PHT in English
This page describes the Finnish PHT qualification in English. It is intended for international employers, clients and partners who want to understand what the qualification represents.
PHT is a Finnish professional qualification for experts in payroll and HR administration. It shows that the holder has an in-depth command of Finnish payroll, employment law, tax withholding and social insurance, and that they keep this knowledge up to date throughout their career.
The qualification is awarded and supervised by Tili-instituuttisäätiö (Finnish Accounting Institute Foundation, unofficial translation), a Finnish foundation that organises the PHT exam and maintains the register of PHT-qualified professionals. More than 1,100 people in Finland have passed the PHT exam and maintain the qualification.
Who can qualify
Candidates must hold a degree and have at least three years of broad, varied experience in payroll and/or HR administration. Only then can they sit the PHT exam, which has two parts: employment law and payroll, and tax withholding and social insurance. The exam is taken in Finnish or Swedish, the official languages of Finland.
What PHT covers
- Payroll administration
- HR administration
- Employment law and other relevant regulations
A qualification that is kept current
PHT is not a one-off achievement. To keep the qualification valid, PHT experts report their work and professional training to Tili-instituuttisäätiö every three years. In each three-year period they must complete at least eight days of professional training, six of them in the core PHT areas listed above. They must also work with a sufficiently wide and varied range of payroll or HR tasks. If a PHT expert does not report as required, the qualification can be withdrawn.
What PHT means for employers and clients
When you work with a PHT expert, you work with a professional who knows Finnish payroll and employment legislation in depth, has proven this in a demanding exam, and keeps their expertise up to date. In English, PHT holders use the abbreviation PHT. You can find PHT experts in the list of PHT experts (in Finnish).
Short version for CV and LinkedIn
PHT is a Finnish professional qualification in payroll and HR administration, awarded by Tili-instituuttisäätiö (Finnish Accounting Institute Foundation, unofficial translation). It demonstrates in-depth expertise in Finnish payroll, employment law, tax withholding and social insurance. To keep the qualification valid, PHT experts complete at least eight days of professional training every three years and report their work and training to the foundation.