Occupational health examinations in Finland: need and privacy

Editorial update 26.10.2026

An occupational health examination is based on occupational risks or an individually assessed need. Mandatory examinations do not mean an automatic annual check for every office employee. The purpose is to assess the relationship between work and health and any need for work ability support, not to give employers access to patient records.

When is an examination mandatory?

Specific occupational health risks may require statutory examinations. The need follows from the work and exposure, not from how broadly a service package is named. Occupational health professionals assess the need, content and timing using workplace information and applicable requirements. The Finnish term työterveystarkastus means an occupational health examination.

The employer must describe tasks and conditions accurately. Tell occupational health when work changes rather than continuing an old examination programme unchanged. If the basis is unclear, ask which risk the examination addresses and what the employer needs to arrange.

Not every occupational health check is mandatory in the same way. Distinguish examinations related to a special risk of illness, other assessments justified by work or individual circumstances, and optional general health screening. Do not issue a blanket instruction to attend simply because a quotation mentions health checks.

Office employees do not automatically need annual checks

Office or knowledge work alone does not create a universal annual examination duty. Recruitment or reaching a particular age likewise does not automatically mean everyone receives the same examination. Occupational health assesses the need from occupational risks and individual circumstances.

A five-person business therefore does not need to invent its own annual testing programme. A business with 25 employees should not prescribe an identical investigation bundle merely for administrative convenience. Need-based decisions help focus professional time and preventive activities where they are relevant to the work.

The invitation should explain the examination's purpose, practical arrangements and whom to ask about its basis. Occupational health supplies instructions concerning clinical content. A manager should not devise a test list based on symptoms an employee has mentioned.

Individually justified examinations and work ability support

An examination may also be justified by an individual work ability need without a programme covering the whole task group. Occupational health assesses the situation confidentially. The employer's role is to describe a support need observed at work and possible adjustments, not to investigate a diagnosis.

The assessment can consider the relationship between job demands and functional ability, and the need for guidance, follow-up or adjustments. It is not an automatic promise of a particular test, referral or treatment. The professional determines the clinically justified content.

If a joint discussion about continuing at work is needed, arrange the work ability support procedure separately. Joint workplace discussions focus on work and agreed arrangements. Detailed health information belongs in confidential patient care, not in a shared team memo.

What does the employer learn?

The employer receives the necessary conclusion about fitness or ability for the task and relevant restrictions or arrangements through the appropriate process. This does not establish a right to the full patient record, test results or diagnosis. The statement's content depends on the purpose of the examination.

Employees do not have to disclose their diagnosis to their manager. Employer processing of health data must meet working-life privacy rules, including necessity and an appropriate basis. Only designated people handle the information, and it must be stored separately from other personnel data.

Agree in advance who receives any statement and how information about work arrangements reaches the manager. Do not share health details in Slack, team chats or shared project spreadsheets. Individual examination findings should not be added to the workplace assessment report either. A small team requires particular care because even indirect details can make a person identifiable.

An examination is not the same as medical care

A preventive occupational health examination concerns work, health and work ability. A medical appointment assesses and treats illness within the agreed service scope. Optional medical care purchased by the employer does not replace necessary preventive examinations.

Equally, a preventive examination does not mean every treatment discussed during it is covered by the employer's agreement. Check service boundaries with the provider and direct employees to the professional for questions about their own next steps. Do not promise particular tests or care pathways in staff instructions without confirmed contractual grounds.

Dental care is not part of statutory preventive occupational healthcare or Kela-reimbursable occupational healthcare. A possible separate dental benefit does not change the need-based approach to examinations. Broad package coverage and a statutory examination duty are different matters.

Illustrative example

An employee at a ten-person software business asks about an annual check. Rather than promising automatic examinations to everyone, the employer asks occupational health how occupational risks and individual needs are assessed. The employee can discuss personal circumstances directly with the professional.

If work arrangements need changing, the employer receives the necessary conclusion through the appropriate process. The team hears only about the agreed allocation of work. This is not a customer story and does not guarantee a particular assessment outcome or scope of service.

Practical employer checklist

1. Check that the workplace assessment describes current tasks and conditions.
2. Ask occupational health for the examination basis, relevant group and follow-up process.
3. Distinguish mandatory risk-based examinations from other justified assessments.
4. Clarify invitations, booking, costs and invoice itemisation.
5. Name the recipient of statements and protect information handling.
6. Follow up agreed work arrangements, not the employee's diagnosis.

When an examination is proposed, keep the administrative and clinical conversations separate. HR may need to organise timing and payment, while the employee and professional discuss health details privately. Clear responsibilities make it easier to arrange necessary support without collecting unnecessary information.

Next step

Ask in your quotation request how necessary examinations are arranged and charged. Read about workplace assessment, statutory prevention and package coverage.

Sources

• Occupational Health Care Act 1383/2001.
• Kela: reimbursable occupational healthcare.
• Occupational safety authority: health information.

Sources checked 26 October 2026. This guide does not determine an individual employee's examination needs.