Tax agency fires veteran clerk over output targets

The Finnish Tax Administration dismissed veteran tax clerk Sirpa Tykkyläinen after judging her work output to be far below its targets, Yle’s investigative programme MOT reported. Tykkyläinen had logged her working days down to the minute.

Tykkyläinen had worked for 35 years at the Lahti tax office. She said the performance measures did not account for all of her work and that the monitoring caused severe stress and sleeplessness. She plans to challenge her dismissal.

The Tax Administration said Tykkyläinen’s output in work queues had remained below 10 percent of the target for a long period, while others doing the same work exceeded 100 percent. The agency dismissed her in May after two official orders, a written reprimand and a warning. It cited underperformance, which it described as a serious neglect of official duties.

In 2025, the tax audit contribution attributed to Tykkyläinen was 5,309 euros, according to the dismissal decision. The figure, which the agency calls a “handprint,” represents revenue identified through tax audits. The average for employees in groups doing the same work was 133,285 euros.

The Tax Administration sets daily output targets for more than 1,700 work queues, covering tasks such as tax cards and household tax deductions. The maximum target is 126 cases a day for a simple task, while the longest assignments can take up to six months. Supervisors check weekly whether employees and teams are meeting the targets in their work plans.

Tykkyläinen’s role changed as the agency moved work into queues and automation took over simpler tasks. She had previously handled personal taxation and customer service, but began learning business taxation tasks about two years ago. The agency arranged support, including what it described as close guidance.

MOT examined monitoring of employees in the Tax Administration and Kela, another state agency where many staff work remotely. The programme said it obtained documents showing how work and performance are monitored in both agencies.