Employment and Entrepreneurship

Finding work

To find information about finding a job in Lahti and the surrounding municipalities, please see Alipi's material. (Alipi - Work) The InfoFinland website also has information about searching for vacancies.

Unemployment

In the event of unemployment, it is possible to receive unemployment services and unemployment benefits if you live in Finland permanently and are entitled to Finnish social security. To receive the services and the benefits, you must register as a jobseeker at the TE Office. To read more about the different unemployment benefits, please visit the TE Office website.

When becoming unemployed, it is recommended to register as a jobseeker at the TE Office immediately. It is also possible to register before the unemployment period begins, for example, if you have a fixed term contract that is terminating soon. For information about what to do if you become unemployed in Finland, please visit the TE Office website. The InfoFinland website also has general information about unemployment in Finland.

The local government pilot on employment for the Lahti region

The local government pilot on employment means that the employment services of the city and certain services of the TE Office have been merged to provide a more tailored and localised solution for jobseekers. For information about the local government pilot on employment for the Lahti region, please visit the city of Lahti's website.

As a customer of the local government pilot on employment, you use the services of your home municipality instead of the TE Office. You are a customer of the local government pilot if you have registered as a jobseeker, your municipality of residence is part of a regional pilot and you are unemployed, laid-off, employed or enrolled in a service that promotes employment and one of the following applies:

you are not entitled to an earnings-based allowance; instead, you receive a labour market subsidy or a basic unemployment allowance from Kela
your native language is not Finnish, Swedish or Sami, or your nationality is not Finnish
you are under 30 years old.

The premises of the local government pilot on employment in Lahti are located at Trio shopping centre, 2nd floor. In addition to Lahti, the local pilot covers customers residing in Asikkala, Hollola, Kärkölä and Orimattila.

Other employment services

In the Lahti region, there are several services for unemployed people such as Ohjaamo, Työpolku and Lahti OSKE. For information about these services, please refer to Alipi's material. (Alipi - Work)

Please visit the websites listed below for general information about employment services and advisor contact details in each Päijät-Häme municipality:

Contracts, wages, conditions

When starting a new job in Finland, a written contract of employment should always be made between the employer and the employee. The contract indicates the employee’s tasks and salary, as well as other benefits and conditions related to the work, such as working hours. A contract is always made in two identical copies, one for the employee and the other for the employer. You can read more about contracts of employment on the InfoFinland website.

Employment contracts in Finland are very short, often only one page, as all the details can be found from the collective agreement negotiated by the trade union of your profession. For example, as no minimum wage is defined by law in Finland, the trade unions negotiate wages with the employer unions every two years. Please read more about conditions of employment and salary in Finland on the InfoFinland website. More information about collective agreements can be found on the website of Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Finland.

Taxation

Taxation in Finland is progressive, meaning that the tax rate depends on your income. You may find some basic information about individual taxation in Finland on the Tax Administration website.

Requesting a tax card, which includes a tax percentage for income taxation is the employee’s responsibility, and the employee must provide the tax card to the employer. The tax percentage is always based on an estimation of income, meaning that to request the tax card you must calculate and estimate your income (including possible holiday bonuses), your travel costs to work and other possible costs eligible for tax deduction. Please note that certain benefits provided by your employer will also increase your taxable income. If your income exceeds the estimate, the taxation on the additional part may be considerably higher (starting at 38 %). Therefore, please do not forget to update your estimate in the event of any changes in your income. You may find this tax calculator useful for estimating your tax percentage.

To request the tax card, you can use the Tax Administration's e-service MyTax. To log in, you must have online banking codes or a mobile certificate.

Trade unions and unemployment fund

Finnish legislation ensures that all employees have the right to belong to a trade union. Trade unions and employers’ associations negotiate, for example, wages and other working conditions on behalf of employees. In Finland, there are trade unions for most professions and the rights of an employee may be more protected in comparison with the situation in many other countries. To find more general information about trade unions, please visit the InfoFinland website. You can find a list of trade unions in Finland on the website of The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK. Joining a union is voluntary.

The members of a trade union have the possibility to participate in training and leisure activities organised by the union. In the event of conflict situations at work, members also receive support from the union’s shop steward. In addition, the union provides legal advice and assistance in negotiations. The union membership fee is usually 1-2% of your monthly salary.

In Finland, there is also a voluntary unemployment fund system. An employee who is a member of an unemployment fund pays an annual membership fee to the unemployment fund while employed. In the event of unemployment, the member can apply for earnings-related daily unemployment allowance, which is greater than the ordinary unemployment benefits, granted by Kela. Please find out about the conditions of receiving earnings-related daily allowance when joining the unemployment fund.

When joining a trade union there is also the possibility of joining the union’s unemployment fund. However, the trade union and unemployment fund are separate systems, and it is possible to be a member of an unemployment fund without being a member of any trade union.

Pension

When retiring in Finland, you may receive a pension that is based on the years that you have worked and income. Please visit the InfoFinland website for information about the Finnish pension system.

The earnings and benefits received throughout a person’s working life are added into a personal pension record and the future pension is calculated based on the information in the pension record. You may check the current situation of your pension record on the Finnish Centre for Pensions website.

If you have previously resided or worked in other EU countries or in countries with which Finland has a social security agreement, you might be able to receive pension from these countries. For more information, please visit the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

For information about pension that is based on your working life in other EU countries, please visit the YourEurope website.

Starting and running a business

The process of starting a business in Finland is simple and quick, and it can be done regardless of your nationality. Please visit the InfoFinland website for more information about the process. You can also check the Guide on Becoming an Entrepreneur in Finland produced by The Finnish Enterprise Agencies (Uusyrityskeskus).

Lahti Region Development Ladec Ltd. develops the conditions for business growth and competitiveness in the Lahti region. Ladec helps entrepreneurs and businesses in the region with everything involved in founding, growing, developing, and locating a business, in addition to internationalisation. The consultation services are free of charge. Ladec operates in six Päijät-Häme municipalities in addition to Lahti: Asikkala, Hartola, Hollola, Iitti, Orimattila and Padasjoki. The main office is located at Lahti Science Park in Lahti. For more information about Ladec, please visit their website.

Please visit the websites below to read general information about business services and advisor contact details in each Päijät-Häme municipality:

When becoming an entrepreneur, it is possible to apply for a state funded start-up grant to ensure your livelihood during the beginning of the business operations. To read information about the start-up grant, please visit the TE Office website. It is also possible to attend entrepreneurship training courses. There are several operators organising such training, for example, the KOKOMA MOOC free online course for immigrant entrepreneurs in easy Finnish.

If you are looking to build entrepreneurial networks in Lahti, you can apply, for example, to join the StartHub start-up community, a joint effort of the City of Lahti, LAB University of Applied Sciences and Isku to promote growth entrepreneurship. Other organisations promoting the interests of businesses are the local Chamber of Commerce and the Suomen Yrittäjät business association. The Suomen Yrittäjät also has a regional branch in Päijät-Häme which is further split up into local municipal branches. You can find more information about the local branches on this website. For already operating businesses, you can take advantage of the mentoring services of experienced business mentors through Business Mentors Finland.