Minimum wages

Finland does not have a law on minimum wages. Neither does the Employment Contracts Act include provisions on the amount of wages to be paid to employees.

Minimum wages and other minimum terms of employment applicable to employment relationships are regulated by industry-specific collective agreements. An organised employer, i.e. belonging to an employers' association, is obliged to apply the collective agreement on employees in its service on the basis of the Collective Agreements Act.

National collective agreements deemed to have a representative scope of application are confirmed as generally binding. An unorganised employer is obliged to follow the provisions of a generally binding collective agreement in the case of its employees performing duties which fall within the scope of application of a collective agreement.

If no collective agreements have been made within the employer’s industry, the employee’s wages are determined on the basis of what is agreed in the employment contract. Should there have been no agreement between the employer and employee on the wages when making the employment contract, pursuant to the Employment Contracts Act the employee shall be paid a normal and reasonable salary for the work performed.