The new act on the posting of workers came into force in Finland on 18 June 2016, replacing the old 1999 Posted Workers Act. However, the old act still applies to workers who were posted to Finland based on a contract concluded before 18 June 2016. The new act applies to workers posted to Finland based on a contract concluded on or after 18 June 2016. The new act also applies to public procurements.
The new act aims to enhance surveillance. The most significant changes concern the electronic reporting duty of posting companies and the authority of Finnish occupational safety and health officials (the "OSH officials") to impose fines on posting companies, contractors, and also main contractors and builders in the construction sector.
The new act requires the contractor to ensure that the posting company selects a representative and that the representative is available. The contractor has a duty to assist the OSH officials if they cannot reach the representative of the posting company.
The main contractor and builder in the construction sector must, on the request of the posted worker, intervene in the event of inadequate payments made by the posting company. The main contractor and builder must send the posting company's response to the posted worker and, if requested, to the OSH officials.
Posting companies have to file a notification with OSH officials before employers commence work. The notification should include the following: identity of the posting company and contact information of the responsible persons in the country where the posting company is established; identity and contact information of the posting company's representative; and identity and contact information of the contractor, the main contractor and the builder in the construction sector. It should also include the estimated number of posted workers and the length of their stay, place of work and the industry in which they will be working. Separate legislation on the reporting duty is expected to come into force next year.
The new act completely changed the system for imposing sanctions. The previous criminal liability system has been replaced with administrative fines. The OSH officials can impose a fine for negligence ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 Euros, for example if the posting company does not fulfill its reporting duty. Contractors can face negligence fines if they do not assist the OSH officials in finding and reaching the representative of the posting company. The main contractor and builder in the construction sector can also face a negligence fine if they do not act on the request of the posted worker to intervene in the event of inadequate payments made by the posting company.
