Did your wages for your summer job arrive in your bank account? This is how to check if they were paid correctly

When you check your payslip carefully, you make sure that you are getting paid what you should for your work. This is what to do:

Check your payslip

You must get a payslip every time you are paid wages. The payslip is a breakdown of what the earnings you are paid are made up of. A payslip can be on paper or in electronic form.

1. First check that your personal details and bank account are correct in your payslip.
2. Then check that your basic wages and any supplements and overtime payments are in line with the collective agreement for the sector.
3. In Finland, employment terms and minimum wages are agreed in sectoral collective agreements concluded between a trade union (for example PAM) and an employers’ federation. Your wages cannot be lower than the minimum wages, but they can be higher.
4. To find out what the minimum wages are you should be getting in your job, check wages for young people and summer workers.
5. Summer work is not a reason for paying workers lower wages, for example due to young age or the job being short-term.

It pays to keep track of your working hours

Next check your payslip for the number of working hours, i.e. how many hours you are being paid for. It’s good to keep a record of hours worked right from the start of your job. That way you can be sure that you are getting the wages you are due for all the hours you have worked.

Check your employment contract to see how many working hours you have been promised. This is important because the number of working hours given to an employee must correspond to the number of hours agreed in the employment contract. For example, if your employment contract agrees a minimum of 30 hours a week, but you only get to work 20 hours, then your earnings will also be lower than expected.

Check also that taxes and other mandatory charges, like employment pension contributions and unemployment insurance contributions, are deducted from your wages. If you are a trade union member, union membership fees can also be deducted straight from your wages. All these deductions must show on the payslip.

Ask your employer to correct your wages if you noticed mistakes

If you didn’t get your wages, or you notice something is wrong or missing, contact your employer and try to sort it out as soon as possible. You can ask your employer to go through your payslip with you. Usually, it’s a case of human error, which can be put right when it’s pointed out.

If you’re unsure, go to the union representative (luottamusmies) at your workplace. If there’s no union representative, get in touch with PAM.