Incorrect employment permits in construction

“A group of workers from Kosovo were working on public sites in a town in Pirkanmaa. Work was purported to be carried out for a construction company, a property services company, and a rental company. The same Finnish individuals were behind all of them. The residence permit for an employed person was issued for one company, but work might be carried out for a second company, and wages were sometimes paid from a third company’s account. Personal ID containing a tax number – mandatory in the construction sector – was found for all the companies.

There were problems with the payment of wages, and the workers decided to contact the Finnish Construction Trade Union (Rakennusliitto) through their compatriots.

Investigations by the trade union found that all of the workers had arrived in Finland via the same Kosovan intermediary. Some had even carried out work: one worker had received €40.71 in payment for 60 hours of labour, even though the employment permit application submitted to the Finnish Immigration Service promised €14 per hour. For some, work never began, and one person didn’t even make it to Finland. Despite this, each of them had paid approximately 6,000 euros in exchange for employment in Finland. The threshold payments were paid in the country of origin to an intermediary who was related to some of the workers.

The workers lived in an industrial hall shared by twenty people, sleeping in camp beds separated only by room dividers. The bathroom facilities were inadequate. As there wasn’t much work, there was no opportunity to move out of the facilities arranged by the employer. Not everyone could afford to return home.

The Finnish Construction Trade Union brought the case in its entirety to the attention of the authorities.”

Permits range from non-existent to incorrect

To come to Finland from a non-EU country for work purposes, a person needs a residence permit for an employed person. This employment permit must apply to the intended industry the person intends to work in. Additionally, the workplace, or hiring company, must be known in advance. The wages must comply with the collective agreement for the sector, or otherwise correspond to wages paid in Finland.

“Before the war in Ukraine broke out, we would encounter Ukrainians or Belarusian workers without any employment permits on construction sites on a weekly basis. This is quite rare nowadays, as Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection and subsequently have the right to work in Finland. Today, it’s more common to see workers with permits for the wrong industry,” explains senior specialist Toni Malmström from the Finnish Construction Trade Union’s international labour unit.

Almost the entire construction industry is currently subject to labour market testing, which means that employment permits for third-country nationals aren’t easily obtained.

“This is subsequently circumvented by applying for employment permits for cleaners, even though the intention is to work in construction.”

An employment permit is the size of a bank card. If a person’s grounds for residence are e.g. temporary protection, family reunification or a permanent residence permit, all of the permit information can be found on the front of the card. If, however, you have a residence permit for an employed person, the back of the card will specify the profession for which the employment permit was granted.

How does the international labour unit find cases relating to employment permit issues?

“People send us tip-offs through e.g., the union’s whistleblowing channel, which provided us with 80 tip-offs on various cases last year. We also receive tip-offs from competing companies at construction sites. Then there are individuals who are real pioneers in responsibility; the ones who get in touch to ask for advice on how to manage and monitor issues like these. Of course, we’re more than happy to help.”

Vulnerable to exploitation

Working on the wrong employment permit always comes with a risk of exploitation.

“It raises the threshold for speaking out against problems with pay or working conditions, especially if you’re aware that what you’re doing is wrong. Anyone who makes a fuss can be threatened with deportation from Finland,” says Malmström.

If, for example, you’re working in the construction industry on an employment permit granted for childcare, and you don’t get paid, you have to think twice about reporting it to anyone.

There is also a degree of criminal activity connected to employment permits.

“A police representative even told Parliament that all third-country nationals arriving in Finland pay some sort of threshold payment. It could be one, five, or even ten thousand euros for the pleasure of coming to Finland to work.”

The worker then pays some of their wages back to the employer in cash or carries out unpaid weekend labour instead.