Statutory occupational healthcare in Finland: the minimum

Editorial update 26.10.2026

Statutory occupational healthcare in Finland is employer-arranged preventive care. It is required even for one employee, including office and remote workers. Medical care is an optional addition: the legal minimum is not a standard bundle of appointments for everyone.

What does the Occupational Health Care Act require?

The Occupational Health Care Act 1383/2001 requires employers to arrange prevention based on the work and working conditions. A small headcount, apparently low exposure or a history without sickness absence does not remove this duty. Buying services transfers practical delivery to a provider, not the employer's responsibility to arrange them.

An entrepreneur's own occupational healthcare is voluntary. Once a business employs people, the duty applies to its employees. Where employment status is unclear, establish it properly rather than assuming that ownership or invoicing settles every case.

The written agreement defines the purchase. The workplace assessment establishes the health significance of the work. The occupational health action plan turns that information into objectives and agreed activities. These documents have different purposes; signing one does not replace the others. The Finnish umbrella term is työterveyshuolto, occupational healthcare.

What does preventive occupational healthcare include?

Prevention examines how work affects health and work ability and helps prevent work-related harm. For an office business, relevant subjects include work organisation, workload, working hours, ergonomics and hybrid-working practices. The assessment should describe real work rather than simply record the office address.

The service includes workplace assessment, health examinations where justified, advice and guidance, and work ability support and follow-up according to need. Assessing workplace first-aid preparedness also belongs to the preventive perspective. Occupational health professionals assess the necessary activities; the employer supplies information about conditions and implements agreed changes to work arrangements.

Mandatory health examinations relate to occupational risks and justified needs. Ordinary office work does not create an automatic annual examination entitlement or obligation for every employee. The purpose and need must be assessed separately. A standard blood-test package is not a universal measure of whether preventive duties have been met.

A minimum service is not an empty agreement

The statutory minimum means sufficient preventive activities for the actual needs, not simply a provider's name in a staff handbook. A low-cost agreement does not demonstrate compliance if the workplace assessment or necessary activities never happen. Conversely, the law does not generally require the employer to purchase every available service.

In a five-person team the managing director may coordinate the arrangement. A business with 25 employees may divide tasks between HR and managers. In both cases, identify who supplies background information, enables employee participation, reviews recommendations and tracks implementation.

Ask the quotation to explain how the assessment, action plan, necessary examinations and follow-up will be delivered. Establish what the fixed fee includes and what is charged separately. A statutory need and a provider's pricing method are different questions. An activity can be necessary without being included in the advertised monthly fee.

Broad coverage versus optional medical care

The Finnish description laaja työterveyshuolto, broad occupational healthcare, is not a uniform legal package or a promise of unlimited services. A broad package may combine prevention with agreed general-practitioner-level medical care. Check consultations, investigations, specialist advice, psychology, physiotherapy and access channels in the actual agreement.

When an employee asks what occupational health covers, answer on two levels: which preventive services are arranged because of the work, and which optional medical services the company has purchased. Access to a doctor does not establish coverage for every investigation or onward treatment. Remote access likewise does not guarantee that every issue can be handled remotely.

Use the coverage comparison guide to compare actual packages. This guide instead identifies the employer's preventive minimum before choosing a service level.

Dental care is a separate benefit

Dental care is not part of statutory preventive occupational healthcare or Kela-reimbursable occupational healthcare. An employer may arrange a separate dental benefit, but neither an occupational health agreement nor the word broad establishes that such a benefit exists.

If employees ask about dental costs, check the separate benefit decision and its terms. Do not promise dentist appointments on the strength of the occupational health package. Staff communications should name the two arrangements separately so that booking an appointment does not create a mistaken expectation about who pays.

What changes in 2027?

At this guide's check date, 26 October 2026, decree 708/2013 applies in its currently effective form. Decree 503/2026 was published on 11 June 2026 but takes effect on 1 January 2027. Do not describe it as a requirement already in force today.

Specific service-itemisation and quality-plan requirements have a transition running to 1 January 2029. The general 2027 commencement and that specific transition are therefore different deadlines. Ask the provider how documents and working practices will be updated. The reform is not a reason to postpone arranging prevention under the current rules.

Employer checklist

• Is prevention arranged for every employee?
• Does the workplace assessment cover remote work and workload?
• Does the action plan name responsibilities and follow-up?
• Are examinations based on an identified risk or need?
• Are optional medical care and separate benefits clearly distinguished?
• Do employees know where to find instructions for using the service?

Next step

Review services and request a written description of preventive delivery. Continue with workplace assessment, health examinations and the mandatory-care guide.

Sources

• Occupational Health Care Act 1383/2001.
• Decree 708/2013.
• Decree 503/2026.
• Kela: reimbursable occupational healthcare.

Sources checked 26 October 2026. General employer guidance, not an individual legal assessment.