Espoo to raise personal assistants’ salaries from 1 August 2022 onwards

The City of Espoo will use the nationwide collective agreement negotiated by Heta and JHL as the basis for personal assistants’ salaries from 1 August 2022. Going forward, the City will use pay grade A, applicable to assistants in the Helsinki metropolitan area, regardless of whether the assistance recipient is a member of Heta.

The pay rise will apply to the personal assistant employer model, in which a person with a disability acts as their assistant’s employer. In Espoo, the basic hourly pay of personal assistants will be €11.47, starting from 1 August 2022. Additionally, extra compensation for example for evening shifts and experience will remain in place. No new employment contracts are necessary for the assistants, as the change will take place automatically. The previous pay rise for personal assistants in the City of Espoo took place in 2016.

- We hope that the pay rise will increase appreciation towards the work that personal assistants do and help with the hiring of new assistants, says the City of Espoo’s Head of Disability Services, Anu Autio.

Personal assistance service vouchers increased in value

In late 2021, the City of Espoo increased the value of the personal assistance service vouchers by 5–33% for weekday and Saturday hours. However, the value for Sunday hours was lowered to match the actual price level. These changes aim to enhance the clients’ right to use the service according to their needs, that is to be able to access the service equally well at any time on any day of the week.

- The clients have emphasised that, in the past, they had problems with securing the service for short periods of time and on Saturdays. As a result, they had to use the service according to the preferences of the service providers or assistants. The use of Sunday hours was particularly high. The changes were made in response to this, Autio explains.

Inquiries:

Anu Autio
Head of Disability Services, City of Espoo
Tel. +358 43 825 9890
anu.autio@espoo.fi 

Espoo has three ways of arranging personal assistance. With a service voucher, a person with a disability can choose and order the help they need from the service providers approved by the City. The City chooses the service provider and orders the personal assistance to a person with a disability as an outsourced service. In the employer model, a person with a disability acts as their assistant’s employer, while the City of Espoo covers the service costs. The purpose of the assistance is to allow persons with disabilities to live independently and take part fully in society. Read more about the personal assistance for persons with disabilities on our website.