New services related to the pandemic offered by Business Espoo
The coronavirus pandemic has caused major challenges for businesses and the experts of Business Espoo are here to help you.
We can tell you about opportunities to get support and help you find solutions. If necessary, we can refer you to the legal and financial experts in our network. For now, Business Espoo serves entrepreneurs and companies remotely and by phone. Our chatbot Bertta serves you on our website. Bertta can answer companies’ general-level questions about matters such as internationalisation, training and recruitments.
The City of Espoo publishes and constantly updates information on the coronavirus epidemic on its website(external link).
You can book an hour-long remote appointment with the business advisor of your choice for personal brainstorming and advice. We can tell you about different sources of support, help you find information and work on solutions. Use our handy online booking system to book an appointment, and we will email you a link to a meeting. Alternatively, we can also talk with you on the phone. Book an appointment with a business expert(external link).
The service is provided by EnterpriseEspoo which is part of the Business Espoo network. The service is free of charge and confidential.
Read the comprehensive “everything an entrepreneur needs to know about the coronavirus(external link)” (in Finnish) website of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. We particularly recommend the questions and answers section as a reliable source of information on employment relationships, agreements and finances affected by this exceptional situation. The Federation of Finnish Enterprises regularly organises training and coronavirus information events. You can watch the webinars held so far on the Federation’s website in Finnish(external link).
The website of the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, which is part of our network, also contains comprehensive information for entrepreneurs and companies to help them cope with the pandemic. The information package includes important information, recommendations and regulations for employers, advice on economics and financing, an exit strategy, position papers and research results from surveys conducted by Chambers of Commerce to their member companies on the current situation and future expectations of companies. Link to the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce’s information page on coronavirus for companies(external link).
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has compiled on its website questions and answers on what companies must take into account about business funding(external link). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has also published more detailed instructions on where companies of different sizes can apply for funding during the coronavirus pandemic. See the funding sources and instructions for how to proceed on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment website(external link).
Follow the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s current issues page(external link).
We have prepared a recovery plan workbook, which you can download in PDF format from the EnterpriseEspoo website(external link) (in Finnish). With the help of the workbook, you can steer your business into new growth after a crisis. You will learn, among other things, to identify changed needs in the market, to productise and utilise your own expertise and other resources in a new way, to prepare for financial situations in different scenarios and to improve cash management. You can also use the cash flow calculation template.
The employer may lay an employee off on two different grounds:
- the employer has economic or production-related grounds for terminating the employment contract. if the amount of work has decreased substantially and permanently and no other work or training can be offered to the employee, the employer may temporarily lay off the employee.
- the employer's ability to offer work has been reduced temporarily (for a maximum of 90 days). The requirement for a lay-off is that the employer cannot offer the employee other work or training that would meet the employer's needs.
The employer may lay off a fixed-term employee only if they are a substitute for a permanent employee and the employer would have the right to lay off the employee in question.
The employer and the employee may only agree on a lay-off for a fixed period and on the basis of the employer's activities and financial status.
If you are an employer within the scope of the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings, you must notify your TE Office of your cooperation negotiations. This notification must be made no later than the beginning of the procedure.
For more information, please visit the TE Services website(external link).
The maximum duration of the start-up grant has been temporarily extended to a total of up to 18 months. For more information, please visit the TE Services website(external link).
Enter Espoo helps start-ups, investors and large companies find each other – now with new means. For the time being, the encounters occur through online meetings between pre-selected start-ups and large companies. Events are organised throughout the year, so it is worth creating a company profile in the Launchpad online service in order to receive targeted information from Enter Espoo on other actors and cooperation opportunities, events, meetings, innovation competitions and internationalisation trips. The service is free of charge and also enables direct contact between the different actors. Register your company with Launchpad(external link).
Does your company have work to do, but lacks people to do it? Sometimes there comes a time when there is no longer enough work for everyone or the work changes its shape. Even in these changing situations, we can find a solution together.
During the coronavirus crisis, the importance of developing companies’ skills has been significantly highlighted. Omnia can help you get the right skills where they are needed. For example, you can recruit students as future professionals, acquire talent through labour market training or apprenticeships, update the skills of your staff in changing situations or support the relocation of your staff.
Check out Omnia’s training at kauppa.omnia.fi(external link) or ask for more information by e-mail at yrityspalvelut@omnia.fi. Also check out the training offered by the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce(external link).
Competence for the needs of the company through apprenticeship
Watch and listen to BE Studio (in Finnish) to learn how skills can be developed through apprenticeship training. The ins and outs of apprenticeship training are explained by BE Studio’s expert guest, Frida Wickholm-Jansson, Career Advisor at Omnia. BE Studio is hosted by Director Saija Äikäs from the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce.
Watch BE Studio on the Business Espoo YouTube channel(external link).
Visit Espoo's website(external link) contains up-to-date information related to tourism and open services in Espoo during the pandemic.
Visit Finland’s Practical information for Travelers page(external link) offers practical travel information for international leisure travelers planning a visit to Finland during the coronavirus pandemic.
You might be interested also on Travel Recovery(external link) information for the travel trade by Visit Finland.
The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) provides expertise and internationalisation services for SMEs in more than 60 countries. The network offers a wide range of services, ranging from EU advice to support for international technology transfer. The activities are co-financed by the European Commission (COSME programme).
Examples of EEN services for the pandemic situation:
- EEN sources of information in the economic situation caused by coronavirus, link to the compilation page(external link)
- Virtual matchmaking events(external link)
- The virtual platform CARE & INDUSTRY TOGETHER AGAINST CORONA(external link) helps companies find solutions and partners
- The database of business opportunities(external link) maintained by Enterprise Europe Network allows you to search for, for example, sales channels, franchising partners, subcontracting and logistics partners as well as explore opportunities for joint ventures and acquisitions.
- You can also follow EEN Finland’s Twitter(external link) to get current tips and information on future funding application.
BE Studio is a webcast-format agile production implemented by Business Espoo. The episodes address topical business and entrepreneurial themes and highlight service solutions that help Espoo entrepreneurs and companies to succeed. BE Studio episodes can be found on the Business Espoo YouTube channel(external link).