Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund will merge to Open Unemployment Fund
Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund will merge with the Open Unemployment Fund A-kassa at the beginning of next year. The decision to merge was approved at the meeting of the Open Unemployment Fund, 30 May 2024. An extraordinary meeting of the Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund representatives made a positive decision earlier on 16 May 2024. […]
Things to consider regarding taxation of earnings-related allowance
It may come as a surprise to many recipients of earnings-related allowance that it might be taxed at a higher rate than regular salary. It should be noted that the tax withholding rate for earnings-related allowance and other unemployment fund benefits is set at the minimum of 25% unless a separate tax card is provided […]
Employment situation looking better – share of laid off persons down 50%
Open Unemployment Fund’s mid-May application figures indicate a downturn in the number of applications for earnings-related allowance. The numbers decreased 16% from mid-April. The share of laid-off persons likewise looks to be in decline, with their share standing at 19% of all recipients by mid-May. This is in contrast with the early part of the […]
Earnings-related allowance costs up more than 30%
In April, 13.4% of all Open Unemployment Fund members received earnings-related allowance from the fund, while the number of recipients remained at the March level. Compared to last year, however, the number of recipients has increased significantly, 30.5% from last April. This April, earnings-related allowance costs reached 48.1 million euros, an increase of 32.1% from […]
Sami Aapro starts his tenure as head of Open Unemployment Fund
Sami Aapro, LL.M., officially assumed his position as A-kassa’s Head of Unemployment Fund on May 2, 2024. Aapro brings along his vast experience in the field of unemployment funds, and his professional expertise lays a strong foundation for A-kassa’s future development. Aapro has enjoyed success at similar posts before coming over to A-kassa, with […]
Number of laid-off persons remained high
In March, 13% of all Open Unemployment Fund members received earnings-related allowance from the fund. Compared to March of last year, the number of recipients increased by 23.1%. Out of all daily earnings-related allowance recipients, the share of lay-off period daily allowance recipients remained high in March. The bump in the waiting period is reflected […]
Child increment will be removed in April
The Government’s legislative change to remove the child increment completely will take effect on 1 April 2024. This means that the unemployment benefits paid after the beginning of April will not include any child increments. The removal of the child increment will reduce the amount of the daily unemployment allowance by EUR 125–240 per month. […]
Protected part of earnings will be removed in April
The protected part of unemployment security refers to the income an unemployed person is allowed to earn without affecting their earnings-related allowances. A legislative amendment by the Government, entering into force on April 1, will fully remove the protected part of earnings. The protected part of earnings was implemented in the beginning of 2014. […]
New head of the A-kassa starts in early May
When the current head of the Open Unemployment Fund, Irene Niskanen, retires, candidate of law Sami Aapro has been appointed as her successor. He will take over the position at the beginning of May from the position of legal affairs manager of the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science. Aapro has extensive experience working in […]
Survey on impact of cuts to unemployment security
In February, the Open Unemployment Fund asked its members about how the already implemented and upcoming cuts to unemployment security have impacted, or will impact, their finances, finding employment, and everyday life. 812 members responded to the survey. According to 60% of the respondents, the amendments in unemployment security have already affected or will affect […]
The proportion of laid-off members remained high
32,222 members received an earnings-related daily allowance from the Open Unemployment Fund in February. This was 35.3 per cent higher than in February last year. The proportion of those receiving daily allowance due to a lay-off remained relatively high being 42.4 per cent of all recipients. In February, a total of 32,222 members received […]
Am I allowed to work as an entrepreneur and still be entitled to earnings-related allowance?
In Finland, entrepreneurs are generally perceived positively and respected. Entrepreneurship is indeed a solid employment option, especially as there are various forms of entrepreneurship available, such as full-time, part-time or light entrepreneurship. Is it possible for an unemployed person to engage in business activities without losing their earnings-related allowance? If you work as an […]
Euro-based employment condition 2024
A legislative amendment by the Government enters into force on September 1, 2024, revising the employment condition that forms the basis of earnings-related allowance by making it euro-based. In the future, daily allowance is no longer dependent on the number of hours worked but on the salary paid during a calendar month. At the same […]
Lack of available jobs biggest problem in finding employment
According to the results of a survey conducted by the Open Unemployment Fund, lack of potential jobs and overly long commutes are the biggest obstacles for finding employment. Discrimination (age, gender or other trait) and lack of required skills or education were also highlighted in the survey answers. A government proposal includes amendments to allow […]
Number of recipients of earnings-related allowance continued to grow
In January, earnings-related allowance was paid out to 33,095 Open Unemployment Fund members. The number increased 45.6% from January 2023 when earnings-related allowance was paid out 22,727 members. 13.6% of A-kassa members received earnings-related allowance in January, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from December 2023. Out of all recipients of earnings-related allowance, 44.2% […]
Cannot find the information you are looking for?
Our website is full of useful information on unemployment security, such as benefits, application processes and payments. In this article, you will find a collection of helpful tips which make it easy to locate the right information. Delivering your tax card >> Read more about benefit taxation and delivering your tax card. Employed in […]
Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund merging with A-kassa
The Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund will be merging with Open Unemployment Fund A-kassa at the beginning of next year. Decisions regarding the merger will be made during spring 2024. An extraordinary meeting of the Paper Workers’ Unemployment Fund representatives will decide on the merger on 16 May 2024. A-kassa will hold their meeting on the […]
Periodisation of holiday compensation in 2024
In relation to holiday compensation, periodisation means that, when your employment ends, the fund calculates how many days’ worth of holiday compensation you have accrued and deducts the resulting number of days from your earnings-related allowance. In practice, this means periodisation postpones the start of your earnings-related allowance. If you have one month of […]
Increasing number of people worried about their work situation
In January, the Open Unemployment Fund asked its members how they see their work situation in 2024. Over 3,000 members responded to the questionnaire. A similar survey was conducted in autumn 2023. According to the January results, 33 per cent described their work situation as promising, while in September last year, as many as 41 […]
Increase in layoffs in 2023 reflected in the unemployment fund
In 2023, a total of 55,092 applicants received earnings-related allowance from the Open Unemployment Fund. The number of recipients increased by 18.9% from 2022, remaining in line with the previous year before taking an upward turn in August. The share of laid-off persons in relation to recipients of earnings-related allowance was 48.9% in 2023, compared […]