Pirkanmaa wellbeing area hit by surge in sick leave, payroll costs top €100m

The region, known as Pirha, is scrambling to contain unusually high absence levels across units and has introduced new measures this year.

Staff point to burnout, poor communication, constant reorganisations and an automated shift-planning tool as drivers of the spike. Juha Takala, a union representative on a TAYS psychiatric ward, says workload surged after services moved from Nokia Pitkäniemi to Tampere and that patient numbers have multiplied.

An intensive care nurse who spoke anonymously called the new roster system "catastrophic". It has made shift changes and schedule requests nearly impossible.

HR director Aija Tuimala says Keva calculations show sick-leave payroll costs topped €42 million in 2025. She estimates total costs, including substitutes and employer charges, push past €100 million. Pirha statistics show long absences over 60 days rose about eight percent year-on-year, and mental-health-related absences are increasing among younger staff.

Directors acknowledge the burden. Psychiatry head Lumikukka Socada says the pace of changes has been unusually heavy, and planned unit moves and upcoming co-operation talks mean many staff will learn the final impacts only in the autumn.

The absences come amid recent co-operation talks and reorganisations that could affect hundreds of employees the welfare area's earlier negotiation process, and follow reporting of rising harassment and threats toward staff that managers say is wearing them down earlier coverage found. The wellbeing area has also shifted some disability-service staff to outpatient clinics as part of reorganisation measures a previous report.