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Helsinki pays employees extra late payment compensation for payroll errors

The problems with the City of Helsinki's payroll system arose in April, when a newly-installed system experienced several technical glitches.

Helsingin Kaupungintalon seinälle heijastui varjoja 7. joulukuuta 2020.
File photo. Image: Silja Viitala / Yle
  • Yle News

The City of Helsinki has announced the payment of a one-off, extra late payment compensation to employees affected by payroll errors.

"Employees will also be compensated for economic losses caused by the payroll issues," the city said in a statement issued on Friday.

The problems with the city's payroll system arose in April, when a newly-installed system experienced several technical glitches.

This led to many employees being either underpaid or not paid at all during late spring and summer.

In July, the nursing union Tehy filed a criminal complaint with police over the non-payment of healthcare workers' wages.

"Several hundred employees have not received their full salary for several pay periods," the union's Head of Legal Services, Kari Tiainen, said after Tehy filed its police report.

In August, the trade union Federation of Public and Private Sector Employees (Jyty) called on the city to begin consulting its own professionals in reforming the payment system as the problems persisted.

"The city of Helsinki throws millions of euros at Deloitte, from which, according to press reports, more than two million euros in services has been purchased with subsidies since March. At the same time, however, Helsinki is repeating a mistake it already made by continuing to ignore the views of its professionals — the staff whose salaries are being withheld — on how the changeover process should be carried out. This is baffling," Jyty chair Jonna Voima said in a union press release at the time.

Despite this, some 115 employees did not receive their wages on 31 August while a further 3,947 city workers were underpaid, according to the city's own records.

"The payroll and personnel information system previously used by the city dates back to the 1980s, and its technical support ends at the turn of the year," the city's press statement said, which noted that further problems may occur during the autumn.