Automated processing
The Finnish Centre for Pensions uses an automated decision-making procedure when it issues decisions on the applicable social security legislation for work abroad, that is, when it issues A1 certificates or certificates based on bilateral social security agreements.
The automated decision-making procedure means that the Finnish Centre for Pensions issues a certificate without a handler checking or approving the certificate. Automated decision-making requires that the employer or the worker/self-employed person submits the application for the certificate online via the e-Services of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
What does the automated decision-making procedure mean for the applicant of a certificate?
- The automated decision-making procedure speeds up the issuing of the certificate.
- The cover letter of the certificate notifies that the decision has been issued using the automated decision-making procedure.
- Free of charge, the recipient of the certificate can demand that a decision issued via the automated decision-making procedure be corrected. The claim for correction is always processed by a handler.
The Finnish Centre for Pensions does not apply the automated decision-making procedure to all applications. In advance, we have assessed the issues that allow for or prevent automated decision-making. Should the requirements for automated decision-making not be met, the application is steered to a handler.
The Finnish Centre for Pensions does not use self-learning technology or artificial intelligence when issuing a decision. The automated decision-making procedure follows legislation or rules based on established application procedures.
An implementing decision required by law has been made on automated decision-making.
In its decision-making operations, the Finnish Centre for Pensions uses automated decision-making under the requirements for automated decision-making regulated in the earnings-related pension legislation, the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003) and the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019).
Implementing decision regarding A1 certificate
With this decision, the Finnish Centre for Pensions has assessed the conditions for implementing the automated decision-making procedure in the decision-making process for an A1 certificate and a certificate under applicable social security legislation (hereinafter A1 certificate). The task of the Finnish Centre for Pensions is to solve whether a person working abroad shall be covered by Finnish social security legislation based on EU’s Regulations on social security or social security agreements. The issuing of A1 certificates is regulated in Chapter 2, Section 2, subsections 3 and 3a of the Act on the Finnish Centre for Pensions (397/2006). The decision issued by the Finnish Centre for Pensions is based on the provisions in EU’s Regulations on social security, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the bilateral social security agreements that Finland has signed. The automated decision-making procedure is applied only to electronic applications.
Implementing automated decision-making
The Finnish Centre for Pensions implemented an automated decision-making procedure relating to the granting of A1 certificates before the legislation concerning automated decision-making came into force. The Finnish Centre for Pensions implemented the automated decision-making procedure in 2014.
The Finnish Centre for Pensions grants the A1 certificate using the automated decision-making procedure in the following situations:
- workers posted to EU/EEA countries, Switzerland, the UK and social security agreement countries;
- civil servants posted to EU/EEA countries, Switzerland and the UK;
- workers residing in Finland but working in several EU Member States;
- self-employed persons posted to EU/EEA countries, Switzerland and the UK; and
- self-employed persons residing in Finland and working in several EU Member States but conducting a substantial part of their self-employment in Finland.
Grounds for the decision
According to Section 53 e subsection 2 of the Administrative Procedure Act, an authority can issue an automated decision in matters that do not involve issues that require case-specific consideration or in matters where issues requiring case-specific consideration have been considered by a civil servant or other handler.
The issuing of the decision must be based on the processing rules referred to in Article 2 section 16 of the Act on Information Management, drawn up based on applicable law and prior consideration. The processing rules are rules drawn up in advance by a natural person and used to steer the processing and solving of the administrative matter in automated data processing. The rules include which variables affect the progress of the operating process and how and on what grounds any interim orders are made in the processing of the matter, which parts of the operating process involve a natural person, and how the solution to the matter is formed in the operating process. The processing rules also include rules based on which a matter is taken up by the automated operating process or transferred for processing by a natural person.
When an A1 certificate is to be issued based on an electronic application, the Finnish Centre for Pensions decides on the issuing of the certificate using the automated process. Issuing a certificate entails no matters that would require case-specific consideration. The system through which A1 certificates are granted checks the personal data in the applications, the person’s matters in different systems, the employer’s Business ID, the period applied for, the countries of work and certain other questions that are relevant for granting an A1 certificate and which can be accessed from various systems without case-specific consideration.
The A1 certificate is not an appealable decision, but it is the final decision in the matter. The recipient of an A1 certificate is entitled to demand that the Finnish Centre for Pensions rectifies its decision. The claim for rectification is free of charge, and the claim is processed by a natural person; in other words, a claim for rectification filed by the recipient of the certificate is not issued as an automated decision. This way the processing of claims for rectification meets the requirements stipulated in Chapter 53 e Section 4 and Chapter 53 f.
The automated decision-making process relating to the granting of A1 certificates is based on processing rules drawn up in advance which present the details of the process.
If a person working abroad cannot be covered by Finnish social security legislation, the Finnish Centre for Pensions issues a negative decision and cannot grant the certificate applied for. A negative decision always includes appeal instructions according to which the party concerned can appeal the decision to the Pension Appeal Board and on to the Insurance Court. All negative decisions of applications for an A1 certificate are issued by a handler at the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the automated decision-process is not implemented in these cases. In addition, the Finnish Centre for Pensions does not apply automated decision-making procedures when transferring applications in cases relating to working in several EU Member States as stipulate in the EU Regulations on social security.
Informing the data subject of the automated decision-making procedure
The obligation to provide information and related procedures of a controller is regulated in Articles 13, 14 and 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Based on GDPR, the controller must inform the data subject of the automated decision-making procedure when the personal data is collected from the data subject or obtained from elsewhere. The applicant is informed in the e-Services or on the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions that their claim may be processed automatically.
A recipient of an A1 certificate is notified in a covering letter that the certificate was issued via the automated decision-making process.
List of documents that underly the implementation decision
- Documentation of procedures and handling rules, division of tasks according to obligations relating to Chapter 6a of the Act on Information Management in Public Administration
- Documentation on quality assurance and quality control
Date of implementation and decision issued
The implementation decision was issued on 26.9.2024 and it will enter into force on 12.10.2024.
The automated decision-making procedure for A1 certificates was implemented as of the year 2014.
Storage time
If the automated decision-making procedure is no longer used, the Finnish Centre for Pensions stores this implementation decision for at least five years after that. The time limitation begins from the beginning of the year following the year of the abolishment.
Data on the decision-maker
The decision on the automated A1 certificate issuing process was made by the Management Group of the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Contact information
For more information on the use of the automated decision-making procedure, contact our Customer Service at +358 29 411 2110.
Providing information
This decision is publicly available at the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions (etk.fi).
Applicable regulations
Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003), Section 53 e subsection 4 and Sections 53 f and 53 g
Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019), Sections 28 a, 28 b, 28 c, 28 d, 28 f, General Data Protection Regulation
Act on the Finnish Centre for Pensions (397/2006) Chapter 2 Section 2 Subsections 3 and 3 a
Appeal
This decision cannot be appealed. The legal validity of the documents that an implementation decision, an automated decision-making procedure and implementation decision are based on can be appealed as a part of a single decision in an automated decision-making procedure in line with the appeal instructions attached to the decision.