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 apply for a job alternation leave, a fixed-term leave of a maximum of six months. No salary is paid for the period of job alternation leave. Instead, a member on such a leave receives job alternation compensation, which is 70% of the earnings-related allowance they would be entitled to if they were unemployed. The employer is required to hire an unemployed person as a substitute for the duration of the job alternation leave.
Unemployment funds are responsible for paying their members’ job alternation compensation. If an applicant is not a member of an unemployment fund, they apply for job alternation compensation from Kela where the compensation is calculated based on basic unemployment allowance. The job alternation leave may last 100 to 180 days.
Abolishment of job alternation leave
Right to job alternation leave ends on August 1, 2024, the date when the job alternation leave system is abolished. However, you can still take a job alternation leave, provided that it begins no later than July 31, 2024. In practice, this means that the job alternation leave agreement must be delivered to the TE Office by that date. The start date of the employment agreement for the substitute must likewise be no later than July 31, 2024.
Job alternation leave increased in popularity in early 2024
The decision to abolish the job alternation leave system has led to a major increase in its popularity among A-kassa members. The number of members on job alternation leave receiving job alternation compensation increased by almost threefold from January to June – from 186 members in January to 494 in June. Compared to June 2023, this is a significant increase of 96.8%.
While A-kassa members have typically started their job alternation leave in the spring, around May, this year the numbers peaked a month earlier and the upswing was much sharper. In previous years, the number of recipients of job alternation compensation has plateaued in the summer months and taken a downward turn after September. This year, the numbers will likely continue to grow until the end of July, up until the new legislation enters into force on August 1.
