Finland

Organization responsible for the statistics

Collection: Federation of Accident Insurance Institutions (FAII).

Compilation and publication: Ministry of Labour and Statistics Finland; since 1996, Statistics Finland only.

Periodicity

Source

Objectives and users

Major users:

Coverage

Persons:

About 1,800,000 paid employees are covered by the Accident Insurance Act.

Separate statistics are compiled for self-employed persons, where these are covered by the insurance companies, but the figures are not published. It is hoped that self-employed persons and members of their families occupied in the family business will be included in the statistics in a few years.

Statistics for farmers are also compiled separately, and published by the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution (FSII).

Economic activities:

Geographic areas:

Persons injured in occupational accidents outside the country are included in the statistics if they were working for an employer registered in Finland. Injuries to persons who are normally resident outside the country are included if they were working for an employer registered in Finland and they were insured in Finland.

Establishments:

Types of occupational accidents covered

Commuting accidents are covered, but are shown in separate tables in the publications. In a few years, the data on occupational diseases will only be published by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Concepts and definitions

Occupational accident:

an occurrence arising out of or in the course of work which results in an occupational injury (source: labour legislation).

Occupational injury:

death, any personal injury or disease resulting from an occupational accident (source: labour legislation).

Commuting accident:

an accident occurring en route to or from the workplace (source: labour legislation).

Occupational disease:

an occupational disease, entitled to compensation according to the Accident Insurance Act (608/48 of 1948) or the Act on Agricultural Workers' Accident Insurance (102/81 of 1981) or the Act entitling persons employed in a public service or holding public office to compensation in the event of an accident (154/35 of 1935), is a disease caused by any physical factor, chemical substance or biological agent encountered in the course of work done under a contract of employment, in a public service or in public office or as an agricultural entrepreneur, as prescribed in those acts (source: Act on Occupational Diseases, 1343/88 of 1988).

Time lost because of occupational injuries:

incapacity to work counted from the day following the day of the accident, measured in calendar days (source: compensation regulation).

Fatal occupational injury:

occupational accident leading to death (term developed specifically for statistical uses).

Temporary incapacity to work:

less than one year's incapacity to work (source: compensation regulation).

Permanent incapacity to work:

more than one year's incapacity to work (source; compensation regulation).

Minimum period of absence from work: at least three days following the day of the accident.

Maximum period for death to be considered a fatal occupational injury: within one year of the accident.

Types of information compiled

(a) personal characteristics of persons injured: sex, age, occupation;

(b) amount of worktime lost: number of days of disability (from 1992 onwards);

(c) characteristics of accidents: cause of accident, type of accident;

(d) characteristics of injuries: part of body injured, type of injury;

(e) characteristics of employers or workplaces: geographic location, economic activity.

Measurement of worktime lost

Classifications

(a) fatal or non-fatal accidents;

(b) extent of disability;

(c) economic activity:

(d) occupation:

(e) type of injury:

part of body injured: head except eyes; eye; neck and throat; trunk except back; back and spine; upper limbs from shoulder to wrist; hand except fingers; only fingers; lower limbs from hip to ankle; foot and toes; inner organs; other injuries;

(f) cause of accident:

(g) duration of absence from work;

(h) characteristics of workers;

(i) characteristics of accidents:

(j) characteristics of employers or workplaces;

(k) type of work travel accident:

(number of categories within each group given in brackets): accidents occurring when walking and with no vehicle involved (2); accidents occurring on public transport (5); accidents occurring with bicycle (injured person was using bicycle) (4); injuries received with moped or motorcycle (injured person was using moped or motorcycle) (3); injuries received due to collision of moving vehicles (injured person was neither on public transport nor pedestrian) (2); pedestrian injured by vehicle (4); accidents due to collision of moving car and some stationary object (injured person was neither pedestrian nor passenger on public transport) (4); injuries received in connection with loss of control of car and sudden stop and start (3); injuries received when getting in or out of private car (3); other accidents on way to or from work (1).

There are many crossclassifications in the publications.

Reference period

An occupational injury is included in the statistics for the calendar year in which the occupational accident occurred. An occupational disease is included in the statistics for the calendar year in which the notification was sent to the insurance company.

Worktime lost is recorded in each of the calendar years in which the ill or injured person was absent from work.

Estimates

Averages of days lost per injury.

Percentage distributions by economic activity and occupation.

Rates of fatal injuries and of non-fatal injuries in relation to total hours worked and to the total number of employees (source of data for the denominator: Labour Force Research).

Historical background of the series

There have been many changes over the years. Major alterations were introduced in 1976 and 1992. Until 1992, the notification forms were classified by the National Board of Labour Protection and its successor, a department of the Ministry of Labour, which were also responsible for compilation and publication. Since then, the classification of occupational accidents has been made in insurance companies which also paid compensation due to accidents. In 1992, almost all classifications were revised. When classified, definitions of the establishment, occupation and branch of industry were determined according to the insurance scheme or policy as they were drawn up by an insurance-taking employer and an insurance company.

Prior to 1992, the statistics covered occupational accidents and diseases causing at least three days of temporary incapacity to work. Information on worktime lost was not compiled, because the report of the occupational accident was established before information was available on the duration of the injured person's absence from work.

Documentation

Series available:

Fatal accidents at work (latest year):

• by cause of accident;
• by occupation group;
• by industry;

Fatal accidents at work and fatal occupational diseases (seventeen-year period);

accidents at work and on the way to or from work, with at least three days' disability (seventeen-year period);

Accidents at work (latest year):

• by industry;
• by province and industry;
• by sex and industry;
• by sex and occupation;
• by age group and occupation;
• per million working hours, by industry;
• per thousand employees, by occupation;

Accidents at work (excluding occupational diseases) (latest year):

• by type of accident and occupation;
• by type of injury and occupational group
• by injured part of the body and occupational group;
• by cause of accident and industry;
• by length of disability and injured part of body;

Work travel accidents (latest year):

• by means of travel at the time of the accident and type of accident;
• type of injury (percentage distribution);

Number of days compensated because of accidents at work, by industry (percentage distribution) (latest year).

Bibliographic references:

Statistics Finland: Official Statistics of Finland, Labour Market Series (annual).

Methodological notes accompany the tables in this publication.

Other data are available on request. Information can be supplied in printed form, or on diskette or magnetic tape.

Data published by ILO:

Confidentiality:

International standards

Method of data collection

Legislation:

All accidents at work or in circumstances connected with work, and all employees, are covered by the legislation.

A claim for compensation for an occupational injury should be submitted within one year of the accident. A claim for compensation for an occupational disease should be submitted within one year from the time when the case was brought to the attention of a medical officer.

Reporting:

The claims concerning employees in private companies and in the municipal sector are submitted to private insurance companies. Those concerning government employees are submitted to the State Treasury Fund.

Authorized forms are used by employers and physicians to report occupational injuries and diseases.

Insurance companies have their own instructions on the submission of claims, covering the information and coding to be provided on the forms.

Data reported:

1. information about the employer: name, address, company code, economic activity, insurance number;
2. location of accident and department;
3. information about the injured person: name, identity code, address, occupation, bank and office, account number, place of taxation, code for tax at source, reduction of tax and period of reduction, whether exempt from tax (e.g. student) and period of exemption, whether shareholder and percentage shareholding, whether living in employer's household.
4. information about the accident: activity of the person at the time of the accident, work experience (employed for less than a week, less than a month, less than a year, a year or more), location (at work, at work place - not at work, during break, travel from home to work, travel from work to home, elsewhere outside workplace, during leisure time), whether employer notified, date of notification, whether injured person stopped work after the accident or later, time treatment began (immediately or later), name and address of hospital, health centre or physician, duration of disability - assessed by employer (day of accident, 1 to 2 days, 3 days or more, one month or less, more than one month), whether person returned to previous job, date of return, whether the person's earnings were the same as before the accident;
5. description of the accident or occupational disease and its causes, e.g. whether a tool or equipment contributed to the accident, in which case, the tool involved and how it caused the accident;
6. name of machine, equipment or chemical involved, make and manufacturer, deviation in operation of the machine or technical equipment;
7. additional information about the accident: registration number and traffic insurance company of vehicle and of the other vehicle, whether person injured was a passenger or driver, whether accident was caused by intoxication, negligence or violation of occupational safety rules, whether another person caused the accident, whether the police were called, whether any other person witnessed the accident;
8. type of injury: injury, as assessed by the employer (fracture, bruise, burn, eczema, etc.) and part of body injured;
9. for fatal accidents: date of death, next-of-kin, origin of official certificate (congregation, civil registry);
10. information about the injured person's employment and earnings: start of employment, permanent or temporary, main job or secondary job, full-day job or other, reason if not full-day job, whether trainee or student, total earnings, wage rate per month, average supplements per month, time unit for wage rate (hour, day, week, etc.), average hourly wage rate, holiday pay, benefits in kind, type of perquisites, last wage rate increase, period and reason of any unpaid leave;
11. if person had previous employment: name and address of employer, previous wage rate if employment lasted for less than three months;
12. amounts paid by employer during absence: wage rate and period(s) for which it was paid, perquisites, other payments, date of start of payment, date when employer's duty to pay ceased, basis of wage during illness, employer's bank, office and account number;
13. amounts paid by injured person: expenses, travel expenses, other expenses;
14. sickness insurance: whether legal per diem applied, local office of National Pensions Institute;
15. place and date of report, signature of employer or his representative and contact details.

1. whether: accident at work, occupational disease, private accident, traffic accident, military injury or disease;
2. information about the person: name, identity code, address, insurance company, occupation, employer, worksite;
3. date of accident or start of disease, how accident happened or disease began (including possible contribution of intoxicants);
4. diagnosis or main symptoms;
5. additional diseases;
6. previous diseases which influence the present state or working capacity;
7. information about treatment: physician providing initial treatment, name of hospital and date of treatment, first visit to present physician, later visits, treatments and dates (e.g. surgical operations, application and removal of plaster cast, X-rays, etc.), whether treatment finished or continued;
8. disability: dates of period of total incapacity, dates of period of partial incapacity, whether absence from work ordered by physician, noted by physician or decided by patient, state of injury or disease (recovered, permanent);
9. working capacity: date patient stated he or she began previous job, comparative job, kind of job, other job, no job; physician's opinion of working capacity;
10. general state of health of worker, description of injury or disease (objective findings, anatomic and functional status, athropies, warts, subjective symptoms), whether objective findings and subjective symptoms are compatible, feasibility of treatment at home (need for home assistance, home nurse, etc.);
11. proposed measures of rehabilitation (measures by which the injured person's state could possibly be improved);
12. charges for each visit, whether paid by employer, patient, insurance company, etc.

Changes planned: