Grey economy
Personal ID and tax number
Every person working on a construction site and shipyard must have a personal identification number with a tax number and a photo.
Both the developer and the principal contractor on a construction site have a duty to ensure that everyone working on their site has a personal ID as required under the Finnish Occupational Safety and Health Act. Other employers operating on site are also responsible for ensuring the same with regard to their employees and the employees of their respective partners.
From 1 July 2022, these obligations will apply to the employer exercising the main authority in the shipyard area when a person is working in the shipyard area. The employer's obligations also apply to the employer whose employees work in the shipyard area.
The photo ID must show:
- the name of the person
- a photo of the person
- the name of the employer (wage payer)
(independent contractors should enter ‘independent contractor’ if the name of their firm is not the same as their own name), and - the tax number of the person, entered in the public tax number register maintained by the Tax Administration.
A photo ID is mandatory for those working on a joint site and in a shipyard. Workers’ tax numbers must be listed in the Finnish Tax Administration’s public tax number register.
However, persons making occasional deliveries to a construction site or a shipyard do not need to have a photo ID. Photo IDs are not required on a construction site where a building or part thereof is being built or repaired for the personal use of a private individual who is the developer. In addition, these IDs are not required for a crew member of the vessel employed by the vessel's contractor or the company operating the vessel, who works in the shipyard area in tasks related to the commissioning of the vessel.
For more information about the obligations on a construction site, see the page Construction industry.
More information for shipyard operators can be found in the recording of the tax number webinar
In the tax number webinar for shipyard operators, representatives of the occupational safety and health authorities and the Finnish Tax Administration provide information about the extension of the tax number procedure to shipyards and answer questions from the participants. The event is held in Finnish. Recordings and presentation material of the event can be found at Webinar: Information about tax number for shipyard operators (in Finnish).
Act on the individual tax number and the tax number register (473/2021, in Finnish)
Occupational Safety and Health Act (738/2002)
- Section 52 a: Identification of persons working on shared construction sites
- Section 52 c: Requirements for working in shipyards