Ask for help
SAK employee rights hotline
The SAK employee rights hotline advises young employees and employees of foreign origin with questions or problems concerning their employment. This free service is open to all and does not require trade union membership.
The employee rights hotline responds between 2 and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 9 and 11 a.m. and 12 and 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Advice is available in English and in Finnish.
Telephone 0800 414 004 or e-mail workinfinland@sak.fi.
Call charges will be billed by your operator. Call prices will be determined by the customer’s subscription contract.

Our expert can help if

  • You don’t understand your employment contract or you would like a specialist to check it before you sign.
  • You suspect that you are not getting the correct pay, shift work bonus or holiday bonus.
  • You would like to know the normal wage levels in your industry.
  • You would like to check some detail concerning your holiday entitlement or working hours.
  • You are suffering harassment or discrimination at work and you need advice on how to deal with it.

We can not help you in the following cases

  • We do not find jobs for people or provide advice on seeking work. Help is available for jobseekers at Employment and Economic Development (TE) Offices and the telephone service of Enterprise Finland can advise you on starting a business.
  • We will not contact your employer on your behalf. You should turn to the trade union for your industry in such cases. We recommend joining such a union. Use the Tradeunion.fi website to find the right union.
  • A union can assist you if your problem is so difficult that it requires legal action. You can also hire your own lawyer to handle the case.
  • You should call the Victim Support service (RIKU) for advice if you know or suspect that you are the victim of a crime.
The hotline also aims to inform young people and immigrants about the rights and duties of employees in Finland.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration helpline

The number for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration helpline is +358 295 016 620 (Monday–Friday 9 am to 3 pm). 
Are you having problems with your employer?
If you have any problems with your employer relating to, for example, your pay or other employment terms and conditions or the terms of your collective agreement, try to discuss the matter with your employer first. Many issues are solved by communication.
If the problem is not solved, ask for help and advice:

If you are a trade union member

Talk to your shop steward or occupational safety and health representative at your workplace or of your union. If the problem cannot be resolved with help from the shop steward, contact your trade union’s regional office or your union’s helpline.

If you are not a trade union member

Talk to a colleague or occupational safety and health representative or your workplace. If the issue cannot be resolved, you can contact the occupational safety and health authorities or SAK’s employee rights helpline.
Are you having problems with your wages?
Keep a record of the hours you work and compare the record to your payslip. The employer must provide the employee with a payslip when the employer pays wages. Keep your payslips.
If you notice any errors or deficiencies in your pay, follow these steps:
1. Ask your employer to pay the missing amount. Send your request by text message or email.
2. If your employer does not pay the amount owed to you, regardless of your request, contact your trade union. If you are not a member of a trade union, you can contact your legal aid office or a law firm, for example.
If an employer is unable to pay because it does not have the money, apply for pay security immediately. You can receive the unpaid amount through the pay security system if your employer is unable to pay.
Act quickly! The pay security application must be submitted within three months of the date on which you were supposed to receive your pay.
More information:
Instructions on how to apply for pay security
Contact information for legal aid offices
Recognise exploitation at work
Industrial exploitation means, for example, that the employer
  • pays less salary than what the collective agreement and the law prescribe (underpayment)
  • does not give an employee days off prescribed by law and the collective labour agreement
  • requires employees to work too long days without compensation
  • collects money from the employee as a compensation for the job or the residence permit
  • prohibits the employee to take sick leave
  • does not arrange for occupational health service
  • provides inhumane housing conditions.
Industrial exploitation occurs also in Finland. Often, the victim is an employee with a foreign background. He or she may not know the rules of Finnish working life or fears that he will lose his right of residence.
If you suspect that you are the target of criminal exploitation of workforce, you can contact the police or Victim Support Finland (RIKU). You can contact Victim Support Finland confidentially and get advice on how to proceed. Please contact by e-mail (help@riku.fi) or by phone (including text messages or WhatsApp) to 040 632 9293.
If the exploitation is also associated with limitation of freedom, coercion, pressurising, threatening, forcing to take debt, misleading or violence, it can have the constituent elements of human trafficking. You can contact the assistance system for victims of human trafficking by calling 0295 463 117.
Residence permit or certificate because of exploitation by the employer
If you have been the victim of an employer’s exploitation and significant neglect, you can apply for an extension permit or certificate of an extended right to work and change your employer. You must have a residence permit in Finland that includes the right to work. Read more tat the Finnish Immigration Service’s online service.
Read more:
Police: Reporting an offence
Victim Support Finland
System of assistance for victims of human trafficking

Cookie settings

Essential cookies

These cookies are necessary for the technical operation of our website and cannot be switched off. Functional cookies are critical for such abilities as browsing and using the features of our website.

Analytics

These cookies only collect anonymous information about how our website is used. Analytics cookies help us to measure and analyse how our website is working. For example, we use these cookies to determine which website content is popular, and to ensure that visitors find content that is relevant to them. The information collected is statistical data and cannot be used to identify individuals. You may nevertheless opt out of these cookies at any time.

Targeting and advertising cookies

We may use these cookies for such purposes as enhancing the relevance and interest of the advertising that you view. Cookies may also help to make the content of our website more interesting to you. Information gathering is based on the unique identifiers of your browser or device. You may opt out of these cookies at any time.