The free Summer Job Helpline is once again up and running for summer employees and employers

 

Summer Job Advisor Salla Hakoköngäs hopes that summer employees will contact the service immediately with any concerns they may have about summer work. Reading up on the rights and obligations of employees already before the summer job begins can prevent many potential problem situations. 

‘If you have any concerns, we encourage you to call or send a message to the Summer Job Helpline already before you sign an employment contract. Employers can also call the service with questions about employment issues concerning summer employees’, says Hakoköngäs. 

‘Already before the summer work begins, get your employment contract in writing and review it thoroughly before signing’, she states as a reminder. 

Already for 16 years running, the free Summer Job Helpline has been providing advice and answers to questions posed by young people as well as their parents and employers. All the questions are handled confidentially, so there is no need to be shy about asking for advice. 

Although working life has changed in many ways over the years, the topics of the questions have remained largely the same. Each year, the service receives a lot of questions dealing with salaries and working hours. Questions concerning trial periods and work certificates also come up often. 

Due to corona, many young people are now experiencing their first summer job 

The summer of 2021 is especially significant for many young people in terms of work experience and working life, since there were very few summer jobs available last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

A summer job is a particularly important step towards working life and independence. There has been a lot of talk lately in the media about young people being forced to stretch out their studies, suffering from decreased mental well-being and not being able to have normal experiences that are part of being young. It is extremely important that as many young people as possible get back to building a life for themselves this summer, also through summer work.  

‘Recruiting summer employees is a valuable service provided by employers and hopefully there will be a lot of summer job opportunities this year. Now, they are even more essential than usual’, Hakoköngäs emphasises. 

The Summer Job Helpline will be open until the end of August 

The Summer Job Helpline opens Monday, 3 May and remains open until Monday, 30 August. The Summer Job Advisor can be contacted weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. by phone at +358 (0)800 179 279 or on WhatsApp at +358 (0)40 747 1571. The service also provides an online enquiry form on the website of the Summer Job Helpline. The service provides advice in Finnish, Swedish and English. The service can also be contacted anonymously. 

Basic information about summer work is available on the Summer Job Helpline website at www.kesaduunari.fi. Before contacting the service, it is worthwhile to read through the frequently asked questions and answers as well as our Summer job checklist.

Photo: Patrik Lindström