Picker Conditions

1. Your status

• You take part as an independent gatherer of natural products under Finnish law (487/2021), gathering under everyman's right. You are not an employee of Gene-Works. There are no guaranteed working hours.
• You may sell the berries you gather to whomever you wish. Our payments, the settlement of your place, and any discounts apply only to berries you deliver to Gene-Works.
• Gene-Works does not arrange visas, residence permits or work permits.

2. Your right to stay in Finland

• You must have your own valid legal right to stay in Finland (residence permit, visa, EU citizenship, etc.), and it must cover your whole picking period.
• Keeping your documents valid throughout is entirely your responsibility. If your legal basis expires, you cannot stay or pick beyond that date.

3. No guaranteed income

• Income is not guaranteed. What you earn depends only on how much and what quality of berries you deliver, the purchase prices, the weather, the harvest, the region and your own effort and skill.
• This is not employment: there is no wage, no salary and no guaranteed hours or amount.

4. Berry prices and payment

• Prices are set by Gene-Works, posted in the camp and in your cabinet, and may change during the season with the market, by berry type and quality.
• We may refuse to accept berries of poor quality.
• We pay by bank transfer to the account you provide, usually within 14 days and never later than 21 days after delivery.

5. What a place costs

Your exact daily price is the one stated in the personal offer you accepted in your cabinet. The general model:

• First 7 days (trial week): €8 per day.
• After the trial week: €12 per day.
• Core-season rebate: if you complete the core season (you leave on or after 4 October), every post-trial day is charged at €10 — we give back €2 for each post-trial day. The trial week stays €8/day.
• Own car, group of 5+, using our trailer: −€2 per day for each member of your group in the car.
• Discounts can combine. The lowest ongoing rate is €8/day; a trial week with an own-car group of 5+ can be as low as €6/day.
• The price is the same in every camp.

6. How your place is paid

• Normally you do not pay for your place out of your own pocket — the cost is taken from the money we pay you for the berries you deliver. Only if your berry earnings and your deposit together do not cover it will we invoice you or ask you to top up your deposit.
• Your cabinet always shows: berries delivered, what we owe you, what was taken for your place, your deposit and your balance.
• Coverage is looked at cumulatively — one slow week is fine if your earnings catch up. But if your earnings keep falling behind and your deposit runs down, you will have to add money to your deposit or leave.

7. Deposit (€84)

• When you confirm your place you pay a deposit of €84 (one week) by invoice. We hold it the whole time you are with us.
• If you cancel or do not arrive to take up your place, the deposit is not refunded — it covers the place we reserved and held for you.
• The deposit is separate from your daily place cost: you pay it once up front and get it back at the end (minus anything you owe). Paying the deposit is not the same as paying for your daily place.
• At the end, your remaining deposit is returned together with your final payment, after deducting anything you owe (place, tools, damage, fines).
• If in the end we cannot give you any place at all, we return your full €84.

8. Tools

• We give you a professional picking rake (€54) — you do not pay in advance; €54 is taken from your first payment. Optional: you may bring your own tool instead (then we do not prepare a rake for you).
• We give you a picking bucket for free — use it during the season and return it when you leave.

9. Transport

• We provide a car and a trailer for berry picking (included in your daily price).
• Fuel for picking trips is shared among the pickers who ride together — in our car and in own cars alike. Gene-Works does not pay for fuel.
• Own car, group of 5+ with our trailer → −€2/day for each member of your group in the car. If your group is smaller than 5, you must be willing to take one more picker from our community so the car is full. That added picker pays the standard price and shares the fuel — the −€2 discount applies only to your own group, not to them.
• To receive the −€2 discount, on each day you go out you mark in the system the Picker IDs of who was in your car and the trailer number (just who rode and which trailer — not your route).
• On prior arrangement and when needed, we can give a free transfer between the nearest bus/train station and the camp (and back).

10. Accommodation

• We provide a sleeping place (bed/mattress), a shared kitchen (stove), shower, toilet, hot water and electricity.
• You bring your own bedding (sheets, pillow, blanket) and all your own kitchenware and utensils (plate, cup, spoon, fork, knife, pot, pan). Some items may be on site but are not guaranteed; if present, treat them carefully.
• Men and women are accommodated separately. Rooms are shared — from about 2 to 8 people depending on the camp. You cannot choose the exact room. One place = one person; you cannot give, sell or hand your place to another person (this is separate from any camp change we may arrange).
• We do not rank camps as better or worse and do not guarantee a specific camp.

11. What to bring / what we provide

Bring yourself: bedding; all cookware and utensils; all clothing including waterproof/forest gear and rubber boots; mosquito repellent and personal items; personal medication and hygiene items; phone and charger; and enough money for your first ~2 weeks, since berry payments arrive later.

We provide: your place and facilities, kitchen (stove), transport to the picking areas, a returnable picking bucket, and a rake if you chose one.

12. Food

• We do not provide food or meals. You buy and cook your own food in the shared kitchen, using your own cookware.

13. Insurance, health and safety

• Gene-Works provides no insurance of any kind.
• Your health and any medical costs are your own responsibility. Picking, travel and camp life are at your own risk.
• Gene-Works is not liable for any injury, illness, accident, or loss of or damage to your personal belongings.
• In an emergency, call 112 (Finland).

14. Camp rules and conduct

• Keep your space and shared areas clean during your stay, and leave everything clean and undamaged when you go.
• You are responsible for any damage you cause — we may invoice you and take it from your deposit. If you leave a mess or do not clean up, there is a €100 fee.
• Treat all camp property and tools (rakes, trailer, kitchen) with care.
• Zero tolerance for racism — any racist words, behaviour or harassment toward anyone is grounds for immediate removal. Everyone is treated equally regardless of nationality, ethnicity, colour, religion or background.
• A place may be ended for: aggression, threats or violence; repeated drunkenness or disruptive behaviour; harassment; theft; or refusing to keep shared spaces clean.

15. Dates, trial week and booking

• Your preliminary start date is given with your invoice. The season is expected to start around 20 July and may shift ±1 week depending on the harvest — we will let you know at least one week in advance.
• You arrive and start on a Monday. Your trial week = your first 7 days (Monday–Sunday), at €8/day. These 7 days are always charged (€56).
• After the trial week, your place is booked one full week at a time (Monday–Sunday) and continues automatically. You only need to tell us when you want to leave.

16. Leaving, and ending a place

• To leave: tell us at least 14 days in advance so we can offer your place to another picker. A week you have started (Mon–Sun) is always paid in full, even if you leave earlier.
• How we settle whatever you owe (unpaid days of started weeks + tools + any damage/fees): first from your berry balance, then from your €84 deposit, then by invoice for any remainder; anything left over is returned with your final payment.

17. Travelling to Finland and to the camp

• Getting to Finland and to the camp — and leaving — is your own responsibility and cost. (A free station↔camp transfer may be arranged in advance, see §9.)

18. Questions, concerns and oversight

• Contact Gene-Works any time via WhatsApp or email (info@gene-works.fi) with any concern about safety, accommodation, payment or treatment.
• Gene-Works operates under the Finnish natural-products gathering law (487/2021) and is subject to the supervision of the competent Finnish authorities, whom you may also contact. In an emergency call 112.
• These conditions are governed by the laws of Finland; any dispute that cannot be resolved directly is subject to the jurisdiction of the competent Finnish courts.

19. Your data

• We process your personal data as described in our Privacy Policy.

20. Acceptance

• These conditions are provided in English. By ticking "I have read and accept these terms" in your cabinet you confirm you have read and understood them. We record the version and the date of your acceptance.
• We may update these conditions from time to time. Each version carries a date; the version you accepted in your cabinet is the one that applies to you, and we will notify you of any material change.