Taking account of copyright royalties in the adjustment of unemployment benefits will end as of 1 January 2023. The members of the Open Unemployment Fund include many workers in the creative and performing arts industries including musicians, actors, journalists and theatre and media workers, who are particularly affected by this regulatory amendment.
Income will not be adjusted regardless of the time at which the work forming the basis for the payment of copyright royalties is or was carried out. Copyright royalties are not adjustable income regardless of whether the compensation is paid by a copyright management society or by the party commissioning the work. The name of the compensation (royalty, compensation of use, copyright remuneration) is also not relevant when the basis for payment of the compensation is copyright or related rights.
The unemployment fund is not always able to determine whether compensation is adjustable income or not solely based on information obtained from the Incomes Register. For this reason, it is vitally important that the recipient of daily allowance provides the fund with a copy of the employment or order contract, as well as a payslip or fee statement related to the income, as an attachment to the benefit application.
The income to be considered in the adjustment of unemployment benefit is set out in a government decree. The text of the decree, which entered into force on 1 January 2023, reads as follows:
Income earned from work to be considered in adjustment includes compensation based on intellectual property rights, but not copyright royalties.
