New legislation helps to improve skills and job satisfaction

As part of the framework settlement, the Finnish government announced its readiness to expand the deductibility of staff training and welfare costs in business taxation. Although enterprises were previously permitted to deduct the costs of staff training in taxation, the new arrangement will also compensate employers for payroll costs during training.

Review of training needs at workplaces

Under the new accord, businesses may make the tax deduction for up to three days a year for each employee. The deduction may be made after formulating a staff skills development plan for the workplace, which may involve discussing educational needs collectively at the workplace or individually with each employee. Employees aged 55 years and over may also use this opportunity to promote working capacity and job satisfaction.

Instead of a tax deduction, employers in the public and third sectors may be compensated in some other way. This will enable workplace skills enhancement legislation to cover employers without tax liability.

The labour protection authorities may also instruct employers to conduct appraisals of expertise if this has not been done at a workplace, if necessary on pain of fines for non-compliance.

An employee who has not participated in statutory skills enhancement for a period of three years will be entitled to study leave for the purpose of vocational skills development. This leave will amount to three days per year, and may be saved over a period of up to three years. The employee will be paid normal earnings through the Education Fund during study leave.

SAK presses for legislation in the New Year

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) is hoping to see a bill on skills enhancement at workplaces presented to Parliament in the autumn, with a view to introducing legislation from the beginning of 2013. These new statutory provisions will be particularly important to employees in sectors organised by SAK trade unions, whose access to employer-subsidised training continues to lag behind that of clerical staff. The latest SAK working conditions survey indicates that fewer than half (44 %) of the working members of SAK-affiliated trade unions took part in employer-subsidised training last year.