Every July, many young people begin their military service. Military service changes everyday life for several months. If you have been working before your service begins and have joined an unemployment fund, it is worth keeping your membership active during your service. This ensures that both your membership period and any employment condition you have already accumulated remain valid.
It is advisable to keep your unemployment fund membership active even when your life situation changes due to military service, parental leave, or studies. Although your employment may be interrupted for a period of time, any previously accumulated membership period and employment condition will not be lost as long as your membership remains valid. Only members of an unemployment fund are eligible for earnings-related unemployment allowance. The right to earnings-related allowance arises when you have been a member of an unemployment fund long enough and have earned the required amount of wage income, meaning that both the membership condition and the employment condition have been fulfilled.
How Is the Membership Condition Met?
To meet the membership condition, you must be a member of an unemployment fund for at least 12 months from the date you joined. Therefore, it is important to maintain your membership even if your life situation temporarily changes due to military service. If you resign from the fund and rejoin after completing your service, the calculation of your membership period will start from the beginning. Your previous membership period cannot be transferred to the new membership, and you must again be a member for one year to meet the membership condition.
You can keep your membership valid by paying the fund membership fee as usual. Some trade unions may grant an exemption from membership fees during military service, so it is also advisable to inform your union about your service.
How Is the Employment Condition Accumulated?
In addition to the membership condition, you must meet the employment condition to qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance. You need a total of 12 employment-condition months to meet this requirement.
The employment condition is accumulated based on wages paid, not simply through the passage of time. One full employment-condition month is earned when you have been paid at least €930 in insurable wages during a calendar month.
The required months do not need to be accumulated with the same employer or during consecutive months. The review period may therefore include months during which no employment-condition month is accumulated because no wages were paid.
Even if your employment ends when your military service begins, the employment-condition months you have already accumulated remain valid as long as your membership stays active. You can continue accumulating the employment condition required for earnings-related unemployment allowance when you return to work.
By keeping your unemployment fund membership active, you also protect your position in case of future unemployment. At the same time, you can focus on the next stage of your life with peace of mind.