Frequently asked questions about accident compensation

Yes, you can submit a claim form electronically using Mela’s e-services. Remember to notify Mela about any occupational accident or disease within 60 days of the accident or onset of the disease.

Yes, you can submit copies of receipts, also as attachments using our e-services (Send attachments).

Yes, you can fill in a claim form also after 60 days, but remember to include on the form an explanation for the delay. Any claims that are submitted after the 60-day deadline are evaluated by Mela to clarify the reasons for the delay and whether denying compensation is reasonable in the circumstances.

The physician treating you must always request a payment commitment from Mela for any medical examination or procedure costing 360 euros or more (2024).

If the physician treating you recommends a medical examination or procedure that requires and is eligible for a payment commitment, explain that you have occupational accident and disease insurance issued by Mela. The physician or treatment facility will then send a request to Mela for a payment commitment together with the required medical records.

In order to process your payment commitment, we need a copy of the prescription. You can submit a copy to Mela electronically using our e-services (Send attachments).

No, compensation for functional limitation does not have to be applied for separately. Mela evaluates the eligibility for compensation based on medical reports.

The payment date for rehabilitation allowances depends on the grounds on which they are granted. Rehabilitation allowances that are equal to the amount of daily allowances are paid retroactively, while rehabilitation allowances that are equal to workers’ compensation pensions are paid on the first banking day of each month.

The injured person may receive a daily allowance for up to one year starting from the day following the day of the injury.

A workers’ compensation pension can be paid for a set period if the injured person has turned 63 and receives an old-age pension and if the injury occurred as a result of work performed during retirement. The entitlement to a workers’ compensation pension ceases three years after the date of the injury or before then when the injured person turns 68.

Earnings received in an employment relationship or civil service employment alongside agricultural or grant work are included in MATA annual earnings if the person in question has MYEL insurance and

• has had an occupational injury and
• has had a valid employment relationship at the time of the injury.

Earnings from an employment relationship or civil service employment are not included in the annual earnings for voluntary insurance policies.

The costs of necessary medical treatment for an occupational injury or disease are reimbursed for any required treatment and examinations administered and prescribed by a physician in a private or public medical facility, such as medical fees, outpatient fees and hospital treatment costs.

Read more about reimbursements.

You can request a new card for your accident benefits online from the Finnish Tax Administration website (www.vero.fi). You will need to provide information about all accident benefits, pensions and other income that has been paid to you so that the correct tax percentage rate can be calculated.

The new tax card will be valid as soon as it is issued to you. If you want the new tax card to apply also to loss of income compensation that is paid retrospectively, remember to request this from the Finnish Tax Administration.

If the new tax card is applied retrospectively, you will be refunded for any excess taxes that have been paid on your accident benefits during the retrospective period.

New tax cards should always be submitted on paper. However, increases in the tax percentage can be notified by phone.

Please note that, according to the guidelines of the Finnish Tax Administration, the withholding tax percentage rate for allowances, rehabilitation compensation amounting to the same, and loss of income compensation during the examination period paid on the basis of voluntary insurance policies is always 50 percent.

The minimum withholding tax percentage rate issued by the Finnish Tax Administration is 25 percent for mandatory insurance policyholders. In other cases, the withholding tax percentage rate is 40 percent.

According to the guidelines of the Finnish Tax Administration, the withholding tax percentage rate for allowances, rehabilitation compensation amounting to the same, and loss of income compensation during the examination period paid on the basis of voluntary insurance policies is always 50 percent.

If the applicable periods for loss of income compensation are in years preceding the payment year, the withholding tax percentage rate in accordance with the guidelines of the Finnish Tax Administration is always 50 percent.