Unemployment funds started using Incomes Register
What changed?
Unemployment funds started receiving earnings payment data as of 1 of January 2020. From the beginning of this year we will gradually start using the Incomes Register data along with pay certificates. Incomes Register data will be used to investigate the eligibility for earnings-related allowance and to calculate the amount of the benefit.
At the beginning of the year the interface between Incomes Register and the unemployment funds is still being tested, so for the moment we are still requesting to send pay certificates and pay slips with certain applications, such as the first applications and adjusted allowance applications. This is carried out in order to avoid unnecessary delays when processing the applications. Any changes to submitting attachments will be informed on our website.
In future, we will only request the information that we do not receive from Incomes Register. If you are applying for a benefit, you do not need to attach all income data to your application, as the unemployment fund will receive the data directly from the Incomes Register. If the data received from Incomes Register is insufficient, we will ask for the additional information directly from the applicant. Incomes Register will not, however, replace e.g. employment certificates or pay slips and the employer will provide them to you as before.
Even in the future, not all data will be available in the Incomes Register
For many people, the Incomes Register will make it easier to apply for benefit, but it is possible that you will still be requested to provide wage and employment information, for instance. This is due to either your employer not having reported data to the Incomes Register or the Incomes Register data not being sufficient for processing your application. Data on wages paid after 1 January 2019 is stored in the Incomes Register.
Employers may report data to the Incomes Register either in a less detailed or itemized manner. The less detailed reporting method means that wages are reported only as a total amount, but the employer may also itemize parts of the pay in more detail. In addition to this, the employer may report voluntary data on, for example, the earnings periods of the wages.
If the employer has reported the earnings payment data to the Incomes Register in an itemized manner and also reported voluntary data, it is more likely that the unemployment fund can obtain the data needed for processing the application directly from the Incomes Register. In such a case, you do not need to separately provide wage or employment information.
What is the Incomes Register?
The Incomes Register is a national online database. It contains comprehensive data on the wages, pensions and benefits paid to citizens. Employers and other payers report the income data to the Incomes Register in real time after each payment date. As of 1 January 2019, the Incomes Register contains data on wages paid and other earned income. As of 2021, data on any pensions and benefits paid will also be reported to the Incomes Register.
In addition to the unemployment funds, Incomes Register data is utilized by the Social Insurance Institution (Kela), the Finnish Tax Administration, and Statistics Finland, for example. The Incomes Register grants public authorities and other data users access only to the data to which they are entitled and which they need. The data contained in the Incomes Register will be stored and processed in a high-security environment.
Wage information stored in the Incomes Register can be viewed in the electronic online service of the Incomes Register. Only the employer can correct and specify faulty data in the Incomes Register.
Read more from the Incomes Register’s website incomesregister.fi.