Wages of young people and summer workers

How much pay should under 18-year-old high school students get for summer job in retail? What about a 19-year-old chef with vocational qualifications? What are schoolgoer’s wages? Or what has been agreed about the Earn as you learn (Tutustu ja tienaa) traineeship programmes? Read more here.

Summer jobs and short employment contracts are subject to the collective agreement applicable in the sector and the general sectoral employment terms in it.  Collective agreements contain rules stating that the total wages of young people doing summer jobs are based on their experience and the training relevant to the job.

A summer job or other seasonal work are not a reason to pay employees lower wages just because an employee is young or is on a short contract. If, despite being young, an employee has occupational experience and previously acquired skills, this must also be taken into account even for short employment contracts during the summer.

Several collective agreements contain various rules on pay for young people, schoolgoers or trainees. Whenever you take up employment and sign an employment contract, you must check the wage-setting conditions: Which collective agreement is applied, what are the working hours, length of the contract etc.

Below you can check out the most typical minimum wages for young people and summer workers as agreed in the sectoral collective agreements. You can find more details on the employment terms in force in the sector in the collective agreement.

Always remember to check your payslip to see that your wage and supplements have been paid correctly in accordance with the shifts you have worked. PAM recommends keeping a record of the shifts you have worked and keeping the shift list in case you need to check it.

Young persons’ pay in a summer job may depend on whether they are in an Earn as you learn summer traineeship programme or whether they are covered by the standard wage terms in the collective agreement, such as schoolgoers’ wages or trainees’ wages.

Commerce sector

In the commerce sector, employees’ wages are affected by many factors, such as whether an employee has relevant training for the job or previous experience in the sector. 

Schoolgoers’ wages are at least 70% of the 1st-year wages of the lowest wage group in the occupation. Schoolgoers’ wages can be paid to students in basic education, upper secondary school or vocational training establishments. 

An employer can pay schoolgoers’ wages for a maximum of 2 months. After this at least trainees’ wages must be paid.

Trainees’ wages are at least 85% of the 1st-year wages of the lowest wage group in the occupation. Trainees’ wages can be paid for a maximum of one year. After this at least the 1st-year wages of the relevant pay group must be paid.

Do you have a vocational qualification in the commerce sector?
If you have completed a relevant vocational qualification, you are always a 3rd-year employee in the pay scale. 
 

Minimum wages in Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa according to the pay scales as of 1 May 2022:

Pay group	schoolgoer monthly wages	schoolgoer hourly wages	trainee monthly wages	trainee hourly wages	1st-year worker monthly wages	1st-year worker hourly wages
A	1 289,40	8,06	1 565,70	9,78	1 842	11,51
B1	1 354,50	8,46	1 644,75	10,28	1 935	12,09
B2	1 367,10	8,55	1 660,05	10,38	1 953	12,21

 

Minimum wages in the rest of Finland according to the pay scales as of 1 May 2022:

Pay group	schoolgoer monthly wages	schoolgoer hourly wages	trainee monthly wages	trainee hourly wages	1st-year worker monthly wages	1st-year worker hourly wages
A	1 283,30	7,74	1 503,65	9,40	1 769	11,06
B1	1 299,20	8,12	1 577,60	9,86	1 856	11,60
B2	1 313,90	8,21	1 595,45	9,97	1 877	11,73

 

Working hours supplements

You can find how much working hours supplements for evening and weekend work are in the collective agreement.

Sunday work payment
Double wages are paid for regular work done on Sundays or religious holidays, Independence Day or May Day. Working hours supplements are not paid double, however.

 

Hotel, restaurant and leisure industry

The collective agreement contains rules on pay for young people, schoolgoers and trainees. Wages are calculated based on years of experience and/or relevant training. Employers must also take into account summer workers’ education and previous work experience.

Schoolgoers’ wages  are 70% of the wages in the wage group in the collective agreement. These can be paid to students in basic education and upper secondary school. Schoolgoers’ wages can be paid for a maximum of 2 months.

Trainees’ wages are at least 80% of the 0-2 year wage group for the job function concerned. Trainees’ wages can only be paid for the period of a traineeship, which is at the start of an employment relationship and can last a maximum of 6 months.

If an employee has vocational training in the sector, the traineeship period is a maximum of 2 months. Possible work experience reduces the  traineeship period.

Wages equivalent to trainees’  wages can also be paid to employees under the age of 18 years if they do not have professional skills or qualifications in the sector.

Minimum wages until 30 June 2022 according to the pay scales:

pay group	schoolgoer hourly wages	schoolgoer monthly wages	trainee hourly wages	trainee monthly wages	0-2 year worker  hourly wages	0-2 year  worker monthly wages
1.	7,25	1 152	8,28	1 316	10,35	1 645
2.	7,39	1 175	8,44	1 342	10,55	1 678
3.	7,85	1 248	8,97	1 426	11,21	1 783
4.	8,29	1 318	9,47	1 506	11,84	1 883

 

Minimum wages from 1 July 2022 according to the pay scales:

pay group	schoolgoer hourly wages	schoolgoer monthly wages	trainee hourly wages	trainee monthly wages	0-2 year worker  hourly wages	0-2 year  worker monthly wages
1.	7,39	1 175	8,44	1 342	10,55	1 678
2.	7,54	1 198	8,62	1 370	10,77	1 712
3.	8,01	1 273	9,15	1 455	11,44	1 819
4.	8,46	1 345	9,66	1 537	12,08	1 921

 

Working hours supplements

You can find how much work supplements for evening and weekend work are in the collective agreement.

until 30.6.2022

• Evening work (6 pm to 12 pm) 1,30€/h
• Night work (12 pm to 6 am) 2,21€/h

from 1.7.2022

• Evening work (6 pm to 12 pm) 1,33€/h
• Night work (12 pm to 6 am) 2,25€/h

 

Sunday work payment

Basic wages and evening and night work supplements are paid increased by 100% for hours worked on a Sunday, other religious holiday, May Day or Independence Day.

 

Property services sector

Young people or summer workers entering the property services sector are often offered work tasks in job complexity groups 2-4 in the pay scales.

Trainees’ wages are calculated based on wage group 1. Trainees’ wages can be paid to schoolgoers and students working during school holidays.

Minimum wages according to the pay scales  in effect from 1.6.2022 :

pay group	hourly wage	montly wage
1 trainee	10,12	1 629
2	11,24	1 809
3	11,80	1 900
4	12,39	1 995

 

Amusement parks

There is a separate collective agreement for employees working in amusement, theme and adventure parks that applies to employees covered by the Working Hours Act.

Workers under the age of 18 years in wage groups A and B can be paid 90% of the wages in the relevant wage group for the first 2 months of the employment relationship. After this wages are calculated at least based on the 0-6 months experience level.

When calculating length of experience in the pay scale, length of time worked for the same employer is taken into account. Length of experience is calculated in months. Experience is accrued for calendar months during which an employee has worked at least  10 working days or 76 hours.

Minimum wages until 31 August 2022.

Note! The wages of a worker in employment on 1 July gets a 2 % raise on 1.7. or the start of the following pay period. Evening and night supplements also increase. 

Pay group A (basic tasks) 

A-group	under 18-year-old	0-6 months	6-12 months	over  1 year
I PLK	6,88	7,64	8,39	9,37
II PLK	6,76	7,51	8,26	9,23

 

Pay group B: vocational tasks (and not serving alcoholic drinks over 5,5 %-vol.).

B-group	under 18-year-old	0-6 months	6-12 months	over  1 year
I PLK	7,84	8,71	9,53	10,77
II PLK	7,77	8,63	9,41	10,64

 

Pay group C: vocational tasks with more independence and responsibility (serving alcoholic drinks over 5,5 %-vol.).

C-group	0-6 months	6-12 months	over 1 year
I PLK	9,31	10,42	11,78
II PLK	9,13	10,22	11,56

 

Working hours supplements

You can find how much supplements for evening and weekend work are in the collective agreement.

Sunday work payment
Wages are paid increased by 100% for work done on a Sunday, other religious holiday, May Day or Independence Day. Evening and night work supplements are paid double.

 

Earn as you learn summer traineeship programme

The Earn as you learn traineeship programme only applies to the sectors where there is an agreement.  Find out more details here.