You can receive earnings-related daily allowance even when you participate in an employment-promoting service. As a general rule, you will receive the same unemployment benefit during the service as you would be entitled to while unemployed. The days for which earnings-related daily allowance is paid during the service count towards the maximum payment period of earnings-related daily allowance.
What are employment-promoting services?
Employment-promoting services are support measures provided by the authorities to improve jobseekers’ opportunities to find employment or education. Participation in a service is agreed upon with the employment authority as part of your employment plan.
Employment-promoting services include labour market training, self-motivated studies, job search and career coaching, work trials and rehabilitative work activities.
When is earnings-related daily allowance paid during a service?
You can receive earnings-related daily allowance for five days a week while participating in an employment-promoting service, even if the service is not provided every day.
In certain situations, you may receive earnings-related daily allowance while participating in an employment-promoting service even if you would not be entitled to it while unemployed. For example, daily allowance may be paid during the waiting period or a sanction period imposed by the employment authority. However, other restrictions on the payment of daily allowance also apply during employment-promoting services.
If you meet the employment condition during studies or training
If you meet the employment condition again during labour market training or self-motivated studies, the amount of your daily allowance will not be recalculated, and the maximum payment period will not start again.
If you reach the maximum payment period during training, you can no longer receive earnings-related daily allowance. However, you can apply for general social security benefit from Kela until the training ends.
If you meet the employment condition again during training, you can receive earnings-related daily allowance again only after the training has ended, provided that you are still unemployed. In this case, the maximum payment period starts again, the amount of your daily allowance is recalculated, and a new seven-day waiting period applies..
How do absences affect your daily allowance?
During labour market training and self-motivated studies, you will receive daily allowance even for days when you are absent. For other services, daily allowance is not paid for days of absence unless the absence is due to a job interview, incapacity for work or an illness of a child under the age of 10 lasting no more than four days.
Can I receive expense allowance?
In addition to daily allowance, an expense allowance is paid for certain employment-promoting services to cover travel and maintenance costs.
The tax-free expense allowance is paid for days when you participate in an employment-promoting service, for a maximum of five days a week. It is not paid for holiday periods during training or for days of absence. No expense allowance is paid during self-motivated studies.
Read more about employment-promoting services on Kela’s website.
How to apply for earnings-related daily allowance during a service
Apply for daily allowance in periods of four calendar weeks or one calendar month. In your application, enter the name of the service for the days you participated, such as labour market training or a work trial. You do not need to report the number of hours.
Also report any holiday periods included in the training and any days of absence. If your absence is due to a job interview, incapacity for work or an illness of a child under the age of 10, also state the reason for your absence in the application.
When processing your application, A-kassa will check whether you are entitled to an expense allowance. You do not need to apply for it separately.