Orpo’s government is currently preparing a legislative amendment that would make the use of fixed-term contracts easier. Should these proposals be accepted, the number of fixed-term contracts would also increase in the social welfare and healthcare sector. This could have a negative impact on client and patient safety.
Social and healthcare services must be safe and of high quality and follow the law. The achievement of these objectives is monitored both by self-monitoring and by the authorities. The purpose of self-monitoring is to identify risks in the operations and learn from any deviations that occur. For this monitoring to be successful, professionals must be able to highlight and report any anomalies, shortcomings and possible breaches of the law they have observed.
This is not just about the right or the option to report any shortcomings – it is a legislated obligation. The Act on the Supervision of Healthcare and Social Welfare Services (741/2023) lays down the reporting obligation of personnel (section 29). A professional must immediately report any observed shortcomings in the operations or violations of the law that endanger client or patient safety, without prejudice to the provisions on confidentiality.
Do fixed-term workers dare to report issues?
A professional with a fixed-term contract may hesitate to intervene in any shortcomings at the workplace if they fear that this could impact their further employment prospects. Concerns about the termination of employment or other undesirable consequences can make it harder to report issues.
This is quite human, considering the current situation, where wellbeing services counties have held cooperation negotiations and the private sector change negotiations to achieve savings. According to THL, for example, reducing the staffing ratio in round-the-clock residential care for the elderly to 0.6 has resulted in a reduction of 3,500 employees in 2024–2025, even though there has been no change in the client numbers. In addition, the general increase in unemployment may limit the possibilities of moving from the social welfare and healthcare sector to other types of work or to another sector. Finland had the second highest unemployment rate in the EU (9.9%) (7/2025), according to Eurostat.
Fixed-term contracts can undermine the sense of belonging to a work community. It can weaken the employee’s willingness to participate in development work or highlight observed shortcomings.
A high turnover of temporary staff can also increase the workload of permanent staff and, thereby, compromise the safety of services.
It would be important for professionals at the beginning of their careers to also have the courage to report shortcomings, without fear of any sanctions.
Whistleblowing for wrongdoing in health care has been studied in a doctoral thesis by Johanna Wiisak at the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Turku (2023).
The study found that professionals with at least ten years' experience were more likely to report shortcomings. Women were more likely to report violations than men, and people in supervisory roles were more active in highlighting shortcomings than other employees. Fixed-term contracts and the related uncertainties are often more common in the early stages of a career, when people have not yet gained as much experience as those who have worked longer. It would be important for professionals at the beginning of their careers to also have the courage to report shortcomings, without fear of any sanctions.
Healthcare and social welfare sector outside whistleblower protections
According to the Act on the Supervision of Healthcare and Social Welfare Services, a person who has submitted a report of shortcomings may not be subjected to negative countermeasures as a result of the complaint. However, healthcare and social welfare professionals do not have as strong whistleblower protections as workers in many other sectors. The Whistleblower Act, which entered into force in 2023, excluded the social welfare and healthcare sector almost entirely from the scope of the Act.
Previous Chancellor of Justice, Tuomas Pöysti, has considered this exclusion to be problematic and has argued that it should be corrected in legislation. Tehy also sees this correction as necessary.
Correction 3 November 2025: It has been added that the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has clarified in Government Proposal 113/2025 that the reduction of 3,500 employees took place during the years 2024–2025.