall always be applied  as far as it seems they are more favorable to the employee. The minimum level is determined in this respect therefore by the Finnish legislation, but the provisions under Finnish law can not prevent the application of more favorable provisions.

Further information: Choice of law in international employment contracts.

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