TE Services transfer to municipalities on January 1, 2025
Employment and Economic Development Offices, i.e. TE Offices, will be discontinued at the beginning of 2025. In the future, services for the unemployed and jobseekers will be provided by their own municipality or by an employment area formed by multiple municipalities. Employment services will become part of every municipality’s basic services. When becoming unemployed, […]
For what period should I apply for daily allowance?
Our customer service often answers questions regarding the schedule of applying for earnings-related allowance, i.e. when first-time and follow-up applications should be submitted. The various time attributes may seem confusing, unclear and difficult to remember. To help, we have compiled the most important time attributes to make submitting applications easier. Applications are submitted after […]
Open Unemployment Fund’s membership fee remains unchanged
The Open Unemployment Fund’s (A-kassa) membership fee will stay at 8 euros per month in 2025. This means that there will be no changes to the amount of the fee. The Financial Supervisory Authority approved the proposal of the Open Unemployment Fund’s board of directors that the membership fee will be 8 euros a […]
Did you remember to check the income ceiling stated in your tax card?
If you surpass your income ceiling late in the year, any benefit paid out by an unemployment fund is taxed with the higher additional rate instead of your standard tax rate. You can check your income ceiling at the Tax Administration’s MyTax service (by clicking on the link, you are transferred to the Tax Administration’s […]
Surprising decline in number of earnings-related allowance recipients
In September, the number of recipients of earnings-related allowance at A-kassa fell by 3.7% from August. This is surprising because the number typically goes up in September. In September, a total of 20,805 members, or 8.5%, received earnings-related allowance. The share of lay-off period daily allowance recipients remained at nearly the same level, standing at […]
Legislative amendments entering into force this autumn
Amendments entering into force on Aug 1, 2024 Job alternation leave system will be abolished Amendments entering into force on Sep 2, 2024 Employment condition will be linked to euros earned Employment condition will be extended to 12 months Amount of earnings-related daily allowance will be staggered Pay subsidy work does not accrue entitlement to […]
Applying for daily allowance – what’s different going forward?
This year, unemployment security has seen several amendments which affect both the amount and the calculation method of unemployment security. Although the process for applying for unemployment security mostly remains the same, some changes are on the way. How is the monetary valuation reflected in filling out application forms? In force since the beginning […]
Staggering of earnings-related allowance enters into force in September 2024
On June 19, 2024, the Parliament of Finland approved the government proposal on staggering the level of earnings-related allowance. In practice, this means that earnings-related allowance payouts decrease as unemployment continues. Also, some age-related exemption rules are abolished and the right to earnings-related allowance is no longer accrued from pay subsidy work. What does […]
Our phone service will be open from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM between August 19th and September 30th
A-kassa’s phone service will be available in the mornings from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM during the period from August 19th to September 30th. A-kassa aims to process and pay benefits to all its members as efficiently and timely as possible. We are temporarily limiting the opening hours of our phone service to focus our […]
Number of earnings-related allowance recipients on the increase
At A-kassa, the number of earnings-related allowance recipients has typically decreased in the summer months and increased again in the autumn. This year, however, the numbers appear to have taken an upward turn already in August. By mid-August, a total of 5.4% of all members received earnings-related allowance, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from […]
The merger of Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund into A-kassa has been confirmed
The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority has approved and confirmed the merger of the Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund into Open Unemployment Fund A-kassa at the start of next year. The merger will take effect on 1 January 2025. The Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund and A-kassa approved the agreement on the merger of the Paper Workers’ […]
Important things to consider as your summer job ends
If you have joined an unemployment fund during your summer employment, please consider remaining a fund member even when your employment ends. The right to earnings-related allowance may also be accrued with short-term employment relationships. You do not have to work continuously, but you do have to be a fund member in order to be […]
Number of recipients of earnings-related allowance down in July as expected
In July, the number of recipients of earnings-related allowance at A-kassa was down five percent compared to June. 21,445 members received earnings-related allowance in July, representing a total of 8.8 percent of all members. The share of recipients of lay-off period daily allowance of all recipients of earnings-related allowance kept going down. At the end […]
Unemployment security weakens but unemployment fund membership benefits remain
Amendments and cuts to unemployment security raise questions on whether fund membership is worthwhile in the future. As the legislative amendments will decrease the earnings-related allowance paid out during unemployment or a lay-off period, bringing it closer to the basic unemployment allowance by Kela, many are pondering whether their fund membership is still worth it. […]
Right to job alternation leave to end on August 1
A new law abolishing the job alternation leave system enters into force on August 1, 2024. Your job alternation leave must therefore begin no later than July 31 if you still want to make use of this benefit before the new legislation takes effect. Persons with permanent employment and a sufficient employment history may […]
Right to job alternation leave ends – you can apply until 31 July 2024
The Parliament of Finland has approved a legislative amendment abolishing the job alternation leave system. The legislation enters into force on August 1. In other words, it is possible to start a job alternation leave until the last day of July. Job alternation leave is an arrangement where a person with permanent employment and […]
Number of laid-off persons dropped considerably in June
In mid-June, the number of recipients of earnings-related allowance dropped at A-kassa Open Unemployment Fund by more than 20% compared to mid-May, and this discrepancy persisted until the end of the month. In June, a total of 22,561 members, or 9.3%, received earnings-related allowance. The share of lay-off period daily allowance recipients stood at over […]
Get familiar with our terminology
Unemployment security comes with many special terms, each with a very specific meaning. For instance, a ‘calendar month’ and a ‘month’ may seem like the same thing but in unemployment security they have a slightly different meaning. Term definitions help you understand how matters related to income security are processed. Below, we have collected a […]
Legislative amendment approved: unemployment funds allowed to help find employment
On June 18, 2024, the Parliament of Finland approved a legislative amendment allowing unemployment funds to expand their role. With the amendment in force, funds will be able to offer employment services to their members. Such services may include employment services, counselling and help in finding employment as well as various coaching services. The […]
Number of recipients of earnings-related allowance down as expected
By mid-June, the number or recipients of earnings-related allowance had gone down by more than 20% from mid-May. Out of the remaining recipients, 30% received lay-off period daily allowance. The share of laid-off persons was 19% in mid-May. By the end of the month, however, the number had risen to 40%. Typically, the number of […]