Personal assistance – work ability support material

The online course can help you develop your own general competence as an employer or help you with individual topics and themes that you face as an employer.

Benefits of the course

• You will gain tips for building a smooth everyday life together with your assistant.
• You will gain concrete tools to support you as an employer.
• You will find means of identifying risks related to your assistant’s work ability and for helping in these situations.
• You will have opportunities to think about how to succeed as your assistant’s employer and as a good leader.

In the case of personal assistants, work ability challenges, risks and possible paths to disability may be related to, for example, the fragmentation of treatment chains, poor availability of support, income challenges, language and cultural challenges, underutilisation of occupational health care advisory services, employers’ lack of skills to act as employers, assistants’ inadequate orientation, poor handling of difficult situations, the dynamic between the employer and assistant, and the employer’s and employee’s health and life management challenges.

The material helps predict risks and find solutions. 

If you click the ‘Read without signing in’ button, you can see the course contents.

Go to the online course

All eployer materials as a single PDF file

Online course Part 1: Introduction 

See the online course section: Introduction

Download PDF: Introduction to support material for employers of personal assistants

Online course Part 2: Me as an employer

See the online course section: Me as an employer

Download PDF: Basic pillars of being a good employer

Download PDF: Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand

Download PDF: Everyday life of the family and couple, multiculturalism, family members as assistants

Online course Part 3: Roles in arranging personal assistance

See the online course section: Roles in arranging personal assistance

Download PDF: The personal assistance playing field

Download PDF: The employer’s most important relationships

Online course part 4: Recruitment and orientation

See the online course section: Recruitment and orientation

Download PDF: Writing up a job advertisement

Download PDF: A comprehensive and honest job interview

Download PDF: Assistant orientation

Online course Part 5: Smooth everyday life and the management thereof

See the online course section: Smooth everyday life and the management thereof

Download PDF: What makes up a smooth everyday life?

Download PDF: ‘Smooth everyday life’ discussion

Download PDF: ‘Smooth everyday life’ discussion tool (2 pages)

Download PDF: This is leadership (2 pages)

Download PDF: An active approach to assigning work tasks and, if necessary, in guiding the assistant in carrying out their work

Download PDF: What kind of leader do I want to be?

Download PDF: Feedback and saying thank you

Online course Part 6: Problems and conflict situations during the employment relationship

See the online course section: Problems and conflict situations during the employment relationship

Download PDF: Take care of your own resilience and ask for help

Download PDF: Try to recognise the correct warning signs

Download PDF: How can you move forward from problems?

Download PDF: Addressing problems

Online course Part 7: A safe and healthy workplace

See the online course section: A safe and healthy workplace

Download PDF: Identify work ability risks

Download PDF: Illnesses

Download PDF: Occupational health and occupational safety

Download PDF: Example of how occupational healthcare co-operation proceeds

Online course Part 8: Tools for being a good employer

See the online course section: Tools for being a good employer

Download PDF: What are my thoughts on being an employer?

Download PDF: Tips and links

Read about personal assistance roles, tips for a smooth everyday life with your employer and information about working during retirement.

Roles in arranging personal assistance

Job interview

Orientation

‘Smooth everyday life’ discussion

‘Smooth everyday life’ discussion tool

Getting the basics in order

Retiring and working while retired (2 pages)

All materials for personal assistants as a single PDF file

The contents of the online course and future support material have been created in co-operation with Oima and personal assistance specialists.

News 21.12.2021: Collaboration between Varma and Oima improves services for municipalities and employers of personal assistants (in Finnish)

News 16.3.2022: The work ability risks of personal assistants can be identified sooner than before (in Finnish)

We will also publish other support material intended for personal assistance operators on this page.

If you would like more information about Varma as an earnings-related pension insurer for personal assistance or if you want to be involved in our work to develop services for personal assistance, contact us.

At its best, the job of personal assistant is diverse and rewarding. The work may also, however, involve risks that threaten the assistant’s work ability. These risks may be related, for instance, to work schedules, and mental and physical overload.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company wants to improve the earnings-related pension insurance process for personal assistance and create tools to support employers and assistants. We want to be involved with other industry operators in helping assistants retain their work ability for as long as possible.