05 Working life

Salary request

If the job advert asks for a salary request, you should include one in your application. Before making a salary request, it is advisable to go through the TEK salary recommendations. The salary level is determined on the basis of the job’s degree of difficulty and your level of competence.

Everybody is responsible for their own salary request and justifying it, so you should request a sum that you can justify well. You can also ask your university friends what they are or have been paid for different jobs.

How to justify my request?

Your salary request should be based on the arguments you used as the grounds for why the employer should hire you. Do not just refer to the salary recommendations to justify your request.

Remember that salary recommendations are just recommendations. The employer may have its own table of salaries that is used to determine the salary, or the salary may be based on a collective labour agreement.

Make sure to always ask about the salary and discuss it with your employer before starting work.

Salary recommendations

TEK compiles statistics on salaries and salary development of its members on a regular basis. We analyse this information and based on that, we are able to give recommendations salaries for trainees and recently graduated engineers.

Trainee salary

TEK’s salary recommendations are based on information from TEK’s student members’ summer job salaries and the projected changes on the salary levels. Recommendations are for jobs related to your field of study. These salary recommendations are a good starting point for your salary request.

Master’s Thesis

If you have been given duties in addition to the thesis project, there should be an increase in your monthly salary.

Starter Salary

The recommended starting salary is for expert tasks with 37,5 working hours per week. For more demanding jobs in certain fields or for those who work longer hours, and for those with more work experience, the starting salaries may be higher. In the Helsinki region salaries are approximately 6% higher than in other areas in Finland.

The recommended starting salary is based on the data compiled by TEK’s two annual surveys: Labour Market Survey and Graduate Survey, as well as, official forecasts of economic trends and salary increases.

Salary progression

The salary of summer jobs and internships may have been specified already during the application phase; however, after you have graduated it is time to start paying attention to how your salary develops.

Stay active and try to discuss your salary with your supervisor regularly, once a year, for example. Prepare well if you want to ask for a raise. Think of good grounds for a raise and specify the sum you want.

The affect to the unemployment fund employment condition?

If you are a member of an unemployment fund, you should check if the employment condition includes any requirements concerning your salary. This allows you to ensure that your work can be taken into account in meeting the employment condition.

If you are a member of the KOKO unemployment fund, you can check that your salary exceeds the limit set for the employment condition.

Employment contract in writing

Always make the employment contract in writing, preferably already before the beginning of your employment. Verbal contracts are also binding, but in case a dispute arises, it may be difficult to prove what has been agreed if none of it has been written down. You should read your employment contract carefully and ask for clarification to anything you do not understand.

When signing an employment contract, you should also keep in mind that it is an agreement between two parties, and you have the right to negotiate its terms.

Before negotiating, you should look up a few points that you would like to change about the contract and focus on them. In addition, you should prepare by considering how to react in case your suggestions are not approved.

Negotiating the terms of employment is usually easier before the beginning of the employment. As a TEK member, you have the opportunity to have the contract reviewed by a lawyer and ensure that you understand what you are committing to.

Content of the contract

The employment contract covers many aspects of your employment; the contents are different for each job and workplace. However, all employment contracts should include at least the following points:

• The place of residence of the employee and the registered office of the employer.
• The start date of work.
• Fixed-term contracts must include the grounds for the fixed term as well as the contract’s date of termination.
• The trial period and its duration.
• The place of work.
• The primary duties of the employee.
• The applicable collective labour agreement (TES).
• The grounds of the salary and other remuneration as well as the pay period.
• The regular working hours.
• The determination of annual holiday.
• Period of notice or the grounds for its determination.

If necessary, a separate appendix may be prepared to specify the duties. In addition to these points, an employment contract may be used to agree upon many other factors that affect your employment.

Termination of the contract

The date of termination may also be an estimate or related to a factor such as the completion of a project. Fixed-term employment must be somehow justified. Allowed grounds may be substitution, for example.

The trial period and its duration

According to the Employment Contracts Act, the trial period may not exceed six months or, in fixed-term contracts, may comprise no more than half of the duration of the employment contract.

The place of work

The place of work is important when dealing with, for example, the payment of travel expenses. It is advisable to provide the address or city or the workplace, not the whole country.

The applicable collective labour agreement (TES)

Labour legislation applies to all employment. In addition, labour market organisations have agreed on several, industry-specific labour agreements that may deviate from legal provisions.

The determination of annual holiday

When you start at a new job, you have no accumulated leave. This is something you can try to negotiate in order to ensure you also have some vacation during your first year.

Period of notice and the grounds for its determination

The parties may agree upon the period of notice, provided that it is not longer than six months, and the period of notice for the employee is not longer than the period of the employer. The Employment Contracts Act contains a provision on general periods of notice. They are binding, unless otherwise agreed upon. It is common for employment contracts to refer directly to the provisions on periods of notice in the Employment Contracts Act or the relevant collective labour agreement.

After employment

It is important to take into account that some clauses in an employment contract may also be effective after the termination of the employment. Non-competition and non-disclosure clauses often also apply to time after the date of termination. At worst, a non-competition clause may make it more difficult for you to change jobs, so consider it carefully before committing to one.

Remember the certificate of employment

Asking for a certificate of employment is essential after the termination of your employment. A certificate enables you to demonstrate your work experience when applying for jobs in the future. It is up for the employee to decide how extensive they want the certificate to be.

What should be included in a the certificate?

• Name and social security number of the employee.
• Name of the business.
• Duration of the employment: start and end dates.
• Job title.
• Description of the main duties.
• Date and signature.

What can I request to have in an extensive certificate?

• The reason of termination of the employment (for example: “fixed-term employment”).
• An assessment of working skills and conduct.
• The employer should not mark this information in the testimonial without checking with the employee.

Certificate request a long time after the employment?

The employer is obligated to provide a job certificate up to 10 years after the termination of the employment relationship – in Finland. A testimonial of one’s own skills and behavior can be requested for 5 years after the termination of employment. If the original certificate has been lost or damaged or the employment was terminated more than 10 years ago, the employer is only obligated to provide a testimonial if it does not cause unreasonable inconvenience for them.

Previous employer as a reference?

If you thought your employment went well, ask your employer in advance if you can use them as a reference when applying for jobs next year.

Unemployment fund (KOKO)

The KOKO unemployment fund provides financial security if you find yourself unemployed after graduation. The fund pays its members an earnings-related allowance in case of unemployment, temporary layoffs or labour-policy measures, and job alternation compensation for those taking a job alternation leave.

You can join the KOKO unemployment fund if you are in an employment i.e. you have a valid employment contract. You should become a member as soon as your first summer job starts and ensure your earnings-related unemployment security while you are still studying.

Why should I join?

After graduation, you are entitled to earnings-related allowance if you have been in an employment for 26 weeks, thus meeting the employment condition, while also being a member of the unemployment fund.  The earnings-related allowance you get from the fund is significantly greater than the basic unemployment allowance. (See: https://www.kela.fi/web/en/amount-of-the-unemployment-benefit)

You can calculate the amount of your daily allowance on the KOKO website: https://kokokassa.fi/en/allowance-calculator/

Your membership will begin on the day you submit the application if you pay the membership fee by the due date. The membership fee is paid annually for each calendar year.

Employment condition

The employment condition is met when a fund member has worked for a minimum of 18 hours per week for 26 weeks during the 28 months that precede the unemployment.  Studies can lengthen this period up to seven years. This means that even a few summer jobs and a thesis job with an employment contract fulfill the employment condition. In other words, the required working period can consist of several individual periods; it does not have to be continuous.

Does work conducted on a grant apply?

A Master’s thesis work written on a grant is only included in the employment condition if you have been under an official employment contract during the work.

You can use the Kela calculator (https://www.kela.fi/web/en) to check whether you meet the employment condition. Note that the employment condition also involves a pay limit. Check the limit on the KOKO unemployment fund website.

How do I join the KOKO fund?

The easiest way to join the fund is through your own member information on the TEK website. The website of the IAET unemployment fund (https://kokokassa.fi/en/) contains a daily allowance calculator that you can use to get an estimate of your earnings-related allowance.

Is the allowance tax-deductible?

The allowance is subject to tax and is not tax-deductible. However, the fund’s membership fee is deductible.

Could you make it as an entrepreneur?

Have you thought about starting your own business or working in a friend's start-up? Entrepreneurship is one way of either becoming fully employed or earning extra income while working or studying. It is also worth remembering that starting your own business does not mean that you have to be an entrepreneur for the rest of your life.

Establishing your own sole proprietorship is also an easy option. There are several online services that provide information on how to start your sole proprietorship such as  ukko.fi.

Setting up a business

Setting up a business itself is fairly simple, but it is advisable to clarify some matters to yourself before you begin. Is there demand for your business idea? If not, how should you adjust it to better meet the needs of your potential customers? To become an entrepreneur, you must go through the following phases, normally simultaneously:

• What and how? What is your target group?
• Business plan, calculations of sales, profitability and finances
• Clarifying whether there are any licensing requirements for your line of business
• Arranging funding
• Selecting the form of your business: a sole proprietorship, a general partnership, a limited partnership, a limited liability company or a cooperative
• Submitting a start-up notification to the Business Information System and notifications to the Trade Register and the Tax Administration
• Insurance, including the YEL pension insurance for the self-employed
• Unemployment benefits (yrittajakassa.fi)
• Arranging accounting

Where can I get help?

The TEK lawyers help members free of charge with questions concerning the establishment of an enterprise and related contracts. For example, a partnership agreement should be signed before any problems arise.

If you already have a business, as a TEK member you can purchase the extensive service package offered by the Federation of Finnish Enterprises for a reduced price without joining the Federation.

If you occasionally do temporary work that requires invoicing but you don’t want to set up an enterprise, you can make use of invoicing services. All TEK members can use the UKKO light entrepreneurship invoicing service at a reduced price by notifying the UKKO.fi customer service of their membership.

Unions and social security

The rules of the workplace are equal between international talent and Finnish citizens. You can read more information here.

TEK is a professional organisation, also called a labour union. But what does that mean, exactly? What does promoting the interests of members mean in practice? What are collective agreements? What do you get as a TEK member? You will find out answers to all these questions from the video below. If you are interested in becoming a member, don’t hesitate to contact us! Learn more here.