Working Hours and Overtime in Finland

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Finland?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 7 hours per day and 35 hours per week. An employee whose age is 16 or older is allowed to work 40 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 30 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 8:00 to 16:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Finland

Under the Finnish Working Hours Act, the normal maximum working time is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, although many collective agreements reduce this to 7.5 hours per day and 37.5 hours per week. You may agree on flexible working time arrangements, but you must ensure that average hours do not exceed statutory or collectively agreed limits over the applicable reference period. You are required to monitor working time and keep accurate records to demonstrate compliance.

Working time can be averaged so that the weekly working hours do not exceed 40 hours on average over a 4‑month reference period, or a longer period if a collective agreement allows it. Any work beyond the agreed regular hours is generally treated as overtime and requires employee consent and premium pay. You must also ensure that daily and weekly rest requirements are not undermined by extended shifts or compressed workweeks.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

Companies hiring in sectors like healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, or hospitality may be subject to special scheduling rules. In healthcare and residential care, 12‑hour shifts are common, but you must still secure at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and 35 consecutive hours of weekly rest. In transportation, EU and national rules on driving time and rest breaks override general working time rules where they are stricter.

In manufacturing, security, and hospitality, shift work and continuous operations may allow for irregular schedules, but average weekly hours must not exceed 40 over the reference period. Collective agreements in these sectors often specify detailed shift patterns, night work rules, and additional premiums that you must follow. You should always check the applicable sectoral agreement before designing rosters.

• Healthcare professionals may work 12-hour shifts with extended rest periods.
• Transport workers must comply with EU-aligned rest and driving limits.
• Manufacturing and security staff often rotate through night or weekend shifts.

Even in these sectors, you must ensure the average weekly limit is respected over a reference period. You must also ensure that employees receive their statutory daily and weekly rest regardless of operational needs. Failure to adapt schedules to these limits can lead to enforcement action and claims for unpaid overtime.

Managerial And Exempt Employees

In Finland, only employees in genuinely leading positions or those who can independently decide their working hours may be excluded from parts of the Working Hours Act. Even for these employees, you must clearly define expectations on availability, workload, and any fixed salary component that is intended to cover overtime. The exemption does not allow unlimited work without regard to occupational safety and health obligations.

For higher‑level specialists and managers who are not fully exempt, you may use flexible working time or trust‑based hours, but you must still track total working time. Their contracts should specify whether the salary includes a quantified amount of overtime, such as 10 hours per month, and how additional hours will be compensated. Ambiguous clauses are interpreted in favor of the employee in disputes.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Finland

Statutory full‑time work in Finland is generally based on 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, although many collective agreements define full‑time as 37.5 hours per week. You may agree on shorter full‑time hours, such as 36 or 37 hours per week, but you cannot exceed the statutory maximums without triggering overtime. Part‑time work is any arrangement below the agreed full‑time hours for the role.

Full‑time hours can be arranged as fixed schedules, flexible working time, or averaged working time systems. When using averaged working time, you must ensure that the average does not exceed 40 hours per week over the agreed reference period and that overtime premiums are paid when thresholds are exceeded. Any changes to full‑time schedules should be documented and communicated in advance.

Overtime Regulations In Finland

As an employer in Finland, you must obtain the employee’s consent for overtime, track all hours worked, and pay statutory overtime premiums on time. You are required to maintain working time records that show daily and weekly hours, overtime, and any corresponding compensation or time off in lieu. Non‑compliance with overtime rules can lead to claims for back pay, administrative sanctions, and potential criminal liability for working time offences.

What Counts As Overtime In Finland?

Overtime in Finland is generally any working time that exceeds 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week under the Working Hours Act, unless a lower threshold is set in a collective agreement. Daily overtime is the time worked beyond the agreed regular daily hours, while weekly overtime is the time that exceeds the regular weekly hours when daily limits have not been exceeded. Work performed on an employee’s agreed rest day or outside the established schedule is also typically treated as overtime if it exceeds regular hours.

Work on public holidays and Sundays is subject to special rules and premiums in addition to overtime pay when thresholds are exceeded. If you use an averaging system, overtime is determined by comparing total hours in the reference period with the statutory or agreed average, and any excess must be compensated with the applicable premium. You must clearly distinguish between additional hours for part‑time employees and statutory overtime, as different rules and premiums may apply.

Maximum Overtime In Finland

Under the Finnish Working Hours Act, overtime is capped at 138 hours over a 4‑month period and 250 hours per calendar year per employee. In addition, you may agree locally with employee representatives on up to 80 hours of additional overtime per year, bringing the absolute annual maximum to 330 hours. You must also ensure that overtime does not cause total working time to exceed 48 hours per week on average over a 4‑month reference period, in line with EU rules.

Daily overtime is normally limited so that total working time does not exceed 10 hours per day, and weekly working time including overtime should not exceed 48 hours in any single week. You must monitor cumulative overtime to ensure that the 138‑hour and 250‑hour caps are not exceeded without a valid local agreement for the extra 80 hours. If you approach these limits, you should adjust schedules or hire additional staff rather than relying on further overtime.

Overtime Payout Rates In Finland

In Finland, the statutory minimum overtime pay rate is 150% (1.5x) of the regular hourly wage for the first 2 hours of daily overtime and 200% (2.0x) for any additional daily overtime hours. When overtime is calculated on a weekly basis, all overtime hours must be paid at 150% (1.5x) of the regular hourly wage. You may agree with the employee to provide equivalent paid time off in lieu, but the time off must reflect the same premium, for example 1.5 hours of leave for each 1 hour of overtime paid at 150%.

Work performed on Sundays or church holidays must be compensated with a Sunday premium of 100% (2.0x) of the regular wage, and this is paid in addition to any overtime premium when both apply, resulting in up to 300% (3.0x) of the base hourly rate. Many collective agreements also provide specific numerical premiums for evening work, night work, and Saturday work, such as fixed euro amounts per hour or percentage increases, which you must honor if applicable. You should clearly document overtime rates and calculation methods in employment contracts and payroll systems to avoid disputes.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Finland

In Finland, employees typically work up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and rest periods and breaks are designed to protect health and safety within these limits. The Working Hours Act links daily and weekly rest directly to the number of hours worked and the scheduling of shifts. As an employer, you must structure working time so that meal breaks, daily rest, and weekly rest are always respected alongside standard working hours.

• Meal Break: Employees who work more than 6 hours in a day are entitled to a meal break of at least 30 minutes, which may be unpaid if the employee is free to leave the workplace. Collective agreements in Finland often grant longer meal breaks or additional shorter coffee breaks that you must follow where applicable.
• Daily Rest: Employees must receive at least 11 consecutive hours of uninterrupted rest in every 24‑hour period, calculated from the start of the working day. In exceptional cases allowed by law or collective agreement, daily rest may be temporarily reduced to 9 hours, but the reduction must be compensated later.
• Weekly Rest: Employees are entitled to at least 35 consecutive hours of weekly rest, which should preferably fall on Sunday. In continuous operations, this rest may be scheduled on another day of the week, but the 35‑hour minimum must still be met.
• Minors: Young workers under 18 have stricter rest rules, including a daily rest of at least 12 consecutive hours and generally a weekly rest of at least 38 consecutive hours. You must also avoid scheduling minors for night work and ensure their breaks are suitable for their age and workload.
• Employer Duty: Employers in Finland must plan shifts so that statutory breaks and rest periods are automatically built into the schedule and recorded in working time systems. You are responsible for ensuring that operational pressures do not erode these rights and for correcting any breaches promptly, including by granting compensatory rest.

Night Shifts And Weekend Regulations In Finland

Night and weekend work are legal in Finland but subject to additional employer responsibilities and employee protections. You must consider health and safety, ensure compliance with working time limits, and respect any sector‑specific rules in collective agreements. In many cases, you will also need to pay numerical premiums for night or Sunday work on top of basic wages.

Night work in Finland is generally defined as work performed between 23:00 and 06:00, and regular night work is only allowed in certain types of operations such as shift work, healthcare, security, and continuous production. Employees who regularly work at least 3 hours during this window or whose work frequently falls in this period are considered night workers. For these employees, you must pay attention to health monitoring and the cumulative impact of night shifts on total working time.

• Premium Pay: Finnish law does not set a single statutory percentage for night work premiums, but many sectoral collective agreements grant numerical supplements such as a 15%–30% increase or fixed euro amounts per night hour. Where a collective agreement applies, you must pay at least the agreed premium, for example a 30% night supplement in many healthcare and industrial agreements, in addition to any overtime or Sunday premium.
• Health Monitoring: Regular night workers in Finland are entitled to appropriate health examinations, typically before starting night work and at regular intervals thereafter. You must arrange and pay for these assessments and take medical recommendations into account when planning ongoing night duties.
• Workplace Restrictions: Minors under 18 are generally prohibited from night work, with only narrow exceptions in certain supervised training contexts. Pregnant employees and those with medical restrictions must be protected from hazardous night work, and you may need to adjust duties or transfer them to day work where necessary.

Weekend work, particularly on Sundays and church holidays, is more tightly regulated and usually requires the employee’s consent unless the work is inherently continuous or shift‑based. When employees work on Sundays, you must pay a Sunday premium of 100% (2.0x) of the regular wage, which is added on top of any overtime premium so that Sunday overtime can reach 300% (3.0x) of base pay. If Sunday work replaces the normal weekly rest day, you must also ensure that an equivalent 35‑hour rest period is granted on another day.