Municipal allowance for employment

Eligibility Criteria for the Municipal Employment Subsidy in Suomussalmi Effective January 1, 2026

 

Information on the Municipal Employment Subsidy  

The goal of the municipal employment subsidy granted by municipalities is to encourage employers to hire the most vulnerable unemployed job seekers, such as those with partial work capacity, the long-term unemployed, foreign-language speakers, and young job seekers under the age of 25.   

 

What?  

  • The municipal subsidy may be granted to employers with a business ID. The municipal subsidy is not available to publicly funded employer organizations.
  • The municipal subsidy is granted for a period of no more than 10 months and no less than 4 months.
  • The municipal subsidy amounts to a maximum of €1,000 per month.
  • When granting the municipal subsidy, the support may not exceed 50 percent of gross wage costs (excluding ancillary costs and vacation pay). 
  • Support may be granted for apprenticeship contracts even if the other conditions for granting the municipal subsidy are not met. In such cases, support is granted for vocational studies (basic or continuing education), and the municipal supplement amounts to a maximum of €600 per month for a period of 12 months (support ceiling €7,200 per person).  The minimum duration for periods granted under an apprenticeship agreement is 2 months.  
  • A prerequisite is always a salary for the employee in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement, which counts toward the employment duration requirement (at least €930/month).
  • A support period granted on the basis of partial work capacity may be re-granted for the employment of the same person at the discretion of the authorities, up to a maximum of two times (10 months + 10 months + 10 months). The criteria for granting the benefit include an assessment of the accommodations made at the workplace to accommodate partial work capacity, as well as steps taken to obtain, for example, a decision on a part-time disability pension or a disability pension.
  • You cannot apply for the municipal subsidy again to hire the same person for the same employer.
  • The municipal subsidy will not be granted for hiring a person if that person has previously been employed by the employer applying for the subsidy.
  • The municipal subsidy is a discretionary grant that must be applied for before hiring the employee, and the municipality reserves the right to grant or deny the subsidy.   

 

For what purpose?

  • To cover the salary costs incurred from hiring an employee.
  • The employer is required to provide active guidance and support to the employee orientation into their job duties.
  • The granting of the municipal subsidy complies with EU regulations on state aid. It is granted under the de minimis rule, i.e., as de minimis aid. According to the de minimis Regulation, a single company may receive such aid up to a maximum of 300,000 euros over a three-year period, and the amount of aid must be assessed on an ongoing basis (Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013, adopted on December 18, 2013, on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid, OJ L 352, Dec. 24, 2013).

 

To whom?

To employers who hire long-term unemployed, partially disabled, or a foreign-language-speaking, or under 25 years old job seeker in the Kainuu-Koillismaa employment area under an employment or apprenticeship contract. The decision to grant the municipal subsidy is always made by the municipality where the job seeker is registered as a resident.

The municipality of Suomussalmi may grant the municipal subsidy when the job seeker to be hired is registered as a resident of Suomussalmi. If the job seeker is not registered as a resident in Finland, the municipality of Suomussalmi may grant the municipal subsidy at its discretion based on the job seeker’s stay in Suomussalmi.

 

A municipal subsidy may be granted:

  • for the employment of a long-term unemployed person or a person at risk of prolonged unemployment, when the period of unemployment exceeds 6 months.

or

  • on the basis of partial work capacity, when the person to be hired has submitted, prior to starting work, a medical certificate (to employment counselors) indicating the impact of the disability or illness on the performance of work duties as well as other health-related factors that indicate the person’s work and functional capacity and the duration of the disability or illness.

or

  • on the basis of being a foreign-language speaker, e.g., for job seekers who are refugees, under temporary protection, or otherwise in a vulnerable position in the labor market due to their language skills, or to support the employment of work-based immigrants. Granting support on the basis of being a foreign-language speaker does not require registration as a job seeker

or

  • for the employment of young people under the age of 25 who lack vocational training or work experience.

The municipality of Suomussalmi reserves the right to consider granting the municipal subsidy on a case-by-case basis. Receiving the municipal subsidy for hiring employees falling under the aforementioned categories is not a subjective right.

 

How?

The municipal supplement is applied for through the job seeker’s municipality of residence. The application is submitted using the online form (below) 

The municipal supplement is paid retroactively in 1–3-month intervals. To receive payment, the employer must submit an invoice.

(At the turn of the year, municipal subsidies for 2026 must be invoiced to the municipality by January 7, 2027, to receive the subsidy.)


Municipality of Suomussalmi/Employment Services

Reference: Jaana S Heikkinen


003701899257
P.O. Box 5016
02066 DOCUSCAN
Transmission details:
E-invoice address (OVT ID): 003701899257
Intermediary ID: 003703575029
E-invoice operator: CGI Suomi Oy

In addition, the employer must send the employment contract and monthly pay stubs via the secure email service to the following address: tyollisyyspalvelut(at)suomussalmi.fi 

To send a secure email, follow these steps:

  1. Register your email address by going to: https://turva.suomussalmi.fi/
  2. Enter your email address and click "Continue".
  3. On the next page, click “Register,” and you will receive an email at your address containing a link for sending the email and a confirmation page stating that your registration was successful.
  4. Clicking the link will allow you to send a secure email to the municipality of Suomussalmi.
  5. When sending a secure email, enter tyollisyyspalvelut@suomussalmi.fi in the blank address field.