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Occupational safety and wellbeing at work Shortly The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for legislation, policies and international cooperation related to occupational safety and wellbeing at work in Finland. The aim is to ensur...

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health guides, directs and develops legislation on occupational healthcare.

Social insurance contribution Contributions in 2017–2026 Table: Social insurance contributions, % of salary. Employers 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Health insurance all employers 1,08 0,86 0,77 1,34 1,53 1,34 1,53 1,16 1,87 1,...

Occupational health care and maintaining workability The MSAH directs, oversees and develops legislation on occupational health care Employers must create working conditions that do not adversely affect the health of employees. Occupational health...

Legislation concerning income security The Finnish Constitution guarantees the right of all people living in Finland to Adequate social and health services Basic income security Essential subsistence and care. There is a range of legislation gover...

Statutory insurance A significant part of social security in Finland is provided through statutory insurances. This package is called social insurance. The insurance-based forms of social security include earnings-related pension, occupational acc...

The MSAH is responsible for preparing legislation on occupational safety and health care, and policy development on occupational safety and health and wellbeing at work.

Occupational health and safety legislation is crucial to promoting employees' physical and mental health, as well as conditions of employment.

Occupational safety and health (OSH) The MSAH prepares and develops legislation and policies on OSH and deals with international cooperation in this field. The ministry also guides the occupational safety and health work of the The Finnish Supervi...

Mental Health at Work Programme Mental wellbeing is a success factor in working life and a driver of employment. The Mental Health at Work Programme emphasises the importance of adopting preventive measures and promoting mental health in working l...

Good Work Programme – Creating more appeal and staying power in the healthcare and social welfare sector Mounting service needs driven by an ageing Finnish population, higher rates of chronic diseases, evolving expectations and new technologies – ...

Gender Equality Act promotes gender equality and prohibits gender-based discrimination In Finland, the Act on Equality between Women and Men, or the Gender Equality Act, lays down obligations to promote gender equality. The Ministry of Social Affa...

Social security internationally The Finnish social security system is largely based on residence in Finland. A person arriving in Finland for work purposes is entitled to residence-based benefits even if they do not live in Finland. The entitlemen...

Occupational accidents and occupational diseases The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for developing and preparing the legislation concerning insurance against occupational accidents and diseases. The workers’ compensation insu...

Earnings-related pension Earnings-related pension is paid to a person who has accrued pension according to his or her earnings either in an employment relationship or as an entrepreneur. The size of the earnings-related pension is determined accor...

Services for older people Shortly Wellbeing services counties organise health and social services for older people. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Cities and Municipalities have published a quality recomme...

Legislation concerning children, young people and families Family leaves Family leaves are regulated in the Employment Contracts Act. The Act contains provisions on the rights of parents to take leave for family reasons. Employment Contracts Act 5...

12.6.2026 | Together with the social partners, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of the Interior have drawn up recommendations for workplaces in case of drone threats. Their premise is that official instructions are followed. The recommendations are based on the current threat assessment and they will be updated as necessary. They also include a recommendation on the payment of wages.

Supervising OSH The Finnish Supervisory Agency oversees compliance with workplace OSH in Finland. Occupational safety and health Administration in Finland The MSAH and the four-year framework agreements concerning The Finnish Supervisory Agency de...

Sickness and rehabilitation All people living in Finland are included within the scope of sickness insurance. Sickness insurance provides reimbursements for loss of earnings and costs of rehabilitation. Sickness (Kela) Sickness allowance Paid to 1...

Pensions The Finnish pension system is an important element in providing income security in old age the event of work incapacity in the event of the death of a breadwinner The MSAH is responsible for preparing pension legislation. Pension security...

Family benefits The purpose of the benefit system for children and families is to safeguard the subsistence of the child and those responsible for his or her care, and to support the care of the child. The benefits are applied for at the Social In...

Health services The aim of healthcare in Finland is to maintain and improve people's health, wellbeing, work ability and functional capacity and social security, as well as to reduce inequalities in health. The healthcare system is based on preven...

Finnish social security system The Finnish social security system includes benefits and support that protect people’s livelihoods, as well as the provision of health and social services and employment services. Social security provides income secu...

The Ministry The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH) is one of the 12 ministries in the Government. The Ministry's tasks promote the good health and functional capacity of people promote healthy living and working environments secure suff...

Reform encourages both parents to take family leave The Family leave reform entered into force on 1 August 2022. The number of parental leave days will increase and there will be more flexibility for parents to take leave. The reform aims to incre...

2.6.2026 | The National Working Life Development Strategy to 2035 has been completed. The strategy aims to accelerate Finland’s economic growth by modernising the world of work so that Finnish workplaces become more innovative, more productive and better places to work. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and the Ministry of Education and Culture published the strategy and an accompanying implementation roadmap on 2 June 2026.

Department for Clients and Services in Healthcare and Social Welfare The Department for Clients and Services in Healthcare and Social Welfare prepares and develops issues pertaining to the position and rights of the customer and the patient, healt...

Creating a good working life together A good working life improves wellbeing, the economic sustainability of society and the competitiveness of companies. A good working life requires that wellbeing at work, work ability and productivity be streng...

Private providers of health and social services Private providers of health and social services, in other words companies, organisations and foundations, already account for about 22 per cent of the whole health and social services sector. They op...

Unemployment security In brief Unemployment security consists of a general social security benefit and an earnings-related unemployment allowance. In order to be eligible for unemployment security, you must register with the employment authority a...

Private providers of health and social services, in other words companies, organisations and foundations, already account for about 22 per cent of the whole health and social services sector. They operate in both publicly and privately funded markets.

Support and benefits The Finnish social protection system includes various forms of financial support and benefits designed to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to take part in working life and society in general. Children and parentho...

16.6.2026 | 1(4) 12 June 2026 WORKING LIFE RECOMMENDATIONS IN CASE OF DRONE THREATS The social partners, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health together have prepared these recommendations for workplaces ...

Healthcare and social welfare for undocumented persons When it comes to the organisation of healthcare and social welfare, it should be noted that there are people residing both legally and illegally in Finland who are usually referred to as undoc...

International examples to help Finland create governance model for wellbeing economy 4.12.2025 8.46 The economy of wellbeing offers tools for policy makers to secure the preconditions for a good life both for the current population and future gene...

Open positions and the Ministry as a workplace On this page Open positions Trainee positions at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health The Ministry as a workplace Service relationship, working hours, pay, and general collective agreements Well-...

19.5.2026 | Commitment to measures to eradicate sexual harassment at work We, the undersigned key actors in Finnish working life, recognise that sexual harassment is a major problem in working life and it must be addressed actively and through concrete action...

Data Protection Contact information Data Protection Officer Data Protection Officer Lassi Kauttonen The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Department for Communities and Functional Capacity tietosuojavastaava.stm(at)gov.fi Controller The Minis...

1.12.2025 | The EU ministers will attend the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council in Brussels on 1 and 2 December 2025. On both days, Finland will be represented by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso.

21.5.2025 | The employment rate of registered nurses and practical nurses is high, with more than 90 per cent of graduates finding work in the social welfare and health care sector. Unemployed nurses cannot be relied on to respond to the future labour shortage in the sector. People who have sought employment in other sectors represent the most significant resource of unutilised workforce. Some relief can also be provided by pensioners for whom working is increasingly common.

5.6.2020 | The proposal aims to strengthen the financial position of people in need of unemployment security in a situation where many have become unemployed or have been laid off.

29.6.2020 | The financial position of people in need of unemployment security will be strengthened in a situation where many have been unemployed or laid off. The central government will temporarily contribute to the financing of earnings-related allowances.

23.11.2023 | The minimum staffing level for care personnel in units providing 24-hour care for older people will rise from the current minimum level of 0.65 employees per client to 0.7 employees per client on 1 January 2028. During the transition period, the service structure will be developed and a number of measures will be taken to improve the availability of healthcare and social welfare personnel. 

28.6.2024 | The Government and central labour market organisations have negotiated joint equal pay measures for the period 2024–2027. The aim of the Equal Pay Programme is to further reduce the gender pay gap. In addition to the measures set out in the Programme, there are other measures underway to reduce the pay gap.

15.5.2023 | The priorities and objectives of the WORK2030 programme responded well to the needs to develop working life, according to an external assessment. The programme supported earlier development work and succeeded in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in particular. The programme played an active role in implementing the ongoing reform of continuous learning at workplaces.

31.10.2025 | Healthcare and social welfare 2040 vision Views and proposals of Ministry of Social Affairs and Health officials regarding needs for changes to the healthcare and social welfare service system Permanent Secretary Veli-Mikko Niemi In “Healthcare an...

31.3.2023 | The comprehensive WORK2030 programme, carried out collaboratively by ministries, social partner organisations, workplaces and other experts in the field, is coming to an end. The programme identified five solutions that will help make Finnish working life the best in the world.

8.12.2021 | The Government proposes a new temporary section (48a) for the Communicable Diseases Act, under which healthcare and social welfare service providers, i.e. employers, could be required to ensure that their employees do not pose a risk of COVID-19 infection to the persons they are caring for.

Insurance-related appeals A policy holder, who is unhappy with an insurance company's decision, should first take the matter up with a representative of their insurance company. Policy holders may request a statement from one of the following insu...

12.10.2020 | Work may not compromise the health and safety of employees. There is no ambiguity in this respect. However, it is a challenging objective to reach in a rapidly changing world of work.

12.5.2023 | The measures launched during the working capacity programme to create a more inclusive labour market and to employ people with impaired working capacity should be continued and developed further. The employees’ ability to work is an essential factor in the pursuit of a higher employment rate. These are some conclusions of the evaluation report on the recently completed working capacity programme.

Appealing income security decisions The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health does not process requests for a review, objections or complaints. Instead, it drafts legislation on appeal boards and this way ensures the legal protection of people whe...

18.5.2022 | A research project entitled Working careers and occupational segregation behind the gender pay gap, which is funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, studies the career development of women and men and changes in occupational structures in light of long-term statistical data. In particular, it examines how career changes and changes in duties are connected to the gender pay gap.

22.6.2022 | On 22 June, the Ministerial Working Group on COVID-19 received an epidemiological review as well as an overview of the updated vaccination strategy and testing and tracing strategy.

9.4.2020 | Finland’s COVID-19 testing strategy is based on the principle of test – trace contacts – and treat. This strategy was adopted for tracing infections at the start of the epidemic. At the same time, our central aim has been to increase the testing capacity.

Rehabilitation The aim of rehabilitation is to enhance the individual's functional capacity, independent coping, opportunities for participation, work and study ability as well as their opportunities for employment and continuing working. Rehabili...

Whistleblower protection Whistleblower protection safeguards people who report certain types of misconduct. In this case, a ‘whistleblower’ is a person who, in the course of their work, discovers a breach of European Union or national law concerni...

8.11.2021 | Working life in Finland is strongly divided by gender. This means that many sectors and jobs have a clear majority of either female or male employees. Segregation maintains narrow gender stereotypes, prevents the full utilisation of skills, has a detrimental effect on the functioning of the labour market and is also reflected in the pay gap and, consequently, in pensions.

8.3.2024 | Minister of Employment Arto Satonen will represent Finland at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 11 March. The Platform Work Directive, which has been in preparation for a long time, will be the only legislative matter in the Council. The Directive aims to improve the working conditions of platform workers.