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The content concerns Finnish legislation.
  1. Home⁠
  2. Data Protection⁠
  3. Protection of Privacy in Working Life⁠
  4. Data Protection during a Working Relationship⁠
  5. What Kind of Information Can Be Collected?
  1. Data Protection during a Working Relationship

What Kind of Information Can Be Collected?

The employer must observe that the employees’ privacy protection is duly arranged as well as that their privacy protection is not compromised.

The employee may only collect data concerning an applicant or an employee that is directly necessary for the purposes of employment. Nothing else may be collected. The employee must be able to justify the necessity of the data gathered by it. Any information other than what is necessary for the purposes of employment may not be collected even with the employee’s approval.

Personal data means information about an employee on which he or she can be identified. The information must be on a platform, such as for example on paper, on a computer’s memory, in a filmstrip or in microfilm. Solely oral information remains out of scope with regard to the data protection legislation. Thus, data protection legislation does not cover, for instance, job interview discussions or discussions between two employers concerning an employee. However, such data falls within the scope of the legislation if the information is stored in some form or if the oral information is based on registered data.

The necessity of the data is considered work and employee specifically. What is necessary for a certain employee’s employment might not be applicable to another person even in the same workplace. Data required for the employer to meet the obligations set forth in legislation or collective labor agreement is obviously necessary. In addition to this type of data, companies collect personal data for their own specific purposes. The collection of data is allowed but the employer must be able to justify the necessity if required.

Laws (FINLEX)

  • General Data Protection Regulation⁠
  • Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life 4 §⁠

External sources

  • The Data Protection Ombudsman: Frequently asked questions about working life⁠
  • The Data Protection Ombudsman: Working life's data protection handbook (only available in Finnish)⁠

Related articles

  • What Kind of Information Can Be Collected?

    The employer must observe that the employees’ privacy protection is duly arranged as well as that their privacy protection is not compromised.
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  • The Employer’s Right to Read Employees’ Emails

    Email enjoys the same constitutional protection of the confidentiality of communications as traditional letter-post, which is why the employer must primarily strive to ensure that no need to examine the messages arises. The Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life regulates the employer’s right to read an employee’s email without the employee’s consent. An employer may only read messages addressed to it if the employer has first fulfilled the duty of care imposed by the Act. The duty of care requires the employer to provide the employee with one of the following options for organizing email services when the employee is away:
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