Employer of Record in Finland: what one employee really costs

Questions people ask before booking a demo

How much does an employer of record cost in Finland?

Statutory employer charges come to 19.3% of gross pay, with no ceiling: earnings-related pension at 17.10%, the employer's health insurance contribution at 1.91% and unemployment insurance at 0.31%. On a US$65,000 salary that is about US$1,050 a month on top of salary. Published EOR fees then run from about $199 to $699 per employee per month, so the all-in cost lands near $6,660 to $7,160 a month depending on the provider. Two insurance premiums and a possible holiday bonus sit outside that figure because no public schedule sets them.

Why is Finland cheaper than Sweden on employer charges?

Because most of the Finnish pension system is an insurance contract rather than a tax, and part of it is charged to the employee. The total earnings-related pension contribution is 24.85% of wages in 2026, but the employee pays 7.30 points of it, leaving the employer an average of 17.10%. Sweden by contrast charges its employers 31.42% of payroll in social contributions and a general payroll tax that no employee shares, which is why the same hire shows 32.3% there and 19.3% here. The comparison is honest on the statutory lines and incomplete on the rest: Finnish workers' compensation and group life premiums, and any holiday bonus in the applicable collective agreement, are real costs that no public schedule prices for a given employer: the Workers' Compensation Center publishes only market averages, 0.48% of wages for workers' compensation and 0.053% for group life in 2026, and the holiday bonus depends on the agreement.

Does the employee's age change the employer's cost in Finland?

Less than it used to. Through 2025 the employee's own pension share was 7.15% under 53 and 8.65% between 53 and 62, and the employer paid the rest, so a 55-year-old was cheaper for the employer. For 2026 the employee's share is a flat 7.30% at every age, which removes that step; any guide still quoting 7.15% and 8.65% is quoting last year. Age still switches lines on and off: pension insurance is compulsory from the month after the 17th birthday, the unemployment contribution is paid only for employees aged 18 to 64, and the health insurance contribution for those aged 16 to 67. Hiring at 66 therefore drops the unemployment line and about 0.31 points.

What is the two-tier unemployment contribution, and which tier applies to me?

The Employment Fund charges an employer 0.31% of wages up to a payroll limit of EUR 2,509,500 a year and 1.23% on the part above it. The limit is on the employer's whole annual payroll, not on one person's salary, so under an employer of record it depends on how big the provider's Finnish payroll is - a fact no provider page we read discloses. This page prices the lower tier, which is what every employer pays on the first EUR 2.5 million and what Deel's published Finland breakdown uses. If your provider is over the limit the charge on your hire is 1.23%, about US$600 a year more on the example above. Ask before you sign. The Employment Fund proposed cutting both rates for 2027, to 0.26% and 1.04%, but that proposal is not yet law.

What leave and notice apply in Finland?

Annual holiday accrues over a holiday credit year running from 1 April to 31 March: two days a month while the employment has lasted under a year, two and a half days a month once it has lasted at least a year, which is thirty Finnish holiday days or five working weeks. Finnish law names thirteen public holidays - the eleven church holidays of the Church Act plus Independence Day and May Day, which the Annual Holidays Act adds - but makes none of them a paid day off: which days are paid time off follows the collective agreement, and the Working Hours Act lets an employer require work on a Sunday or a national holiday only by contract or with the employee's consent, at double pay. A trial period may last up to six months. Notice from the employer runs from 14 days under one year of service to six months beyond twelve years; from the employee, 14 days up to five years and one month after.