Finns control subcontractors

Finnish unions have reached an agreement with employers and the government on new measures to control subcontractors and employment agencies.

The deal, signed last month, requires businesses that use subcontractors or take on agency staff to check that the companies involved abide by Finnish law and collective bargaining arrangements, and are registered for income tax and VAT.

Both Finnish and foreign subcontractors and agencies are covered by the agreement, which will be implemented through legislation by the end of the year. But long-standing subcontractors and agencies, normally defined as those in business for three years or more, will not be required to provide these details.

The agreement covers agency work lasting 10 days or more, and subcontracts that have a value of more than €7,500.

Businesses wanting to use subcontractors or employment agencies must also provide the local union organisation with details of the amount of labour involved, the length of the contract and the terms and conditions under which external workers will be employed.

Lauri Lyly of SAK, the main union confederation in Finland, described the agreement as “good news for everyone ... Employees will be paid correctly, law-abiding employers will enjoy fair conditions of competition, and the government will receive the associated tax revenues and social security contributions.”