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02.12.2025 12:30

Food couriers deserve the basic rights of Finnish working life and true freedom

What is important for a courier to know about the difference between employment and entrepreneurship?

What does the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision on employment mean?

Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court has ruled, that Wolt couriers can be considered to have been working under an employment relationship, not as entrepreneurs. The ruling is a precedent and cannot be appealed. Wolt has applied for an annulment of the ruling, but such applications rarely succeed.

With this application, Wolt seems to be stalling at the expense of the couriers’ rights. If the ruling or part of it were annulled, the Supreme Administrative Court would re-examine the matter.

Why did the court determine that couriers are employees?

The case was taken to the Supreme Administrative Court by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland, that is government labour inspectors. The court ruled that all the characteristics of an employment relationship under Finnish labour law were met in the case of food couriers. This means the relationship is one of employment, not entrepreneurship.

According to the court, the work was carried out personally, on behalf of the employer, under their direction and supervision, and in exchange for remuneration. The independence typical of entrepreneurship was, in part, merely superficial and masked the reality of an employment relationship.

What are the differences between employment and entrepreneurship?

In Finland, work is carried out either as an employee or as an entrepreneur.

An employment relationship also allows flexibility in working hours, just like the current entrepreneurial model. An employer cannot unilaterally change the essential terms of employment, such as pay. On top of that, an employment relationship brings additional rights. The table below summarises the key differences between the rights and obligations of employees and entrepreneurs:

EmployeeEntrepreneur
RightsAgree on working time
Paid annual leave or holiday compensation
Sick pay and occupational health care
Protection against arbitrary dismissals
Occupational safety and onboarding
Work accrues employment pension
Employer pays work-related insurances
Employer provides tools or compensates for the use of own equipment		Decide the price of their work
Decide how to carry out the work
Set their own working hours
Can use substitutes or subcontractors
ObligationsWork as agreed in employment contract
Follow employer’s instructions		Pay taxes and pension contributions on income earned
Handle bookkeeping and obtain necessary permits and insurance policies
Bear the financial risks of illness, disability, or unemployment
Responsible for work done through the entrepreneur’s account and for permits of people working via the account

Can an employee use a substitute?

It is widely known that many substitute couriers pay even tens of percent of their earnings to the account owner. In some cases, the account holders are abroad and rent out their accounts. This is not fair. In an employment relationship, it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that wages are paid properly, and that no one is being scammed.

Labour legislation does not impose an absolute ban on using substitutes in an employment relationship, but the final decision rests with the platform companies.

Do PAM and PAM Couriers Finland want to take away flexibility and freedom from couriers?

No. Flexible working time models are possible in an employment relationship. Such models are common in, for example, the restaurant sector, where work is carried out under employment contracts.

Ultimately, the companies decide what kind of working time model would apply to couriers in an employment relationship, but neither Finnish legislation nor PAM prevents flexible ways of organising work.

What do PAM and PAM Couriers Finland want for couriers?

Couriers deserve the basic rights of Finnish working life. Couriers deserve the same security and opportunity for a sufficient livelihood as other workers in Finland. These basic rights include fair pay, rights under the Annual Holidays Act, paid sick leave, compensation for using personal equipment, and protection against dismissal. In an employment relationship, the employer also cannot unilaterally lower pay without negotiations.

How can I influence things myself?

You can have the greatest influence by joining PAM Couriers Finland and encouraging other couriers to join as well. Only by organising and making demands together is there a chance to achieve fairer working conditions for all couriers.

Keywords:

Platform economy

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