There are many good tips migrants can get in Finland on how to land a job, write a convincing CV, and give near-perfect answers to a prospective employer at a job interview. Despite the latter, one crucial matter needs to be included: Learning and protecting your rights after you are hired.

Because it is difficult to find online cases of abuse and unfair practices by employers, the victim may face several obstacles. The post below by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) highlights the problem of employer abuse, but there is no advice on what you should do and whom you should turn to for help.

Khalid, who prefers to remain anonymous because he fears problems with his past employer, said that the system whereby asylum seekers must get work to get a residence permit opens them up to abuse.

“I know of many cases where a foreigner is abused and taken advantage of by the employer,” he said. “It is easy for the employer to force the employee to accept abuse and work in black, and even threaten him or her with deportation.”

Khalid is, however, adamant: “When you feel something is wrong, go to the authorities and ask for legal advice. This is your right, and I don’t wish anyone to suffer my terrifying experiences in the Finnish labor market.”

He said the information you can get from unions like SAK is very helpful when approaching the police about your case. Even so, there is so much that such organizations can do to fix your problem at work.

The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) below tells you how to identify exploitation by the employer but not what to do if you are a victim of such abuse.

Khalid has not yet made a police report about the abuse he suffered at a Helsinki company that subcontracts work from the state-owned Posti Corporation.

First employers

Like many others, the young Iraqi came to Finland in 2015 when he was 18. His work history defies all the hostie urban tales by far-right anti-immigration groups like the Perussuomalaiset*, claiming such people came here only to live off social welfare. For several years, Khalid was an undocumented migrant since he had a deportation order in 2017 but preferred to stay. 

“I came in 2015 but started to work in 2018 for a company that fixed old windows and did cleaning work,” he said. “I was fortunate because the company that hired me did not exploit me. They paid me fairly, got paid for overtime and even holiday pay.”

Khalid’s first job in Finland was fixing old windows. Source: Google

The young man admits being surprised that his first employer treated him fairly. He had heard of many cases where their employers abused and short-changed foreigners.

“I was forced to quit my first job because I did not have a work permit,” he said. “I could not apply for a work permit because I did not have a passport. I was unemployed, but only for a short time.”

His second employer was Posti Corporation. He was paid 850 euros a month for distributing newspapers during the wee hours. From Posti Corporation, he started to do construction cleaning work but had to quit that job because Migri would not grant him a work permit.