Staff benefits

We help our staff work out the right balance between their professional and personal lives, and support their professional performance by enabling them to work flexibly. 

We're a family-friendly employer. We support families with paid parental leave, flexible working hours and discussing family and work in the work community. Support for employees with families is discussed in the training of supervisors and family related career breaks are taken into account when recruiting new employees.

At the University of Helsinki, everyone is encouraged to develop their skills. We provide our staff with the opportunity to develop their skills through interesting duties as well as a comprehensive selection of staff training. 

We pay particular attention to the skills of supervisors and leaders to ensure that they can support staff in an optimal way. 

Language courses and and support for working in a international community is provided to all staff. Staff arriving from abroad can use the WordDive language learning application even before arrival. Read more: Information for arriving international staff

We promote the wellbeing and coping skills of our staff with the flexible work opportunities a modern organisation can offer. Staff can work remotely and at different campuses.

We also make various arrangements involving flexible working hours, depending on the staff group of each employee. Teaching and research staff follow an annual workload system, with specific duties agreed individually. Specialist and support staff work under a flexible working hours scheme. 

We offer our staff comprehensive support services so that they can concentrate on their core academic tasks: research, teaching, studying and public engagement. 

We provide specialist support for leadership, research funding applications, the planning of teaching, HR matters and other administrative processes.

We support the wellbeing of our staff by offering comprehensive preventive occupational health services and general medical care. In addition, all staff are covered by the University of Helsinki’s employee travel insurance and occupational accident insurance.

All University staff also have pension coverage, with the University automatically deducting pension contributions from the monthly wages of each employee. 

The University of Helsinki provides its staff with both monetary and immaterial incentives. These include, alongside regular salaries, bonuses based on job requirements, material and immaterial incentives based on the performance of individual employees and staff groups, and the staff benefits available to all staff.

Reduced-price lunches are available to staff at the UniCafe cafeterias on all campuses. Several shops and restaurants also offer discounts to University staff. 

The University offers fitness and wellbeing services. Staff can use the opportunities for gym and group exercise sessions as well as the other diverse fitness activities available at all campuses. Owned by the University of Helsinki and Aalto University, UniSport offers inexpensive fitness services at the campuses. 

Our staff can use these services at reduced rates.