Group 5

Buluran, Shurel Marl

Sablaon, Arvin Joseph

Sobrepeña, Hannah Danielle

Trinidad, Ma. Ivy

FINLAND

Finnish Government and its Public Service

 Finland’s form of government: Parliamentary democracy

 Public sector employees in Finland are categorized into two: civil servants and
public employees
 Legal basis: Civil Servants’ Act for the civil servants and Employment Contracts
Act for the public employees. Collective Agreements are applicable to both
categories.
 Finland ranks 5th on the Top 10 Best Civil Service according to the International
Civil Service Effectiveness Index. It falls just behind United Kingdom.
 The Office for the Government as Employer, under the Ministry of Finance, is the
country’s central HR agency. It’s responsible for negotiating and concluding
collective agreements and setting the strategic HR policy guidelines.
 Core values: Public employees must act in defence of neutrality, sovereignty
and impartiality in their work. Additional values: activities are result-oriented
and open, characterized by quality, strong expertise and trust and are neutral,
sovereign, equal and responsible.
FOUR CORE HR FUNCTIONS
I. Recruitment, Selection and Placement Process
- Recruitment in Finland is substantially position-based. Entries into the civil service is
gained through direct application and interview for a specific post, with all posts being
published and open to internal and external recruitment. There is no career-based
system except for the military and foreign service. Minimum qualifications are: age, skill,
ability, and civic merit.
- Each ministry or agency organizes the recruitment of its staff. Each recruitment body
determines its own recruitment methods. The Finnish Constitution nevertheless lays
down a number of minimum criteria: competence, ability and an awareness of what is in
the public interest. Other conditions may be required such as education, experience and
language ability
(Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish). In a large number of central
government jobs a university degree is required.
II. Leaning and Development
- Finland does not have any elite educational establishment for the production of future
high ranking civil servants. Some agencies provide in-house training for almost all of
their staff upon entry. Workplace training is mostly voluntary, with no general statutory
obligation on employers to provide or finance training for their employees, however,
there are some exceptions to it. Average training is 3-5 days per year.
III. Performance Management
- Finland makes substantially less use of performance assessment in HR decisions
compared to the average OECD country. Although, assessment is mandatory for almost
all employees and takes the form of an annual meeting with the immediate superior,
with some organizations also using 360° feedback. A narrow range of criteria is used,
focusing on outputs, improvement of competencies and interpersonal skills.
Assessment is of high importance to remuneration, and lesser importance to career
advancement and contract renewal.
Group 5

Buluran, Shurel Marl

Sablaon, Arvin Joseph

Sobrepeña, Hannah Danielle

Trinidad, Ma. Ivy

- Generally, Finland uses much more performance related pay (PRP) than the average
OECD country, although, pay systems are specific to each state agency. Each pay system
is based on individual performance and competence.
IV. Rewards and Benefits
- Maternity leave for 105 days
- Paternity leave for 158 days
- Conscripts allowance, housing allowance , disability allowance, rehabilitation
allowance
- Health insurance
- Occupational earnings-related pension or the National pension, old age pension,
disability pension, unemployment pension
- Finland has flexible retirement age (63-68 years) for earnings-related pensions, while
the retirement age in the guaranteed pension scheme is 65 years.