The City of Helsinki may grant financial support to employers for wages to employ an unemployed resident of Helsinki. Employers may receive up to 800 euros a month in support for the hiring costs of a new employee over a period of 12 months. The amount of support depends on the gross salary of the employee, indirect employment costs and the amount of holiday bonus as well as whether any pay subsidies or employment subsidies for those aged 55 or over have been granted for the employment.
Campaign focused at supporting employment of recent graduates
With the Helsinki benefit campaign running from 1 April to 30 September, the City supports the employment and entry into the workforce of recent graduates, in particular. If a recently graduated jobseeker has been granted a Helsinki benefit card, the employer may apply for the Helsinki benefit online through e-services.
The Helsinki benefit provides a good foundation for the initial costs of hiring someone in addition to a pay subsidy and for the time period after the pay subsidy. For example, if an employer has applied for and been granted a pay subsidy for the first five months of a non-fixed-term employment contract, the employer may apply for the additional Helsinki benefit to help with the wages for a full twelve months. In this case, the Helsinki benefit would be granted for the first five months alongside the pay subsidy, and an additional monthly benefit of up to EUR 800 could be granted for the remaining seven months.
The benefit is discretionary and the decision on granting the benefit is made on a case-by-case basis. More detailed terms and conditions on eligible employees, employment contracts and employers are available on the Helsinki benefit website.
Online service for Helsinki benefit reformed
You can now apply for the Helsinki benefit effortlessly using the new e-services.
“The online electronic service system for the Helsinki benefit is simple and user-friendly and the questions on the application form are easy to understand,” says Teija Kotilainen from the Finnish Red Cross chain of Kontti department stores. She applied for the Helsinki benefit in 2024 using e-services.
Employers who submitted applications through e-services were asked how easy they thought applying for the benefit was. An impressive 91% of respondents felt that applying was easy or fairly easy. Open feedback on applying for the Helsinki benefit highlighted the usability of the platform: “This was easy, and it made me happy.” Another applicant commented the following: “This restored my faith in e-services.” The clarity and accessibility of information were also praised: “Clear instructions and a good platform for providing information and applying, thank you.”
You need to attach a signed employment contract and one of the following to your application: decision on pay subsidy or employment subsidy for those aged 55 or over or the Helsinki benefit card. These prove that the newly hired employee was previously unemployed and the benefit is allocated correctly.
Please see more detailed terms and conditions concerning the application and granting of the Helsinki benefit on the Helsinki benefit website.