Employee Rights in Finland 2026 — Pay, Annual Holiday, Sick Leave and Notice Periods

1. Finland has no statutory minimum wage

Finland has no minimum wage set by law. The floor comes from the collective agreement (työehtosopimus, TES) for the sector the work belongs to. There is therefore no single answer to "what is the minimum wage in Finland": the floor in construction, cleaning, restaurants and IT is different in each.

Where a generally binding collective agreement covers your sector, the employer cannot pay below it, and the agreement's floor applies even if the employment contract states a lower figure. Which agreement applies is shown by the contract, the payslip and the employers' association the company belongs to. If you are unsure, a trade union or the occupational safety authority can tell you.

2. Annual holiday and holiday pay

Annual holiday accrues by month under the Annual Holidays Act. The holiday year runs from 1 April to 31 March. If the employment has lasted less than a year on 31 March, two days accrue for each qualifying month; if it has lasted a year or more, two and a half days. A month counts only if it contains enough working days or hours.

Holiday pay and the holiday bonus are not the same thing. Holiday pay is a statutory right: your pay continues during the holiday. The holiday bonus (lomaraha, lomaltapaluuraha) comes from the collective agreement rather than from the Act and is typically half of the holiday pay. If your agreement does not provide it, it cannot be claimed — one of the points foreign employees most often get wrong.

3. Sick leave and pay during illness

Under the Employment Contracts Act, pay during illness depends on how long the employment has lasted. If it has lasted at least a month, full pay continues until the end of the ninth working day following the day the illness began. If it has lasted less than a month, half pay is owed for the same period. Collective agreements frequently extend these periods, so the agreement should be checked first.

Notification and certificates are a separate duty: the illness must be reported to the employer without delay, and how soon a doctor's certificate is required depends on the workplace's own rule or the collective agreement. Once the employer's obligation to pay ends, Kela's sickness allowance may take over; it must be applied for separately and a waiting period applies.

4. Ending the employment and notice periods

The Employment Contracts Act's default notice periods apply unless the collective agreement says otherwise. When the employer gives notice: 14 days if the employment has lasted up to a year, one month for one to four years, two months for four to eight, four months for eight to twelve, and six months beyond twelve. When the employee resigns: 14 days up to five years, and one month after five.

The employer also needs a proper and weighty reason to dismiss. For reasons connected to the person, a warning and a chance to correct the conduct are normally expected first; for financial and production-related reasons, the work must have diminished substantially and permanently and no other work be available. Dismissal during a probationary period is freer, but it still cannot rest on a discriminatory or otherwise improper ground.

5. Where to turn when something goes wrong

For unpaid wages, missing holiday pay, unrecorded overtime or unsafe conditions, the first port of call is the occupational safety and health authority (työsuojeluviranomainen). Its advice line is free and a question can be asked without giving your name. If you belong to a trade union, it provides legal help and in most cases covers litigation costs; membership should be taken out while the employment is running smoothly, since a waiting period usually applies once a problem has arisen.

The general limitation period for pay claims is five years, but shorter periods can run for rights that end when the employment ends, so acting early matters more than waiting. If your residence permit is based on work, the effect of leaving the job on the permit has to be assessed separately as well.

6. Checklist when starting a job