Every­one has the right to rehabilitation

When working in Finland, you have the right to reha­bi­li­ta­tion in the event of illness or any impair­ment that makes it more difficult to work. Reha­bi­li­ta­tion is gene­rally desig­ned to accom­mo­date indi­vi­dual needs and conduc­ted by compe­tent medical experts.

16.9.2020

The main scheme is called Kiila reha­bi­li­ta­tion. The purpose is to support people’s ability to conti­nue working in good health. As the goal is to help people stay working, reha­bi­li­ta­tion must begin early enough so as to safe­guard a worker’s ability to remain econo­mically active.

Kiila reha­bi­li­ta­tion might be for you whet­her you are emplo­yed or self-emplo­yed, have an illness or health problem that hampers working and think that the help recei­ved from occu­pa­tio­nal health care is not sufficient or adequate.

The actual reha­bi­li­ta­tion itself is plan­ned indi­vi­dually, based on a medical evalua­tion of your circums­tances. It is normally orga­ni­sed in small groups, often made up of 3 to 5 people working in the same branch.

Usually it inclu­des 8–9 days treat­ment in cent­res of occu­pa­tio­nal well-being and reha­bi­li­ta­tion. These are loca­ted all around the country. Also, one day group treat­ment and 4–8 indi­vi­dual visits are inclu­ded. All this will take place within a one and a one and a half year time span.

Ideally reha­bi­li­ta­tion should be sought in coope­ra­tion with occu­pa­tio­nal health care, but it is also possible to apply for it by getting a so called doctor’s certi­ficate B which can be issued by any medical doctor.

Once that is done, one only needs to fill in the form for Kiila reha­bi­li­ta­tion on Kela’s webpa­ges (Kela being the Social Insu­rance Insti­tu­tion of Finland). There is even a possi­bi­lity to apply for the services of an interpre­ter for those with limi­ted command of Finnish or Swedish.

Kela has compre­hen­sive infor­ma­tion in English about Kiila on their pages www.kela.fi.

Kiila reha­bi­li­ta­tion does not cost anyt­hing. Many emplo­yers will conti­nue to pay salary when joining it, but if this is not the case, you can apply for a reha­bi­li­ta­tion allowance and travel costs from Kela.

IMPORTANT TO ACT IN TIME

Occu­pa­tio­nal health care has a key role in reha­bi­li­ta­tion, says Kari Haring, the Medical Advi­ser of the Cent­ral Orga­ni­sa­tion of Finnish Trade Unions SAK in an article in Finnish for Tekijä magazine.

– It is crucial to recog­nise problems concer­ning someone’s ability to work early on, before there is a need for sick leave or taking an early pension.

It is equally impor­tant to think of solu­tions when chan­ges in the ability to work become appa­rent and how inca­paci­ta­ted persons might conti­nue in working life, Haring stresses.

Unions have the right to apply for Kiila reha­bi­li­ta­tion for their members, too. The Industrial Union has applied for reha­bi­li­ta­tion for example in Oulu and Helsinki for their shop stewards.

– This group expe­riences special pres­su­res. There is no peer support in the workplace and the work can be very burden­some when dealing with other people’s issues, says Marjut Lumi­järvi, the Health, Safety and Envi­ron­ment Officer at the Finnish Industrial Union in the same article.

TEXT HEIKKI JOKINEN