How does Brexit affect the unemployment security?
EU and Great Britain negotiated a Trade and Cooperation Agreement before Great Britain left the EU on 31 of December 2020. Working periods in Britain can be counted in the employment condition, but job seeking trips are not included in the agreement. The agreement will be in effect for 15 years.
How Brexit affects on a person’s unemployment security depends on the agreement that is applied, that is, either the Withdrawal Agreement or the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
EU legislation will be applied to those under the Withdrawal Agreement
People that have moved between a member state and Britain before 1 of January 2021 will be within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement. For instance, British citizens living in Finland as well as Finnish citizens living in Britain are in the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement.
According to the Withdrawal Agreement, rights to social security, in principle, are determined by EU legislation for the rest of the life, unless any changes occur to the living conditions. The Withdrawal Agreement was implemented as of 31 of January 2020, and its purpose was to secure rights of the EU and British citizens during the transition period.
Working periods in Britain will still accrue employment condition
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Great Britain is in effect as of 1 of January 2021 and it contains regulations on social security.
According to the agreement, working periods in Britain can still accrue the 26 weeks employment condition of earnings-related allowance.
It is, however, required that a person moving back to Finland will become a member of an unemployment fund within a month. It is exceptionally possible to join an unemployment fund as an unemployed person within this month.
Additionally, a person moving to Finland from Britain must work in Finland for at least four weeks. The amount of earnings-related allowance will be determined according to the income earned during this four weeks working period.
Job seeking trips to Britain not possible for the time being
For the present, no regulation concerning job seeking trips was included in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Hence it is not possible to seek a job in Britain while receiving earnings-related allowance as of 1 of January 2021. This does not apply to those that are within the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement or have already commenced a job seeking trip before 31 of December 2020.
It is possible to go on a job seeking trip within the EU/EEA zone and Switzerland for three months and receive earnings-related allowance at the same time. Read more about the job seeking trip here.
We will update the information on our website if any changes occur.
Read more:
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: Information about Brexit
- Prime Minister’s Office: Information about Brexit