Supervision of employment services

You can submit a complaint to the Finnish Supervisory Agency on matters concerning employment services when 

• your case concerns the tasks of the employment authority, which are laid down in:  
  • the Act on the Organisation of Employment Services  
  • the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration 
  • the Act on Multisectoral Promotion of Employment   
  • the Act on Rehabilitative Work Activities   
• the employment authority or a person in an employment relationship with the employment authority has acted unlawfully or failed to fulfil their obligations. 

Submit complaint using online form (in Finnish or Swedish)

Rehabilitative work activities are not part of public employment services. They are part of social services. The wellbeing services county is responsible for organising rehabilitative work activities. The employment authority participates in the preparation of the activation plan and in the steering of rehabilitative work activities. If the complaint concerns the duties of an employment authority, the complaint is processed as a complaint to the employment services. 

It is not within the competence of the Finnish Supervisory Agency to process complaints or enforcement cases concerning private employment service providers. Employment authorities can purchase such services as training, expert evaluations, and labour market training from private service providers. 

You can submit a complaint concerning unemployment security to the Finnish Supervisory Agency when 

• your case concerns the tasks of the employment authority or the KEHA Centre, which are laid down in the Unemployment Security Act, including:   
  • investigation of an unemployment security matter 
  • a hearing on unemployment security 
  • issuing a labour policy opinion 
  • the processing time for a labour policy opinion 
• the employment authority or the KEHA Centre or a person in an employment relationship with them has acted unlawfully or failed to fulfil their obligations when performing the duties laid down in the Unemployment Security Act. 

Submit complaint  using online form (in Finnish or Swedish)

A decision by the payer (Kela or an unemployment fund) made on the basis of a labour policy opinion can be appealed to the Social Security Appeal Board within the deadline. Instructions on how to appeal are attached to the payer’s decision.  

The employment authority organises the following as public employment services: 

• employment services 
• information, guidance, and advisory services 
• training 
• labour market training 
• transition security training. 

Public employment services also include:  

• expert assessments related to the service process of an individual customer 
• trials 
• independent study supported with an unemployment benefit  
• subsidies and compensation granted to employers and private customers. 

The employment authority carries out an assessment of the customer's service needs. The employment authority must provide work and training and organise the services included in the employment plan. 

In addition, the employment authority must monitor the implementation of the employment plan and ensure the progress of the jobseeker’s service process. 

Employment authorities and the KEHA Centre issue labour policy opinions within their competence. Provisions on the competence of the authority are laid down in the Unemployment Security Act. A labour policy opinion will bind the payer of the unemployment benefit (unemployment fund or Kela).  

In situations where the employment authority is not competent to issue a labour policy opinion, the report is referred to the KEHA Centre for processing, and the KEHA Centre then issues a labour policy opinion in this case.  

You cannot submit an appeal on a labour policy opinion separately. Instead, you must file an appeal against the decision issued by the payer (Kela or the unemployment fund). You can submit an appeal to the Social Security Appeal Board asking for a change to decision made by the payer.