Espoo recruitment subsidy

• Who can apply for the subsidy: an employer in the private or the third sector.
• For what is the subsidy granted: wage costs in an employment relationship lasting at least 12 months where the working hours are at least 80 per cent.
• Person to be hired: an unemployed jobseeker from Espoo who is under the age of 30 or who speaks a foreign language, who has been unemployed for at least three (3) months and has upper secondary or higher education.
• Amount and payment of the subsidy: 5,000 euros / employment relationship. The subsidy is paid to the employer on a one-off basis at the beginning of the employment relationship.
• Application period: the application period begins on 3 February 2026.

• Espoo recruitment subsidy can only be granted for employment relationships that have started on 1 January 2026 at the earliest.
• The employment relationship may not begin before the subsidy is granted.
• The subsidy is granted to the private and third sectors.
• The employment relationship lasts at least 12 months, and the working hours are at least 80 per cent of the maximum working hours of a full-time employee applicable to the sector.
• Subsidy 5,000 euros / employment relationship, paid to the employer on a one-off basis at the beginning of the employment relationship.
• Recruitment subsidy can be granted for a maximum of ten (10) employment relationships per employer during the calendar year.
• Different forms of employment subsidies cannot be applied for simultaneously or for the same period.
• A recruitment subsidy may be granted after a pay subsidy period if
  the employment relationship continues after the end of the pay subsidy period as a permanent employment relationship and with at least 80 per cent working hours. Recruitment subsidy and pay subsidy cannot be received at the same time. If the employment relationship continues to be valid until further notice after the pay subsidy period, the employer must apply for the Espoo recruitment subsidy within 60 days of the date when the employment relationship became permanent.
• The employer must have appropriate working facilities and a supervisor for the person to be hired. The employee must be paid wages according to the collective agreement. If there is no binding collective agreement in the sector, the wages must be considered typical and reasonable for the work done. The wages of the person to be hired with the subsidy must be based on something other than their work performance. The subsidy may not result in the employer dismissing, laying off or making their other employees work part-time.
• Espoo recruitment subsidy may be granted if the employer has offered work, pursuant to the Employment Contracts Act, to employees who have been dismissed or laid off for financial or production-related reasons and to employees who work part-time. Dismissals or lay-offs do not prevent the granting of the subsidy if the employer is not obliged to offer work to their dismissed or laid-off employees. The employer may not have been materially negligent with regard to taxes and statutory payments. Additionally, an employer engaged in business activities may not be 
  an undertaking in difficulty within the meaning of the General Block Exemption Regulation, or the employer must not have any outstanding recovery orders based on a decision of the European Commission.
• Subsidies granted to business operators are always de minimis subsidies.
• In their application, the employer must provide a report on the de minimis subsidies granted to them for the current and the two preceding fiscal years.
• The employer undertakes to use the Espoo recruitment subsidy for the purpose referred to in the decision.

• Upon request, the employer must provide information on the employment relationship or documents outlining the employer’s operations to the processor of the Espoo recruitment 
  subsidy.
• Subsidies granted based on incorrect information or used for a purpose other than the intended purpose of the subsidy may be recovered from the employer. 
• The subsidy may also be recovered if the employer does not provide the requested information.
   

Submit the application and its appendices to the Espoo Registry Office. Please note that the application must include both the employer’s signature (p. 3) and the signature of the person to be employed (p. 4).

By email: Send it encrypted via the SecureMail service to kirjaamo@espoo.fi

By mail:
Espoo Registry Office
P.O. Box 1
02070 City of Espoo

Visiting address:
Registry Office
Siltakatu 11, 3rd floor
Shopping Centre Entresse
02770 Espoo

Open on weekdays from 10:00 to 15:45.
Website of the Registry Office