If you joined an unemployment fund during your summer job, it is a good idea to remain a member even after your summer job has ended. Even short-term jobs will help you qualify for earnings-related unemployment allowance. To be entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance, your employment history does not need to be continuous, but you must be a member of an unemployment fund.
To receive earnings-related daily allowance, you must have worked for 26 weeks (roughly six months). This work history should be gained within the 28 months preceding your unemployment. If you have been studying, ill, in military service or non-military service or caring for a child who is three years old or younger, this review period can be extended. At the longest, the review period can be 9 years and 4 months long.
Weeks during which you have worked at least 18 hours count towards the employment requirement. The pay must be in accordance with a collective agreement. If there is no collective agreement in your industry, the monthly pay for full-time work must be at least €1,331 in 2023.
If you become unemployed after your summer job
If your summer job ends and you do not have a new job or studies waiting for you, you should register as an unemployed jobseeker with the TE Office as soon as your job has ended. You can also check with your unemployment fund whether you are entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance. If you meet the employment and membership requirements of your unemployment fund (roughly six months), you can apply for earnings-related daily allowance from your unemployment fund. If this is not the case, you should apply for an unemployment allowance from Kela.
Why is it important to get a certificate of employment?
When your summer job ends, the employer is required to give you a certificate of employment. You can also ask your employer to evaluate your performance in the certificate of employment. You will need the certificate to prove your work experience when you apply for a new job. A certificate of employment is also important if you become unemployed and need to apply for an unemployment allowance. The certificate proves that the job was a fixed-term summer job.
A written employment contract is usually prepared for doing the work. An oral contract is also equally valid, but only with a written employment contract can you prove what kind of work it was.
What is final pay?
When your employment relationship ends, the employer pays your last earnings. Final pay includes all unpaid wages and supplements, as well as holiday compensation for any untaken holidays you earned during your summer job. In some sectors, employers also pay holiday bonuses.
If you have taken your holiday, your holiday pay will be taken into account when calculating the amount of your earnings-related daily allowance. Holiday bonus and holiday compensation are not taken into account in the calculation.
People under 25 must apply for studies
If you are under 25 and unemployed and have no vocational qualification, you must apply for studies. If you fail to apply, decline an offer of admission to a school or interrupt your studies, you may lose your right to unemployment benefits indefinitely. You will regain your eligibility for unemployment benefits after you have completed a vocational qualification, worked at least 21 calendar weeks in a job that satisfies the employment requirement (18 hrs/week), participated in employment-promoting services, studied full-time, started working as a full-time entrepreneur or turned 25. The TE office investigates these study matters, and the matters related to them. Always remember to inform them about your studies when you are looking for a job.
Information about studying with earnings-related allowance
For more information, please visit:
Kela Our Services | Kela
TE Office Job Market Finland (tyomarkkinatori.fi)
