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.