Article 9.5.2022

Insure summer and seasonal employees in time

With summer approaching, summer employees are ready to start their work. But when should summer employees be insured? What else should you consider when hiring a summer employee?

Summer employees work not only in offices but also in homes and in gardens. It may not have occurred to you that a person you have hired to babysit your child or mow your lawn also needs pension insurance.

The obligation to insure employees applies, when specific conditions are met, to each and every employer – both companies and private individuals. Below is a summary of things to remember when insuring seasonal employees.

When are employees insured?

If an employee’s monthly wages exceed EUR 62.88 (in 2022) and they are 17–67 years of age, you have to take care of their pension insurance (TyEL).

The pension insurance is your responsibility also when

• you hire a pensioner (under 68 years of age)
• you hire out your employee to another employer
• you post your employee to work abroad

Pension security is not your responsibility when

• an employee works for you through another company, for example a temporary work agency
• an employee works for you as a self-employed person
• an employee works for you while owning more than 30 per cent of your company

Insurance for seasonal or other temporary employees

If you already have TyEL insurance, report the earnings data of your summer and other temporary employees in the same TyEL insurance. The earnings data must be reported to the Incomes Register within five days of the wage payment date.

If you do not have valid TyEL insurance, insure your employees as a so-called temporary employer. In this case, you can report the earnings data, for example, with the help of a service such as Palkka.fi (available in Finnish and in Swedish).

Ilmarinen will send the employer an invoice for the TyEL contributions based on the earnings data that has been reported to the Incomes Register.

Read more about how you can report earnings data to the Incomes Register

Read more about the differences between a contract employer and a temporary employer

Read more about electronic invoices.

Log in to the online service

If you have a valid TyEL insurance and a user ID for our online service, you can view the earnings data you’ve reported to the Incomes Register and the resulting TyEL invoices by logging into our online service.

Use the calculator to check what it costs to hire an employee

The payroll calculator is an excellent tool when hiring an employee. The calculator shows you how much hiring an employee or giving a pay raise costs you and gives you insight into the additional employer costs that you need to pay in addition to the wages. The insurance paid by the employer includes an accident insurance contribution, group life insurance contribution, social security contribution, unemployment insurance contribution and pension contribution.

Go to the payroll calculator

Checklist for hiring a summer employee

1. Define the tasks and working hours

Define the tasks for which you require a summer employee/employees. Consider what is required to carry out the tasks and what kind of employee you are looking for.

A young employee’s maximum working hours depend on his or her age. For an employee who has turned 15, the working hours (including overtime) are no more than 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week. For employees below 15 years of age, working hours are a maximum of seven hours and no overtime is allowed.

More comprehensive information on young employees’ working hours is available on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s website (tyosuojelu.fi).

2. Recruit carefully

Recruit your summer employees as carefully as your other employees. Check from the employment and business office whether it is possible to receive, for example, a wage subsidy for hiring summer employees or whether your town/city supports the hiring of young people. The TE Office may also provide help in finding summer employees.

3. Make a written employment contract

A written employment contract is a good idea. Include in the employment contract at least the amount of pay, working hours, tasks, duration of the employment and its starting date, any applicable collective bargaining agreement and the basis for fixed-term employment.

Also check whether the collective bargaining agreement contains any obligations related to young employees or stipulations in terms of the wages.

4. Provide induction for your employee

Provide your summer employee with the same induction as your other employees, even though he or she will be working for only a short time.

5. Payroll calculation and employment certificate

Give the summer employee a payroll calculation when you pay their wages. Remember to give them an employment certificate when the employment ends.

Help from our customer service

Our customer service provides advice in pension insurance and Incomes Register matters at the number +358 10 195 000 (mobile call charge/local network charge).

• Read more about hiring your first employee
• Take out TyEL insurance online