what u think,,opinions and suggestions will be appreciated..

jessie · Post by **jessie** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:35 pm

HELLO everyone,,I am a Filipina household service worker hired by a local family here in Finland started April2013 to aug 2015...So,I got the permanent job...basing on my contract,my monthly salary would be 1,134euros which includes full board advantage such as apartment,food,light and heat..and excluding government taxes,pension contribution unemployment and health insurance..I am working 6days a week,and honestly the 40hrs in a week supposed to be is very impossible right now but it's ok with me as long as the family treated me nicely...

I am just confused with the so called''fringe benefit'' which is 453euros deducted from my gross salary...as far as I know,fringe benefit is a kind of benefit provided to the employee which is in kind,other than the cash.It could be an apartment,car etc..correct me if I'm wrong

To sum up,this is not a kind of benefit for me..I am so easy to deal with,,,but I want to know if this is really in accordance with the law here?For the first few months I received 498euros only because of the deductions mainly this fringe benefit..is this justifiable??
Anybody here knows the legalities in employing a household service worker from overseas??from the right salary,working hours,holidays and some to be enjoyed benefits???I do lots of research now from different sites,and I will appreciate if anyone can give opinions and a piece of advice

..

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AldenG · Post by **AldenG** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:03 am

Like Roger says, if they make you pay for housing, it is by definition not a fringe benefit.

BUT: Could this extra deduction be TAX you are paying (through deduction) for the value the tax man assigns to the fringe benefits you are receiving? I don't know the details of various benefits in Finland, but it is common in many countries including Finland that some types of fringe benefits are taxed. Sometimes the employer pays and other times the tax on the benefit is deducted from the employee's pay. Who pays the tax for different kinds of benefits is stated in the tax regulations.

jessie · Post by **jessie** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:02 pm

Thanks for sharing your opinions,,,Yes sir Roger,I understood that a fringe benefit is part of an employee's reward in addition to their salaries which could be in different forms like company cars,discounted goods,movie tickets,etc...or even a paid vacation...this helps the employee's motivation towards work...and this brought me into confusion,instead of enjoying it,I have a DOUBT why it is deducted from my salary which is soooo sad...

I am paying my tax,and some insurance and pension plans which is automatically deducted from my salary,My employer doesn't pay anything,but they provided me the food and accommodation...I think,this is the most possible thing for this deduction...thanks sir Roger and Sir Alden...
One thing I can figured out,the fringe benefit stated in my contract is right.I enjoyed the free housing and food which I must because it is stated in the contract''full board advantage''and the problem is I have to pay for it

which is not right otherwise,it is not called fringe benefit..

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 8:05 am

Well you have a few options:
A: Talk with the family and let them explain in detail what is happening. Maybe they made a mistake, maybe they try to rip you of. Based on their answers you can decide what to do.
B: Take all the information and talk to the tax office. They can tell you what is right and what is wrong. This however can have consequences. If the family is doing something wrong they might get a slap on the hand and your position will become more difficult (or the contract is ended).
C: If your job and the relation with the family is to important, be quiet and accept the situation.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:56 pm

To my knowledge you cant get a res-permit for a specialist so you came in under a contract that has been scrutinized by migri.fi and mol.fi.

Therefore i believe that you and your employers deal cannot pass these inspection points without your " Legal contract" lining up with a generic Collective agreement(including amendments and add-onns are in the legal contract)
I have serious doubts about your employer from your info, 1134 x12 = 13608
Thats 134 euro a month above the minimum to even get a Res-permit.

Heres some study
http://www.tem.fi/en/work/labour_legisl ... ationships

Find your Contract first then look at the details in the contract.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:03 pm

Also look at your salary slips
http://www.pam.fi/en/work/wages/Pages/Default.aspx

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:34 pm

jessie wrote: I am paying my tax,and some insurance and pension plans which is automatically deducted from my salary,My employer doesn't pay anything,but they provided me the food and accommodation...I think,this is the most possible thing for this deduction...thanks sir Roger and Sir Alden...
One thing I can figured out,the fringe benefit stated in my contract is right.I enjoyed the free housing and food which I must because it is stated in the contract''full board advantage''and the problem is I have to pay for it which is not right otherwise,it is not called fringe benefit..

I didnt see this post for some reason.

It seems like a messy situation.
Because of your almost Illegally low gross salary, there needs to be a generic collective agreement that "sets out" the standards in this messy business.

jessie · Post by **jessie** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:53 pm

rinso wrote:Well you have a few options:
A: Talk with the family and let them explain in detail what is happening. Maybe they made a mistake, maybe they try to rip you of. Based on their answers you can decide what to do.
B: Take all the information and talk to the tax office. They can tell you what is right and what is wrong. This however can have consequences. If the family is doing something wrong they might get a slap on the hand and your position will become more difficult (or the contract is ended).
C: If your job and the relation with the family is to important, be quiet and accept the situation.

Thanks for ur conclusion Sir Rinso,,I think I will do the first option which is to talk to them...right now Im just waiting for the right timing.They are good hearted individuals,and I love them especially the kids..hopefully they made it by mistake,,,.I have the other option also,I can file a resignation and look for another genuine employer just in case the worst scenario will happen I have to pay only the 500euros as a refund payment of my entry permit..I am holding the FINNISH RESIDENCE PERMIT card that last up to 14th of August 2015 and it even allows me to work to different families..

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:53 am

.I have the other option also,I can file a resignation and look for another genuine employer just in case the worst scenario will happen I have to pay only the 500euros as a refund payment of my entry permit..I am holding the FINNISH RESIDENCE PERMIT card that last up to 14th of August 2015 and it even allows me to work to different families..

Be careful. Even if your RP allows you to change employers, I'm not sure what will happen if you quit and don't find a new job soon.
Besides, if you already complain about your salary now what would be your situation without income and benefits.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:32 am

I have the other option also,I can file a resignation and look for another genuine employer just in case the worst scenario will happen I have to pay only the 500euros as a refund payment of my entry permit..I am holding the FINNISH RESIDENCE PERMIT card that last up to 14th of August 2015 and it even allows me to work to different families..

Where is the information on your type of residence permit in the migri pages?
http://www.migri.fi/

jessie · Post by **jessie** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:21 pm

rinso wrote:
.I have the other option also,I can file a resignation and look for another genuine employer just in case the worst scenario will happen I have to pay only the 500euros as a refund payment of my entry permit..I am holding the FINNISH RESIDENCE PERMIT card that last up to 14th of August 2015 and it even allows me to work to different families..
Be careful. Even if your RP allows you to change employers, I'm not sure what will happen if you quit and don't find a new job soon.
Besides, if you already complain about your salary now what would be your situation without income and benefits.

Yes Sir,I should be very extra careful with this issue,closing my mouth but still gathering some relevant infos.Perhaps I could even close my eyes till my contract ends what matters me most I learned and discover lots of things.,this is my first time here so for security and practical reasons I WILL just go with the flow right now at the same time I'll be very keen comprehending the things around me..

rinso · Post by **rinso** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:30 pm

cors187 wrote:
I have the other option also,I can file a resignation and look for another genuine employer just in case the worst scenario will happen I have to pay only the 500euros as a refund payment of my entry permit..I am holding the FINNISH RESIDENCE PERMIT card that last up to 14th of August 2015 and it even allows me to work to different families..
Where is the information on your type of residence permit in the migri pages?
http://www.migri.fi/

http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/ ... lationship

jessie · Post by **jessie** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:49 pm

cors187 wrote:
I have the other option also,I can file a resignation and look for another genuine employer just in case the worst scenario will happen I have to pay only the 500euros as a refund payment of my entry permit..I am holding the FINNISH RESIDENCE PERMIT card that last up to 14th of August 2015 and it even allows me to work to different families..
Where is the information on your type of residence permit in the migri pages?
http://www.migri.fi/

I have my contract here,stating that ''the employer pays the employee entry permit,if the employee resigns during the 24 months,she is liable to refund the entry permit fee of 500euros''.this is where I got the idea..
Before the police gave my card,the officer explained that the card allows me to work as a household service worker not only to 1 family as long as I can manage..and just recently I observed in my tax card that there's another percentage of tax stated there that I must pay,once I got a 2nd job.I think,to work to different families is ok as long as I can and of course to pay an additional tax which is higher than the first...well,I might be wrong I still need a concrete infos.I can double check also,I will send an email to them for further inquiries..
thanks SIr Rinso for the effort,,GOD bless..

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 5:45 pm

Is it an Au pair permit http://www.migri.fi/working_in_finland/au_pair
If its not then its an employment res-permit.

Dont worry about suffering in silence.These Finnish halfwits think Finland is good,Theres nothing good about the Finland if it means your living below the poverty line.

jessesuomi · Post by **jessesuomi** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 10:40 pm

I have had employers in the past offer housing and so forth, phone , electricity blah blah. When it came time to end the contract, my ending salary was a bit less than I hoped for. I found out, and so did they via their lawyer, that providing housing and other items is a "fringe benefit" that is taxable to the rough market value of the benefit. So what you are seeing as a minus there after fringe benefit may actually be that tax you are paying against that/those items. Sometimes things that are "free" arent always so free.

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