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    • WAGE SECURITY

    When a company is declared bankrupt or has other financial difficulties, the employees of the company have the opportunity to obtain their unpaid salaries as wage security from state funds.

    An employee is entitled to wage security if:

    • the work has been done in Finland; or
    • the work has been done outside of Finland when working for a Finnish employer and the employee’s domicile is in Finland. Work done abroad does not entitle an employee to wage security if the employee is entitled to a similar benefit in another country.

    Receivables paid by virtue of wage security as well as their interest will be collected by the state from the employer or the bankruptcy estate.

    Work done in Finland when employed by a Finnish employer entitles an employee to wage security regardless of the employee’s nationality.

    However, work done in Finland does not entitle an employee to wage security if:

    • the work has been done by an employee employed by a non-Finnish employer who has temporarily worked in Finland; or
    • an employee of a personnel agency has been sent to Finland, because the Finnish companies using the personnel agency’s services are not responsible for the hired employee’s wage security.

    Wage security applies to the following receivables, for example:

    • salaries;
    • holiday salaries and annual holiday pay;
    • bonus holiday pay;
    • notice period pay;
    • waiting period salaries when an employment relationship is terminated (for a maximum of six days);
    • travel expense allowances;
    • daily allowances;
    • tool allowances;
    • compensation for damage based on the employment relationship, such as compensation for damage due to an unlawful termination of an employment relationship; and
    • penalty interest.

    The maximum amount of wage security to be paid for an employee for receivables from one employer is EUR 15,200. Tax will be withheld from receivables paid as wage security; the tax rate is 30 % up to EUR 5,000 and 50% for any receivables in excess of EUR 5,000. Furthermore, the employee’s statutory pension contribution and the employer’s unemployment insurance premium will be deducted from the wage security amount to be paid.

    A wage security application can be submitted by the employee or – if the employer has been declared bankrupt – the employer’s bankruptcy estate on behalf of the employees.

    All wage security applications are handled by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (in Finnish ELY-keskus) under whose authority the employer belongs. Wage security applications must be submitted to a TE Office or the applicable Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. A wage security application must be submitted within three months of the receivable having fallen due.

    Wage security application forms and advice on wage security are available at TE Offices, Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment and online at

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