De minimis aid for summer employment
Summer employment support, i.e. summer job vouchers, is considered de minimis aid for companies. From the beginning of 2026, the authorities will enter all de minimis aid they grant into the EU’s central register (eAidRegister). Therefore, we need up-to-date information from applicants about any aid they have received previously.
You can fill in the de minimis information required in the summer job voucher application as an attachment. The form template is available below as both a Word and Excel file.
Summer job vouchers as de minimis aid in brief
1. What is de minimis aid?
De minimis is EU de minimis aid, which a company can receive up to a maximum of €300,000 over three years (rolling period, not calendar year).
2. What information must the employer provide in the application?
Please report:
- all de minimis aid you have received over the last three years
- the grantor of the aid, the date of granting and the amount (gross amount)
- company structure, if you belong to a group (the ‘one company’ rule)
Note: All de minimis aid received by the Group from Finnish authorities is added together.
3. What does the authority do with the information provided?
The authority checks that the three-year maximum limit for the company is not exceeded. The aid granted is entered in the EU’s central register within 20 working days of the aid being granted.
4. What information is entered in the register?
- industry (NACE code)
- company name and business ID
- amount of support
- date of issue
- issuing authority
- type of support (e.g. “supported services”)
More about de minimis aid
What is de minimis aid?
De minimis is EU de minimis aid that can be granted to companies without a separate state aid notification.
The company may receive:
- €300,000 in de minimis aid over a rolling three-year period (three years from the date of granting the aid)
- Lower limits in industries:
- agriculture: €50,000
- fishing and aquaculture: €30,000–40,000
De minimis aid includes financial assistance and services provided free of charge or at a reduced price that generate economic benefits for the company, such as training and support services provided by employment services. Examples of de minimis aid include summer job vouchers, wage subsidies, start-up grants and municipal employment subsidies.
Why are summer job vouchers considered de minimis aid?
Support for summer employment is considered a financial benefit for the company. Therefore, the support is granted under the de minimis regulation, and any support previously received by the company must be clarified before the support is granted.
“One company” rule: group structure taken into account
De minimis ceilings are calculated at the level of a single undertaking, which means the undertaking and its group companies in Finland. If companies are linked through ownership or control, they form a single company. Aid received by foreign subsidiaries in other EU countries does not affect the aid granted in Finland.
What information must the employer provide in the application?
When applying for summer employment support, please provide the following information:
- all de minimis aid you have received over the last three years
- the grantor of the aid, the date of granting and the amount (gross)
- group structure, if you belong to the same economic entity as other companies
This information is used to ensure that the de minimis ceiling is not exceeded.
EU central register (eAidRegister) from 2026 onwards
From 1 January 2026, all general de minimis aid granted will be recorded in the EU’s central register.
The register shall contain, inter alia:
- company name and business ID
- amount of support
- date of issue
- issuing authority
- type of support (e.g. supported services)
- industry (NACE code)
The authority must enter the aid in the register within 20 working days of granting it. The register will make it easier for companies to check their EU de minimis aid in one place in the future.
How is the maximum period of three years calculated?
The three-year period is always calculated from the date on which the support was granted, not on the basis of the calendar year. For example, if support was granted on 24 October 2024, it will be taken into account in the maximum amount until 24 October 2027.
What happens if the maximum amount is reached?
If a company or group has reached the maximum amount, no new de minimis aid may be granted until the oldest aid has been removed from the three-year review period.
Will anything change if the corporate structure changes?
According to EU rules:
- In a merger, all previously received subsidies are transferred to the new company.
- In the distribution, the subsidies are allocated to the activity that utilised the subsidy.
- Subsidies granted to a liquidated company do not generally need to be taken into account when granting new subsidies.
Further information
- Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment: Guide to de minimis aid(switch to another service)
- TEM: State aid rules(switch to another service)
- EU: eAidRegister – EU de minimis register(switch to another service)
This content has been translated using AI