Immigrants

The SAK employee rights advisory service for immigrants advises employees of foreign origin with questions or problems concerning their employment. This free service is open to all and does not require trade union membership.

At Work in Finland – The employee rights advisory service for immigrants responds between 9 and 11 a.m. and between 12 and 3 p.m. on Tuedays and Wednesdays. Advice is available in Finnish and in English.

Telephone 0800 414 004 or e-mail workinfinland@sak.fi.

Call charges will be billed by your operator. Call prices will be determined by the customer's subscription contract.

Our lawyer can help if

  • You don’t understand your employment contract or you would like a specialist to check it before you sign.
  • You suspect that you are not getting the correct pay, shift work bonus or holiday bonus.
  • You would like to know the normal wage levels in your industry.
  • You would like to check some detail concerning your holiday entitlement or working hours.
  • You are suffering harassment or discrimination at work and you need advice on how to deal with it.

We can not help you in the following cases

  • We do not find jobs for people or provide advice on seeking work. Help is available for jobseekers at Employment and Economic Development (TE) Offices and the telephone service of Enterprise Finland can advise you on starting a business.
  • We will not contact your employer on your behalf. You should turn to the trade union for your industry in such cases. We recommend joining such a union. Use the Tradeunion.fi website to find the right union.
  • A union can assist you if your problem is so difficult that it requires legal action. You can also hire your own lawyer to handle the case.
  • You should call the Victim Support service (RIKU) for advice if you know or suspect that you are the victim of a crime.

This SAK initiative is part of the At Work in Finland project subsidised by the European Social Fund ESF, and is also backed by Service Union United PAM and the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL.

The advisory service also aims to inform immigrants about the rights and duties of employees in Finland.