One in five Finns admits to having worked off the books

A recent study shows that there would be plenty of people willing to take on gig work if the red tape were less burdensome.

In a recent survey on work, 20 percent of Finns admit to having worked off the books. Ten percent of the survey respondents say they have had work done off the books. A significant portion of work in Finland appears to take place outside the scope of statutory processes, including taxation.

Working without a tax card is particularly common among people aged 18–34: as many as 28 percent of this age group admit to having worked off the books.

How honest are Finns, really?

“I have to admit I’m surprised,” saysJani Laatikainen, CEO of SuoraTyö. “The results confirmed our suspicions, but the numbers were even more drastic than we had anticipated. The hassle of paperwork involved in hiring people for occasional jobs seems to be driving Finns into a gray area. This is not a good thing. It is particularly concerning that young people are being drawn into the underground economy.”

The work study is part of the #Duueri campaign being launched today. The campaign is backed byEtera, Fennia, Lenovo, SuoraTyö, Oikotie, and T-Media. The goal of the campaign is to bring together employers and workers in the new economy online—ensuring that the hiring process meets all legal requirements.

#The approach promoted by the Duueri campaign differs, for example, from “light entrepreneurship”—a topic of public debate—regarding which the rules for accruing pension, unemployment, and social security benefits are unclear.

The SuoraTyö service used in the campaign covers every stage of the employment relationship, from the employment contract to payroll and the fulfillment of employer obligations. Employees are covered by social security even during short-term employment, and their pension accrues continuously.

Finns want to do gig work

A work study reveals that 53 percent of Finns would be willing to take on gig work if it were easy to find and agree on the terms of the job, and if the obligations related to paying wages could be handled easily and cost-effectively within the framework of the law. Thirty-one percent of respondents—or nearly one in three Finns—would be willing to hire an outside contractor for household tasks under the same conditions.

Twenty-seven percent of working Finns say there is unfulfilled temporary work at their workplace because of inflexibility in the recruitment and payroll processes for temporary work.

“There’s a lot of work to be done in Finland,” says Jani Laatikainen. “It’s in everyone’s best interest that we make work more flexible for those who want to decide for themselves when, where, and how much they work. This is an opportunity for both workers and employers.”

“As the world of work undergoes a transformation, we must lay everything out on the table and responsibly advance the future of a Finland that gets things done. We have a shared opportunity here to take the reins and establish best practices for a diverse new way of working.”

DOWNLOAD THE RESEARCH REPORT HERE:Work Study 2017(pdf, 430 kb)

More information:

Jani Laatikainen, CEO, SuoraTyö
044 023 1179
jani.laatikainen@suoratyo.fi

Tuuli Pohjola, Researcher, T-Media Oy
044 054 0566
tuuli.pohjola@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com

Facts from the Work Study and the #Duueri Campaign

The work survey was conducted by T-Media Oy on behalf of the campaign’s partners. The aim of the survey was to examine the views of Finnish adults on working and providing work. Data was collected via an online questionnaire from March 22 to March 30, 2017.

A total of 1,222 Finns validly responded to the survey. The survey’s target group consisted of Finns aged 18–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The sample has been weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence. The margin of error for the entire data set is no more than 2.8 percentage points in either direction.

The #Duueri campaign challenges all Finnish companies and households that already use gig workers to offer one week’s worth of additional work this year beyond what they would otherwise provide. Offering a week’s worth of work means, for example, four hours of work per month for ten months. If successful, this would mean a half-billion-euro boost to Finland’s economy each year. This amount would cover nearly the entire annual salaries of all qualified elementary school teachers in Finland.

The goal of the campaign is to generate five million hours of new work in Finland this year through the SuoraTyö and Oikotien Keikkatyöt services. This is equivalent to more than 2,600 full-time jobs, just under four percent of the government’s employment target.

#The Duueri campaign website can be found atwww.duueri.fiTuore. Research shows that there would be plenty of people willing to take on gig work if the bureaucracy were less burdensome.

Working without a tax card is particularly common among people aged 18–34: as many as 28 percent of this age group admit to having worked off the books.

How honest are Finns, really?

Finns want to do gig work

Twenty-seven percent of working Finns say there is unfulfilled temporary work at their workplace because of inflexibility in the recruitment and payroll processes for temporary work.