Student pay

Pay is primarily determined based on the job in question. However, due to incomplete education, a student’s pay can be lower than the minimum pay determined in the collective agreement, usually by no more than 10 per cent.

Student pay in wellbeing services counties and the municipal sector

KVTES, HYVTES and SOTE agreements allow for a pay decrease based on insufficient competence, which amounts to no more than 10 per cent. This means that a student’s pay must be at least 90 per cent of the job’s basic pay.

However, the pay is determined based on the job’s difficulty factor. If a student is doing the same work as everybody else, the job-based pay must be the same and the decrease based on insufficient competence cannot be applied.

When a student graduates when working in the municipal sector or for a wellbeing services county, the pay will be increased to full pay starting from the beginning of the next month.

Student pay in the private sector

The student pay practices vary in the private sector depending on the collective agreement applied. Normally, a student’s pay cannot be more than 10 per cent lower than the minimum pay determined in the collective agreement.

According to the collective agreement for the private social services sector, if the employee does not have the qualifications required by the job, which prevents them from fully completing all the tasks related to the job, their minimum wage can be no more than 6 per cent below the minimum pay grade of the pay group in question.

The pay, as well as the possible pay decrease due to insufficient competence, must be agreed on in advance. Often, the percentage of the decrease depends on how many study credits the student has completed.

The pay must be increased to the correct level after the student’s graduation. The employee must submit a certification of their graduation to the employer.

Apprenticeship student’s pay

The pay of an apprenticeship student is based on the collective agreement applied in the workplace. An apprenticeship student has an employment relationship with the workplace, and their pay is agreed on with an employment contract. The pay of an apprenticeship student is usually 5–6 per cent lower than the standard pay from the job.

Collective agreements have regulations on the pay of apprenticeship students.