Government allocates €290,000 to small business employment advice services – Suomen Yrittäjät to provide the service

The Finnish government has included an investment of €290,000 for employment advice services in its supplementary budget. The money will be used to offer legal advice to small business. The employment advice services will be provided in cooperation with Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) organization.

“Entrepreneurs have been saying that there’s a need for advice on employment. This service will deepen cooperation between employers and employees. The goal is to lower the threshold for employment and get more people in Finland into work,” says Katri Kulmuni, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Employment.

Single-person companies and small businesses have a particular need for information and advice on employment matters. They particularly need advice in English, but also in other languages.

The launch of the advice service will support the forthcoming pilot project on hiring support that will lower the threshold for a small business to hire its first employee.

“Small businesses need legal aid”

“This is a welcome decision. Small businesses, in particular, often need legal aid to make sure they act correctly as employers. We’re delighted to be able to support entrepreneurs in this way,” says Mikael Pentikäinen, CEO and President of Suomen Yrittäjät.

“It’s particularly important to support immigrant entrepreneurs, who are often ill-informed about the complicated Finnish employment regulations. Many of them employ other immigrants,” Pentikäinen says.

In the Helsinki region, 40% of new businesses are started by people with an immigrant background. Finland has around 10,000 immigrant entrepreneurs, who employ around 30,000 people. These businesses have a turnover of approximately €3.5 billion.

Quicker work permits

“The supplementary budget contains more money for the Finnish Immigration Service. This is needed to speed up the issuing of work permits and to get businesses the workforce they need more quickly. Getting work permits takes far too long at present,” Pentikäinen says.

He says the employment advice service is intended as another service for Suomen Yrittäjät members, but one that will nevertheless be available to all small businesses.

“Assistance is available via many channels. When the service is developed further and the final decisions are taken, we’ll know more details,” Pentikäinen says.

Jari Lammassaari

jari.lammassaari(at)yrittajat.fi