Frequently asked Questions
We have collected frequently asked questions with answers to topics that often concern our members.
Frequently asked questions about earnings-related daily allowance
To be eligible for earnings-related daily allowance, you must meet the following conditions:
- the labour policy conditions
- the 12-month employment condition
- the 12-month membership condition
The labour policy conditions are assessed by the labour authority, which issues a statement that is binding on the unemployment fund. The conditions are assessed when you register as a jobseeker in the Job Market Finland service.
The unemployment fund assesses whether the employment condition and the membership condition are met when processing your earnings-related daily allowance application.
Earnings-related daily allowance can be paid for periods of unemployment or temporary lay-off, as well as for the period of an employment-promoting service agreed in your employment plan.
Read more about earnings-related allowance
- Earnings-related daily allowance is calculated based on your wage income from the period before your unemployment.
See an estimate of the amount of your daily allowance by using the counter.
- Applications are processed in the order in which they are received. The application processing status is updated on weekdays on our website. There you can see the processing status of initial applications and applications containing working days. Further applications will be paid according to a separate schedule.
- Via eService, you can see the payment date of your application if it has already been processed. From the eService settings, you can also subscribe to a text message notification for benefits to be paid. You will be notified on your phone of the payment date and the amount to be paid into your account.
- The type of lay-off affects the benefit
- A lay-off can be implemented in several different ways, which affects how the allowance is paid. This in turn also affects the final amount of allowance paid.
- Read more about different types of lay-offs and their effect on the payment of earnings-related daily allowance: Lay-off – A-Kassa
Your tax rate will be increased to at least 25% when the earnings-related allowance is paid unless you deliver a revised tax card for the benefit to the unemployment fund. If the withholding tax for salary has been, for example, 15.5 percent, without a revised tax card it will automatically be increased to 25 percent. Please note that the tax percentage of the earnings-related allowance cannot be changed if you have ordered a revised tax card for your salary from the tax administration.
You can order and submit a revised tax card for benefits by using the Tax Administration’s MyTax service. In addition, see the tax administration’s instructions “How to request a tax card for wage or benefit income in MyTax”.
You can read about the taxation of the restructuring protection allowance here.
The income you receive during unemployment will affect your earnings-related allowance when the income is actually paid to you. This is called a payment-based adjustment of the daily allowance.
Read more about earnings-related daily allowance
During a strike, you must apply for possible strike pay from your trade union. In some cases, the unemployment fund may also pay unemployment benefits during a strike.
As a rule, the Unemployment Fund receives new tax withholding information directly from the Tax Administration. Go to MyTax service by clicking this.
You can read more about the taxation here.
On 1 August 2024, a legislative amendment entered into force, abolishing the job alternation leave system entirely.
Yes, you can also apply for mobility allowance and restructuring protection allowance from the fund. Read more about other benefits here.
No, they are not. They have different roles and services. The role of the unemployment fund is to pay unemployment benefits to its members.
The Open Unemployment Fund works in partnership with several trade unions and most of our members belong to a trade union. Trade unions are on the side of the worker and bring security to working life.
At the unemployment fund, we make sure that our members have a functioning financial safety net. The best protection throughout your working life is achieved by being a member of both an unemployment fund and a trade union in your field. Read more
Yes, you can join if you are also working and receiving wages. Read more
Each year the fund prepares a calculation and a proposal, on the basis of which the Financial Supervisory Authority confirms the membership fee for one year at a time.
The membership fee may change if there are changes in the fund’s costs or in the unemployment rate. The A-Kassa membership fee has remained at the same level for several years.