Wage subsidy employment

A wage subsidy is a discretionary allowance that can be granted to an employer to help pay an unemployed person. The wage subsidy can be granted for the employment of an unemployed person who has deficient professional skills, a reduced capacity for work or who has been long-term unemployed and has reached the age of 60.

Wage subsidies may be granted to municipalities, joint municipal authorities, well-being counties, communities, and other employers. In the case of a natural person, wage subsidies can only be granted for economic activities.

You can get wage subsidies for normal employment or apprenticeship training. The job can be full-time or part-time. The employment relationship can be indefinite or fixed-term.

The purpose of wage subsidies is to help job seekers find employment if they have deficient professional skills or a disability or illness that affects their ability to cope with their job. The wage subsidy is granted and paid to the employer. The subsidy is compensation for the employer spending more time than usual on guiding the worker.

The employment relationship must not start before the decision to grant the subsidy has been taken.

The person to be hired must be registered as an unemployed job seeker with the TE services. The employer must pay wages in accordance with the collective labour agreement and meet its statutory obligations, such as taxes. Other legal requirements must also be met.

The amount of the wage subsidy for lack of professional skills is 50% of the wage costs and the duration of the subsidy is 5 or 10 months, depending on the duration of the unemployment of the person to be employed.

The wage subsidy for disability or sickness is 70% of the wage costs and lasts for 10 months. If the conditions are fulfilled, the period may be extended for a further 24 months at a time.

A wage subsidy of 50% of the wage costs for two years at a time is available for hiring a long-term unemployed person aged 60 or over.

If the unemployed job seeker is employed in an apprenticeship, the wage subsidy can be paid for the entire duration of the training.

Associations, foundations and registered religious communities can, if the conditions are met, receive 100% of the wage subsidy for a maximum period of 10 months.

Subsidy for the employment of an unemployed job seeker aged 55 or over is granted without appropriateness consideration if the conditions laid down by law are met. The aid is granted if the job seeker is aged 55 or over and has been unemployed for at least 24 months in the last 28 months, and the person employed with the subsidy works for the beneficiary under a contract for at least 25 hours a week or at least 65% of the maximum working time in the sector, and the other conditions for granting the aid are met.

The aid will be paid at 70% of the eligible wage costs for 10 months, up to a maximum of the duration of the employment relationship.

You can apply for wage subsidy before the start of the employment relationship from the employment authorities, through the company’s and employer’s ‘Oma asiointi’ service. You can apply for wage subsidy at any time, there is no specific application deadline. Once the wage subsidy has been granted, it is also possible to apply for a municipal supplement.