“Even the most basic rights are sometimes denied to immigrant workers,” says expert
“Without broad awareness and enforcement, exploitation becomes normalized,” warns Iryna Shcherbakova.
Nadiia Fedorova
Nadiia Fedorova
Published 27.08.2025 at 10:11
Updated 27.08.2025 at 10:21
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A Ukrainian woman was hired as a care assistant under Finland’s wage subsidy (palkkatuki) program, where the government covers part of the employee’s salary. For six months she worked hard, learned the routines, and fulfilled her duties.
However, the very day the subsidy ended, the last day of the trial period, she was fired. The employer blamed her insufficient Finnish skills and minor mistakes — issues that had not mattered before. Shortly after, the company applied for another subsidized worker.
This was one of the cases handled by Iryna Shcherbakova, a specialist in preventing labour exploitation at the Finnish Refugee Council. She assists immigrants facing workplace challenges as part of the Fair Labour activity.
Immigrants are more vulnerable
According to Shcherbakova, immigrants are at greater risk of exploitation than Finns – due to uncertainty about residence permits, language barrier, and lack of knowledge about their rights and support mechanisms.
“There is also a psychological barrier,” says Shcherbakova. “Often it is hard for the immigrant worker even to approach the manager with their uncertainties.”
Different immigrant groups have different experiences with labour exploitation. It depends not only on nationality or language, but also on visa type, legal status, and type of employment. Still, some issues are widespread across immigrant groups.
Common problems
One of the most widespread issues immigrant workers face is wage theft. This doesn’t just mean unpaid salaries or missing overtime; it often takes the form of systematic underpayment, well below the collective agreement standards (TES).
Contracts may promise one thing, but reality looks very different. Workers end up doing far more hours and duties than agreed — with no additional compensation.
Seasonal workers are especially vulnerable. Shcherbakova recalls the case of the chef assistant whose colleague was suddenly dismissed. For weeks, he carried the workload of two people, managing all the cooking processes, yet her pay remained the same. On top of that, her employer deducted rent for a double apartment directly from his wages.
Such housing exploitation is widespread in seasonal and rural jobs. Employers offer “accommodation” but deduct overpriced rent directly from wages — often without a written agreement. In remote locations, where rental options are limited, workers have little choice but to accept.
Even the most basic rights are frequently denied. Many workers don’t get vacation pay, sick leave, or occupational health coverage. Even worse, employees aren’t informed that they are entitled to them.
Shcherbakova recalls a man who injured his back lifting boxes but continued to work in pain, afraid to report the injury. He had no idea he had a right to see a company doctor or that he should have been insured — because no one told him. When the worker’s health worsened and he couldn’t keep up, the employer dismissed him.
No-break shifts and other schemes
Employers often manipulate schedules as well, says Shcherbakova. A common practice is to assign 5.5-hour shifts, just short enough to avoid the legal requirement of a meal break.
Under the Employment Contracts Act (Työsopimuslaki), Finnish employers are obliged to provide orientation in understandable language and ensure safety and wellbeing in the workplace.
In reality, many migrant workers are thrown into demanding roles without proper training or guidance and left vulnerable to mistakes or injuries. When problems arise, employers deny any responsibility.
Another recurring issue is deskilling. Workers are hired not according to their expertise but judged instead on language skills or nationality. A man with 15 years of insulation experience, for example, was employed only as a “scaffold assistant” — placed in the lowest pay tier despite his qualifications.
Employers also frequently misuse the light entrepreneurship system. Instead of offering proper employment contracts with social security guarantees, they hire workers as so-called “light entrepreneurs”, shifting responsibilities and risks onto the workers.
Exploitation also takes subtler forms, such as the abuse of silence and fear. Many workers are made to understand: if they complain, their contracts may simply not be extended.
Ukrainians’ unique situation
Ukrainians in Finland receive temporary protection status, which allows them to work immediately — unlike asylum seekers. Their permits are not tied to a specific employer, and they are promised fast access to the labour market.
However, this ”fast-track” system pushes people into work before they have received proper orientation or language training, leaving them vulnerable in the long term.
“Ukrainians are shuffled between kitchens, cleaning jobs, seasonal work, and care roles. They are used for the subsidy or until they get sick, tired, or dare to ask for fair treatment. Then: replaced,” says Shcherbakova. “They are treated as disposable.”
What makes their case distinct, she stresses, is intent:
“Most Ukrainians are not just passing through. They left their home behind and are compelled to build a future here. They work under harsh conditions, hoping it will secure them and their family stability — only to realize that they are being cycled through a system.”
Economic and legal pressure
Shcherbakova points out that certain industries in Finland are especially prone to labour exploitation. Subcontracting chains are long and complicated, making accountability easy to avoid. Sectors such as construction, cleaning, hospitality and restaurant services, agriculture, and elder care stand out as the most vulnerable.
These are also the very sectors hardest hit by Finland’s ongoing economic difficulties. Many companies are struggling to stay afloat. To reduce costs they resort to layoffs, shorter hours, or cutting down on training.
When even those measures are not enough, some employers cross the line into illegality: they hire people without contracts, delay wage payments, refuse to pay overtime according to TES, or push workers into self-employment as “light entrepreneurs.”
For workers, particularly immigrants, this often means being cornered into accepting underpaid and risky jobs simply to ensure any source of income.
The 2025 reform of the Aliens Act introduced stricter rules for tracking migrant employment. Employers are now required to notify the Immigration Service within seven days of terminating a migrant worker’s contract. On one hand, the measure helps expose exploitative business models where companies profit by charging migrants for job-based visas and then dismissing them shortly after arrival.
However, Shcherbakova warns that the reform also increases the pressure on vulnerable employees. After dismissal, they have only three — or in some cases six — months to secure a new job or risk losing their residence permit.
“Every employment contract becomes a lifeline,” she explains. “Many stay silent about mistreatment, fearing not just the loss of income — but the threat of deportation.”
Useful links and services for those experiencing problems in working life
Tukea työelämän haasteisiin – Suomen Pakolaisapu
Work Help Finland – Ministry of the Interior
Occupational Safety and Health Administration – tyosuojelu.fi
Non-Discrimination Ombudsman
Information on legal matters – oikeus.fi
Victim Support Finland – riku.fi
Problems in working life – InfoFinland
To send an anonymous tip to the authorities
Send a tipoff – tyosuojelu.fi
Reporting suspected tax evasion – vero.fi