Finnish employers still conducting secret alcohol tests on workers, unions condemn practice

Finnish employers continue to secretly administer long-term alcohol tests on employees, despite legal and ethical objections from medical and labour organisations, public broadcaster Yle reports.

The PEth blood test, which detects alcohol use over the past four weeks, is being used by employers—particularly in transport—to assess workers’ fitness for duty. Unions and medical associations state these tests are frequently conducted without the employee’s knowledge or consent.

Riitta Työläjärvi, occupational health expert at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), emphasised that Finnish law requires patient consent for all medical examinations. “Every individual has the right to privacy,” she said. “What someone does in their free time is their own business, as long as it doesn’t impair their work.”

The Finnish Medical Association condemned the practice as unethical. Timo Kaukonen, the association’s labour market director, stated that covert testing—whether through blood work, ultrasounds, or X-rays—violates medical ethics. “Doctor and patient must agree together on what is tested and why,” he said.

Employers argue the tests are necessary to ensure workplace safety, but labour representatives counter that fitness-for-duty evaluations cannot rely solely on PEth results. “Alcohol remains a legal substance,” Työläjärvi noted, urging that any testing be negotiated collectively with worker representatives.

A December 2025 SAK survey found the transport sector conducted the most tests. Employers’ organisation EK declined to comment on specific cases but has previously asserted that companies need access to health data if an employee’s condition risks impairing job performance.

Finnish law prohibits occupational health services from disclosing test results—including alcohol use—to employers without explicit consent.