Number of workers posted to Finland from abroad increased slowly in 2024

Many companies posting workers still neglected their obligation to notify the occupational safety and health authority of their posted workers. As in previous years, many deficiencies were observed in the pay and working hour records of posted workers. About half of the inspections of posting companies led to a consideration of a negligence fee. In 2024, negligence fees amounted to approximately EUR 322,000.

The information can be found in the occupational safety and health authority’s recent report “Enforcement of the posting of workers and notifications of posting in 2024”.

According to notifications, workers were posted from 48 different countries

When a foreign company posts workers to Finland, it has to submit a notification of the posting to the occupational safety and health authority before starting work. In road transport subcontracting, the notification of posting must be submitted to the EU-wide information system.

In 2024, the occupational safety and health authority received more than 21,000 notifications from 48 countries. The volume of reports was 6% higher than in the previous year. However, growth had slowed down, as the volume of notifications grew by 11.6% in 2023. The growth was greatest in Southern Finland and Western and Inland Finland. The most notifications came from Estonia, Germany and Lithuania.

The number of posted workers in Finland is best illustrated by the number of employees reported in companies’ first notifications. In 2024, that figure was about 32,800. The number of workers grew by about 2.3% from the previous year. In 2023, the number of workers grew by 5.5% from the previous year. Thus, there was no significant change in the number of workers.

In road transport subcontracting, more than 390,000 notifications were submitted from 27 different countries. 70% of these notifications were submitted from Poland and Lithuania. However, the number of notifications does not describe the actual scope of posting, as a notification can be submitted for a period of six months just in case. For this reason, notifications cannot be used in the targeting of enforcement.

Regional differences in the posting of foreign workers 

In Southern Finland, the number of posting notifications increased by almost 10% and the reported number of workers by almost 9%. Most of the notifications were for Uusimaa, where the number of workers increased by just over 13%. In Southern Finland, growth was observed in sectors other than the building construction sector, where the number of notifications continued to decrease. However, the share of notifications in the building construction sector is clearly higher in Southern Finland than elsewhere in Finland.

In Eastern Finland, the number of notifications decreased by about 15% and the number of workers by about 24%. The number of notifications returned to the level of previous years. Eastern Finland’s overall share of notifications decreased and the region accounted for only about 3.4% of all notifications in Finland.

In Southwestern Finland, the number of notifications increased by just under 6%, but the number of workers decreased by almost 6%. In Southwest Finland, the number of workers decreased by about 20% and in Satakunta it increased by almost 30%. In Åland, the number of workers increased by as much as 140%, but the number was still small. 

In Western and Inland Finland, the number of notifications and workers rose. The number of notifications grew by 22% and the number of workers by 6%. In Southern Ostrobothnia, the number of workers increased by as much as 46%, but in Central Finland it decreased by almost 34%.

In Northern Finland, the number of notifications decreased by 2.5%, but the number of workers increased by almost 7%. Growth was strong in North Ostrobothnia, where the number of workers increased by up to 145%. In Kainuu, the number of workers decreased by almost 24% and in Lapland by as much as 65%. The main reason for the changes was the completion of major factory projects in Lapland in 2023 and the completion of wind farm projects in Kainuu. In North Ostrobothnia, a large factory project took place in 2024. 

The report provides more detailed information on the number of posted workers notified to the occupational safety and health authority by region.

Many shortcomings still observed in compliance with the law

Occupational safety and health authorities carried out a total of 200 inspections as part of the supervision of posted workers in Finland in 2024. A key issue in enforcement was ensuring that companies posting workers to Finland from abroad comply with Finnish legislation on posted workers. Enforcement of contractors using workers from posting companies was lower than before.

Written advice was most often issued for non-conformance with the notification obligation. A large number of deficiencies were also observed in pay, working hour records and the availability of information on posting.

Companies posting workers for road transport subcontracting were subject to more enforcement than previously. More than 30 inspections were focused on these. The deficiencies identified concerned failures to comply with the same obligations as other posting undertakings.

Enforcement focused more than previously on identifying so-called genuine posting. The enforcement of foreign companies sometimes requires that inspectors determine whether the matter in question is a posting or if the persons have been hired directly to Finland. In this respect, the findings of the inspections have been better highlighted in the 2024 report than previously.

About half of the inspections of posting companies led to a consideration of a negligence fee. The most common reason for considering a negligence fee is failure to comply with the notification obligation. A total of approximately EUR 322,000 in negligence fees were imposed in 2024.

Read more in the report

Original report in Finnish: Työntekijöiden lähettämiseen liittyvä valvonta ja lähettämisilmoitukset vuonna 2024 (pfd).

The report is also available in English: Enforcement of the posting of workers and notifications of posting in 2024 (pdf). A Swedish version will be published later on the Rapporter page (Tyosuojelu.fi).