Membership application

A-kassa is an Unemployment Fund which is open to all wage earners.

You can join A-kassa if:

• you are in paid employment at the time of joining
• you are between 18 and 67 years old

The working condition can be accrued when you turn 18.

Our membership fee is only 96 euros per year, or 8 euros per month. Read more about the membership fee and invoicing.

Start of membership

Membership of the Unemployment Fund starts on the day the application arrives to the Fund or on the date you have indicated with the application.  You can send the membership form already, e.g. in December, if you want to join the Fund from January.

Membership cannot begin retroactively.

How to join:

1. When your membership application has been approved, you will receive a text message notification about that.
2. You will receive the membership fee invoice by mail.
3. Your membership begins on the date your application is received or on the date you have indicated in the application, provided that you pay the membership fee in accordance with the invoice you have received
   • You will receive up-to-date information on unemployment security and our employment services via a monthly newsletter sent to your email.
   • You can immediately start using the fund’s employment services!
   • You can use the A-kassa eService to manage your membership and apply for benefits.

If you are transferring from another fund to A-kassa

1. Complete the A-kassa membership application
2. When joining, you can authorize us to notify the previous fund of your resignation.
3. Indicate in the membership application the date from which you want your membership to start
   • This means that you can submit the membership application already, for example in December, if you want to change funds starting from January. Membership cannot begin retroactively.
4. Make sure to pay the membership fee to your previous fund until the date of resignation.

If you transfer from another unemployment fund, the period of membership and employment accumulated at the previous fund will be accredited to you as you transfer to the Open Unemployment Fund. However, you must join within one month of resigning from the previous fund. 

Any accumulated conditions are preserved, as long as the gap between fund memberships does not exceed one month and you have not been expelled from your previous unemployment fund, e.g. due to unpaid membership fees.

You can change funds when you have a valid employment relationship and are receiving wages. The work must be insured in Finland.

All information provided in the electronic membership application is sent to A-kassa via a secure connection.

Read the Fund’s rules here.