The purpose of the mobility allowance is to encourage people to accept work even further away from home. The mobility allowance reimburses commuting and moving expenses if you accept a job or a training place that is a prerequisite for work, and your commute is long. Mobility allowance can also be paid for a job located abroad.
You are entitled to mobility allowance if
- you have received unemployment benefit just before starting work or training,
- at the start of full-time employment your commute exceeds three hours a day or two hours a day in part-time employment (round trip with changeover times),
- the employment you have accepted will last at least two months, and
- you have applied for an allowance within three months from the applicable period
To be granted mobility allowance, you must have received unemployment benefit immediately before the start of your employment or training. Mobility allowance can also be paid if you have not been paid unemployment benefit before the start of your employment for one of the following reasons:
The mobility allowance is equal to the basic earnings-related allowance. It is also possible to get an increase part if the trip is particularly long.
The increase part will be removed on 1.1. 2025. Read more: Supplementary amount removed at the start of 2025
Your commute must be, on average, more than three hours a day in full-time employment and more than two hours a day in part-time employment at the start of your employment.
The commute is the time it takes to travel from your place of residence to your workplace. The duration of the commute is estimated based on public traffic routes in normal weather conditions. If you do not have a car at your disposal, travel by public transport with change times and waiting times will be taken into account. Travel time is estimated according to the fastest available means of transport.
If your travel time is reduced later during your employment, this will not affect your entitlement to benefits.
Mobility allowance can also be paid if, after accepting the employment, you move closer to your place of work, and the commute before moving would have been eligible for the allowance.
If your commute or journey to a training place is more than 200 kilometres in one direction, the mobility allowance may be increased in increments. The increase is 5.29 eurosper day for the period in 2024.
Your employment must last at least two months in order for mobility allowance to be paid. The duration of the mobility allowance depends on the duration of your employment:
Minimum duration of employment | Allowance period | Days payable |
2 months | 30 days | 22-24 days |
3 months | 45 days | 33-35 days |
4 months or until further notice | 60 days | 44-45 days
|
Mobility assistance is paid for full-time work during the allowance period for five days per week. The period is not extended even if the allowance is not paid for certain days, for example, due to entitlement to sick pay.
If you are working part-time, mobility allowance is paid for the days worked. In part-time work, working hours are no more than 80 per cent of the working time in full-time work.
Mobility allowance is not paid for days when work and pay have been interrupted due to, for example, a lay-off or a reason comparable to a lay-off.
The mobility allowance is equal to the basic unemployment allowance, 37.21 euros per day in 2024. The allowance is taxable income.
If your commute or journey to a training place is more than 200 kilometres in one direction, the mobility allowance may be increased in increments.
The increase will be 5,29 euroa per day in 2024.The increase part will be removed on 1.1. 2025. Read more: Supplementary amount removed at the start of 2025
You can apply for mobility allowance by submitting an application for mobility allowance to us no later than three months after the start of your employment or training. You can submit the completed application form via eServices as an attachment, or by post.
Attach the necessary attachments, such as an employment contract. Form for applying for mobility allowance
Fill in the application form with information about the employment you are starting. The employer and employment information will be used to determine your right to mobility allowance, so fill in the application form carefully. On the form, enter the start date of your employment and the possible end date. Your working hours are crucial information for entitlement to benefits, so please indicate the agreed working hours on the application form.
Attach the employment contract to the application form. You can also submit the employment contract afterwards, once you have received it. If the employment contract has not been made in writing, you can also submit another description of the employment.
You will be asked to provide information on the duration of your commute. Fill in the information about the average duration of your commute using public transport under normal weather and other conditions. If you do not have your own car, find out the duration of your journey by public transport with possible change times. Report only the time spent commuting to work, for example, taking children to a place of care is not part of your commute.
Also report any other social security benefits you have received on the application form. For example, sickness benefit, disability pension and parental allowance will prevent the payment of mobility allowance for the same period.
Fill in, print and sign the application form and submit it to us either as an attachment via eService (select mobility allowance application as the document type), or by post.
You can use the same form to notify subsequent changes to the employment. Changes to be reported may include,
for example,
The extension or change of your employment to an open-ended type of employment will not extend the duration of the payment period.
Mobility allowance is paid for a period of 30, 45 or 60 days, a maximum of five calendar days per week. In part-time work, mobility allowance is paid for working days. The allowance does not have a waiting period but is paid from the beginning of the employment on which it is based.
The mobility allowance is subject to withholding tax. The withholding tax on the tax card issued for your wages will be increased to a minimum of 25 per cent. The withholding rate on the tax card issued for the benefit is not increased.
The mobility allowance is paid to you retrospectively in four-week periods. However, you can receive the first payment already for a period of two weeks. Subsequent payments are made at least each month. The mobility allowance is paid for the entire allowance period on the basis of a single application.
A decision on the payment of mobility allowance will be given to you in connection with the first payment.
The mobility allowance is taxable income. According to the tax authority's order, the withholding percentage of the mobility allowance is always at least 25, if the tax percentage of the wage income tax card is used in the payment of the benefit. If you have obtained a change tax card for the benefit, deliver the tax card to the unemployment fund. In this case, the withholding of the benefit is done according to the percentages indicated in the change tax card.
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