Are you about to become unemployed?
If you are unemployed, read first the short instructions below to get you started! You will more detailed information after the short instructions.
1. Register with the TE Office no later than the first day of unemployment
You can register with the TE Office (Employment and Economic Development Office) in advance, and the job search is valid from the date of registration. You can launch the job search in the E-Services of TE Office with your own online banking credentials.
The job search must be kept valid in the manner agreed upon with the TE Office. If your job search is interrupted, for instance, due to a short-term employment, remember to register yourself again as an unemployed jobseeker on the first day of unemployment at the latest.
2. Fill in the earnings-related allowance application
The application must be filled in for two full calendar weeks from Monday to Sunday. If your unemployment begins at the middle of the week, fill in the remainder of the week and the next full week.
Follow-up applications are to be filled in for four full calendar weeks or for a calendar month. If you work part-time and receive salary on monthly basis, fill in the application every calendar month.
The application can be filled in the eService. You can submit the necessary attachments via eService as well.
You can fill in the application also in paper. You will find the printable application form here.
Remember to fill in the application carefully and enclose the necessary attachments. Our benefit assessor that is processing your case will contact you, if needed.
3. Make sure that you have all the necessary attachments to the daily allowance application
At the start of a unemployment, submit at least the copy of notice of termination.
You do not need to attach a salary certificate to your application, because the unemployment fund will receive the salary information from the Incomes Register. If the information from the Incomes Register is not sufficient, we will request more information from you directly, such as the salary certificate or a pay slip.
Attachments sent from the eService are received by the unemployment fund immediately. Check more detailed information of the necessary attachments below.
4. Submit the allowance application after the end of the application period
You can send the application with attachments via eService after the period that you are applying for has ended. If you fill in the application, for example, for four calendar weeks, you can send the application on Sunday at the soonest.
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Example If you apply for the allowance for four calendar weeks from Monday 5 of April to Sunday 2 of May, you can send the application on Sunday 2 of May at the earliest. |
You can also send the application with attachments by mail to Open Unemployment Fund A-kassa, P.O. Box 116, FI-00531 Helsinki.
Remember that the application must be submitted to the unemployment fund within three months after the start of your lay-off. The three months period applies to follow-up applications, child increase and expense allowance as well.
5. Provide any additional clarifications and missing attachments requested
Remember to notify us of any changes affecting your entitlement to daily allowance and changes to your personal and contact details.
Read more
| Attachments to the application |
| Notice period |
| Membership fees |
| Changes that affect the amount of daily allowance |
| Notification of changes |
| Decision and payment of daily allowance |
Attachments to the application
Attach the information required for processing to your application. If your circumstances change in a way that affects your entitlement to the daily allowance, please notify us without delay.
Attachments, such as pay certificates, tax cards and medical certificates do not need to be original, a copy will suffice. You can send the attachments easily via eService.
Enclose with your first application
Notice of termination
If your employment relationship of an indefinite duration has been terminated, submit a copy of the notice of termination to the fund.
If needed
Pay certificate
You do not need to attach a salary certificate to your application, because the unemployment fund will receive the salary information from the Incomes Register. If the information from the Incomes Register is not sufficient, we will request more information from you directly, such as the salary certificate or a pay slip.
Social benefits
If you claim social benefits that affect the amount of daily allowance, attach the decision on being granted the benefit to your application. Remember to also report any changes in the amount of benefit.
Tax card
We are able to obtain the information of a tax card for employment directly from the tax authorities.
However, we recommend requesting a revised tax card for the payment of benefit, in which case the withholding is carried out according to its details. With a tax card for employment, the withholding rate is always at least 25%.
You can order a revised tax card for benefits from the Tax Administration’s electronic MyTax service. By using the MyTax service, you can send the revised tax card directly to the unemployment fund, when you choose the Open Unemployment Fund A-kassa (or Avoin työttömyyskassa A-kassa in Finnish) to be the receiver.
Entrepreneurial activities
If you are an entrepreneur, attach a personal tax decision from the last confirmed period of taxation to the application. The specification of the tax decision is also required if you are a shareholder in limited company or cooperative or a partner in a partnership or limited partnership.
The beneficiary in an estate must also submit the latest confirmed tax decision of the estate in addition to the personal tax decision.
Child increase
We obtain information on children under 18 years of age from the Population Register System. However, enter the birth dates of children in your care in the daily allowance application for the payment of child increase.
Also report the birth dates of your partner’s children living in the same household.
Notice period
If you receive salary for the notice period or equivalent compensation or other financial benefit related to the termination of employment from your employer, you are not entitled to daily allowance.
Other financial benefit at the end of an employment relationship received from the employer, such as a so-called golden handshake or severance package, will be deferred from the end of the employment relationship.
The financial benefit is deferred based on the computational daily pay from the employment. The daily pay is calculated in the same way as the daily pay on which earnings-related allowance is based, but the employment pension, unemployment insurance and health insurance daily allowance contributions (4.14% in 2020) are not deducted from it. The amount paid as a financial benefit is divided by the computational daily pay, and the figure obtained in this way is the number of deferral days. The counting of the deferral period starts from the end of the employment relationship and five days a week from Monday to Friday are counted towards the period.
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Example Your monthly pay has been EUR 3,000, so your average daily pay is EUR 139.53 (EUR 3,000/21.5 working days). At the end of your employment, you receive an amount equivalent to the salary of three months, EUR 9,000. Financial benefit EUR 9,000/Daily pay EUR 139.53 = 64 days (rounded down to full days). The deferral period accrues for five days a week from the end of employment. |
Membership fees
If you are applying for a benefit from the unemployment fund, the membership fee must be in order up to the start of unemployment.
Pay the membership fee within six months from the start of the period of employment for which the membership fee is due. If you have not paid the membership fee, it can be deducted from the payment of a benefit granted by the fund.
Read more about the membership fees here.
Changes that affect the daily allowance
Child home care allowance
Submit the decision on child home care allowance when you start claiming child home care allowance. If your partner claims child home care allowance, enter more detailed information on the possible employment and studies of your partner as well as who takes care of the child on the application.
Also report any changes to child home care allowance or the termination of the allowance.
Income from part-time entrepreneurial activities and income from agriculture
In order to review income from part-time entrepreneurial activities and income from agriculture, we need the latest confirmed personal tax decision. The specification of the tax decision is also required if you are a shareholder in limited company or cooperative or a partner in a partnership or limited partnership.
If you are a beneficiary in an estate, submit also the latest confirmed tax decision of the estate in addition to the personal tax decision.
Partial disability pension
Inform us about being granted a partial disability pension by submitting the decision either via eService or by mail. A new decision on the amount of pension (due to index review) does not need to be submitted to us every year. We will receive the information directly from the Incomes Register.
If you receive partial early old-age pension, decision of granting the pension does not need to be sent to us. Partial early old-age pension does not affect the payment of earnings-related allowance.
End of unemployment
Report the termination of applying for daily allowance on your application.
The TE Office must be notified of the acceptance of a full-time job lasting more than two weeks. Indicate the start of employment also in your last daily allowance application.
The start of an old-age pension or another benefit that prevents the claiming of daily allowance must be reported to the fund at the latest in connection with the last daily allowance application.
Sickness
Sickness allowance is applied for from Kela for a period of illness lasting more than ten days. Report your illness in the application. Also report, if you have applied for the sickness allowance from Kela.
The waiting period of sickness allowance is the day on which you fall ill and the following nine days (including Saturdays). In the event of an accident or if the same illness occurs within 30 days, the waiting period is one day. We can pay out the earnings-related allowance for the waiting period of sickness allowance if you have claimed unemployment benefits immediately before your illness.
End of employment
If your employment relationship is terminated or it changes to, for example, part-time in nature, this must be reported in the application.
If your temporary lay-off ends in dismissal, attach a copy of the notice of termination and employment certificate as well as a pay certificate until the end of employment to your application. Also notify the TE Office of the termination of employment.
Notification of changes
Please notify us without delay of changes in your circumstances that affect your entitlement to daily allowance and the payment of allowance. Also keep your information up-to-date for the processing of your application. Changes can be reported via eService or by mail. Some details can also be reported by phone to our service number.
Changes in membership information
Bank account number
You can change your new bank account number in eService. You can also enter the new account number in your application or submit it in writing by mail. Changes in bank account numbers cannot be reported by phone.
Child information
Report to us the birth dates of all children under 18 years of age in your care for who you are applying for child increases. Child increases are paid out retroactively for a period of up to three months.
You are entitled to child increase for a child (of your partner or spouse) under 18 years of age living in the same household from the moving date. Separation must be reported without delay. For your own child in your care, you are entitled to child increase until the child reaches the age of 18.
Contact details
You can report a change of address or phone number to the fund via eService, by entering the information under additional information on the follow-up application or by phone by calling the service number.
Decision and payment of daily allowance
You will receive a written decision once your first application has been processed. The decision usually indicates the start of entitlement to daily allowance, the amount of daily allowance and the waiting period. You will also receive a payment notice detailing the amount and date of payment. You can choose the delivery method of the payment notice in eService; you can receive the notice, for example, by text message.
You can check the processing status of earnings-related allowance applications and the payment schedule here.