Pay
Pay is compensation for work.
Your pay must not be lower than the minimum pay specified in the relevant collective agreement. ‘Minimum pay’ refers to the minimum amount that you should receive for your work. If there is no collective agreement for the industry you work in, your pay must still be reasonable. ‘Reasonable’ means that you should receive the amount of pay that is usually paid for other tasks similar to yours.
A variety of pay supplements also exist. Supplements are compensation paid in addition to your basic pay. You can be paid an evening work supplement, night work supplement, Saturday work supplement or a Sunday work supplement, for example. As an example, for work carried out on a Sunday, your receive 100 per cent more pay. Therefore, unless otherwise agreed in the relevant collective agreement, your pay is doubled.
Your pay will usually be paid to your bank account.
Monthly salary
If you have a monthly salary, you will be paid once a month. The pay period will then be one month. The pay period refers to the period for which you are paid a salary at a time.
Hourly wage
If you are paid by the hour, you will be paid every two weeks. Hourly wages are paid according to how many hours you have worked.
Payslip
When you receive pay, you must always receive a payslip as well. A payslip has many names in Finnish; it can be called a palkkalaskelma, palkkakuitti, palkkanauha or tilinauha. The payslip details how much you have been paid, what deductions have been made from your gross pay, and how much money will be paid to your account, i.e. your net pay.
Every time you receive pay, you pay taxes and other statutory payments. This means that you will not receive the full amount agreed on in your employment contract to your account.
Always check your payslip carefully!
A payslip must include at least the following information:
- Name of employer
- Name of employee (your name)
- Pay period: the period for which the pay is paid
- Payment date: the day on which the pay is on your account
- Your gross pay (if you are paid by the hour, the hourly rate must also be indicated). The gross pay is the amount agreed on in your employment contract. For example, taxes have not been deducted from that.
- Supplements:
- Overtime: if you have worked more than your normal working hours and your collective agreement has provisions on an additional amount or compensation for overtime, you will receive an additional compensation.
- Evening work, night work, Saturday work and Sunday work supplements and public holiday compensation: if you have worked evenings, nights, Saturdays, Sundays or on public holidays, you will receive the amount of evening work, night work, Saturday work or Sunday work supplements specified in your collective agreement. As an example, for work carried out on a Sunday you will receive double pay (100% more than on a regular working day), unless otherwise agreed on in your collective agreement.
- Income tax is paid from supplements as well.
- Fringe benefits: Fringe benefits are pay that is paid as a monetary compensation or a non-monetary compensation. For example, a phone given to you by your employer can be a fringe benefit if you do not need to pay for using it. A fringe benefit can also be a lunch benefit, a sports benefit or a car. Income tax is also withheld for fringe benefits.
- Deductions made:
- Withholding tax, or income tax: your personal tax card obtained by your employer indicates the percentage of income tax withheld from your pay.
- Pension insurance contribution: your pension starts accruing when you turn 17, and your pension insurance contribution will be deducted from your pay.
- Unemployment insurance contribution
- Health insurance daily allowance contribution (not deducted if the amount of annual income is low)
- Other possible deductions: e.g. trade union membership fee, if you are a union member, and you have agreed that your employer will calculate and pay the membership fee directly from your pay.
When your employment ends, the employer must pay you your final pay immediately, unless you have agreed otherwise with the employer in a contract or otherwise. If you have accrued annual holiday days during your employment that you have not held, you must receive them as money with your final pay as a holiday pay. The annual holiday compensation is also included in the final pay.
Sufficiency of pay
If you are a student, a part-time worker or have a zero-hour employment contract, your pay may not be enough to survive on. You can apply for and receive support from Kela.
Housing allowance
Kela can grant a housing allowance, i.e. money to pay your rent or maintenance fee. The allowance can be granted for different types of housing, such as rentals or owned apartments. The amount of the housing allowance depends on the amount of your pay, study grant or unemployment benefit, and the amount you pay for housing. Housing costs include rent and water fees, as well as the maintenance fee for owned housing, maintenance costs and home loan interest.
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Social assistance
You can receive social assistance if your pay or other benefits are lower than the amount of social assistance. You can also receive social assistance if you are unemployed and you are not entitled to any other benefits or financial support.
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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.
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