Sick-leave self-certification in Finland

Editorial update 26.10.2026

Self-certification means an employer accepts an employee’s own notification as evidence of sickness absence within an agreed policy. In Finland, omailmoitus is a workplace-policy and collective-agreement matter: there is no universal statutory number of self-certified days. Check the applicable rules before assuming that another employer’s practice applies.

When can an employee self-certify?

The employee must be unable to perform their work because of illness. Self-certification is a method of evidencing absence, not an extra holiday or a remote-working day. An employer can require reliable evidence of incapacity. Start with the applicable collective agreement, known as a työehtosopimus or TES, and then the employer’s written instructions.

State which employees and situations the policy covers and who accepts notifications. Without an agreed policy, an employee should not assume they may stay away for a particular number of days without evidence. A former employer’s policy does not carry into a new employment relationship.

Work ability relates to the actual tasks. Adjusted duties may sometimes be possible, but must be discussed separately. Working from home does not mean someone who is unfit for work must remain available to clients or colleagues.

Duration, scope and exceptions

Write down the permitted period, how extensions are reported and when professional assessment or a certificate is needed. Do not present a company’s chosen limit as Finnish law. Explain the treatment of consecutive or recurring absences and who resolves uncertainty. Apply exceptions consistently under the applicable rules rather than according to a manager’s personal preference.

Clarify whether the policy concerns the employee’s own illness only. Absence because a child is ill and other types of leave need their own instructions. If evidence is required, identify the accepted professional and delivery method. A nurse’s short absence statement is not automatically accepted by every employer, and a retrospective certificate cannot be promised.

How to notify the employer

Ask employees to notify incapacity promptly under the workplace instructions. Give them a named contact, a backup and an approved channel. The recipient should acknowledge the notification and explain whether further evidence is needed. Employees should not have to guess whether an unanswered message was sufficient.

Recording time off and submitting evidence may be separate steps. Explain both. If absence is likely to continue beyond the self-certification period, tell the employee how to contact occupational healthcare or another accepted service. Check medical-care coverage separately: preventive occupational healthcare does not automatically include all medical appointments.

Notification and confidential handling

Tell employees whom to notify, which channel to use, who covers absences of the usual recipient and how continuing absence must be reported. A message to a healthcare provider does not automatically notify the employer. The manager needs information about absence and its expected duration to organise work, not a diagnosis for the team.

Health information may be processed only for a necessary, legally permitted employment purpose, such as establishing sick-pay entitlement. Obtain it from the employee or with their consent, restrict access to designated people and keep it separate from other personnel information. A small team does not remove these duties. Do not post symptoms, diagnoses or certificate images in ordinary Slack or team chats. Even a direct message is not automatically an approved health-data channel.

What reason must be supplied?

The notification identifies the basis as the employee’s own illness-related incapacity under the employer’s instructions. The employee need not disclose their diagnosis to a manager merely so tasks can be reassigned. Any necessary health evidence goes to the designated authorised recipient through the approved confidential route.

In a small company the founder may also handle payroll or absence evidence. Those overlapping roles do not make health information available for general management discussion. Explain the recipient’s role and purpose clearly rather than asking employees to circulate details to everyone involved in staffing.

Illustrative example

A ten-person consultancy has documented a self-certification policy consistent with its collective agreement. An employee reports incapacity and the expected duration to the named recipient. The manager acknowledges receipt and moves a client meeting without telling colleagues the medical reason.

When absence looks likely to exceed the company’s policy, the employee contacts an accepted healthcare service. A professional assesses the situation and whether evidence can be issued. This example sets no universal day limit and does not guarantee a certificate.

Employer implementation checklist

• Check the collective agreement and align the policy with occupational-health arrangements.
• Define scope, duration, exceptions and the extension process.
• Name the recipient and backup, and establish a confidential delivery route.
• Separate acceptance of absence, sick-pay assessment and Kela benefit decisions.
• Give Finnish- and English-speaking employees equivalent instructions.

Next step

Compare service coverage, then align your policy with the certificate guide and sick-pay guide. A usable instruction should tell an employee what to do today and what changes if the absence continues.

Sources

• Finnish Institute of Occupational Health: sickness absences, checked 26 October 2026.
• Occupational safety authority: health information, checked 26 October 2026.
• Employment Contracts Act, chapter 2 section 11, checked 26 October 2026.