In order to be eligible for the recruitment subsidy, the company must hire at least one employee. The recruitment subsidy is granted based on an application. The amount of the subsidy is 10,000 euros. The subsidy is applied from and granted by the Southeast Finland TE Office.
The employment relationship of employees hired by companies in the trial group of the first phase should begin no later than 31 July 2022, and the employment relationship of employees hired by companies in the trial group of the second phase no later than 31 December 2022. The subsidy must also be applied for by the above dates. The application can be submitted before the employee to be hired has been found.
The subsidy is granted if the company meets the conditions for eligibility and sufficient funds are available. The subsidy cannot be granted if the company no longer meets the conditions for eligibility for the target group at the time of granting the subsidy. However, the subsidy may be granted if the company has since hired an employee after the target group has been selected.
The recruitment subsidy is granted in the form of de minimis aid. Depending on the line of business, the aid may be subject to the EU Regulation on general de minimis aid or the Regulations on de minimis aid for the agricultural or fisheries and aquaculture sectors.  The subsidy cannot be granted to a company if this would exceed the quota for de minimis aid. Under the Regulation on general de minimis aid, a company may receive up to 200,000 euros in aid from various sources over a period of three tax years. The maximum amount of aid is 20,000 euros for companies in the agricultural sector and 30,000 euros for companies in the fisheries and aquaculture sector over a period of three tax years. In the case of de minimis aid for companies in the agricultural or fisheries sectors, a further condition is that the total national upper limit of aid granted to the company is not exceeded.
Nor can the subsidy be granted if the company or the company’s representative has received a non-appealable judgment on the unauthorised use of foreign labour during the year of granting the aid in 2022 or the preceding two years.
In addition, the subsidy is conditional on the company agreeing to pay the employee a salary or wages in line with the collective agreement at minimum. If no applicable collective agreement exists, the company must pay a salary or wages that is standard and reasonable for the work.