Change or deactivation of job search

When you receive unemployment benefit, you must report if your situation changes.

When you register as a job seeker, you will be asked about matters that affect your eligibility for unemployment security. When you receive unemployment benefits, you must notify us if your situation changes.

You can find employment services, like registering as a job seeker, in the 'E-services' section.

Go to E-services

Report changes in your employment situation in the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland, the telephone service, or at your regional employment service office.

Report, for example, when

  • you start working, your work ends, or your working hours change,
  • you engage in business activities for more than two weeks (in addition to your own business activity, work in a family-owned enterprise can also be considered as business activities),  
  • you work and receive compensation other than as a wage earner or entrepreneur, for example as an informal carer,  
  • you start studying,
  • your nationality or your residence permit changes,   
  • you discontinue the service promoting employment (notify either the unemployment fund or Kela of individual absences in the application for daily allowance or labour market subsidy), or  
  • your contact information changes.  

Please note that the most common changes that you must notify to the employment official are listed above. If you are unsure about how the change in your situation affects your right to unemployment security, you should contact the employment official or the unemployment security helpline. A specialist will give you more detailed instructions on how to report the start and end of employment when you take on temporary work on a regular basis, for example.

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Ending your employment may be a relevant option for you if, for example, you want to change your job, are looking for new challenges, or are moving to another location. Resignation and termination of employment are two means for ending your employment with your current employer.

Before changing jobs, it is worth weighing the good and bad aspects of your current job. What changes will a new employment relationship bring? For example, does the new position have a more interesting job description, an opportunity for remote work, better pay, better opportunities for progress, or like-minded colleagues? If you think that the new employment relationship will have more positive aspects than your current job, it may be a good idea to make a change.

You do not need a special reason to terminate a permanent employment relationship. Remember, however, that you must comply with the notice period agreed in your employment contract, which must be at least as long as the minimum period required by law. Where possible, it is polite to notify your employer of your resignation well in advance. 

It is also possible to resign during a fixed term contract if such an agreement has been made with your employer either in the employment contract or during the employment relationship. 

In special cases, you may also cancel the employment relationship without any notice period if the employer has seriously violated their obligations. If there is a trial period at the start of the employment, you may cancel the employment relationship during this period without any special reason. Comprehensive instructions for different types of employment termination can be found on the website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

If you know that you will be unemployed between jobs and want to claim benefits for the period, find out whether you are entitled to unemployment security.

You can also resign from a fixed-term employment relationship if you have agreed on this with the employer in the employment contract or during the employment relationship. 

Where possible, it is polite to inform the employer of such a decision in good time. You can announce your resignation with a separate notice of resignation or by sending an email with your name, personal details, and the date.

Termination of employment

If there is a trial period at the start of the employment, you may terminate the employment relationship during this period without giving any special reason. During the trial period, you can terminate the employment relationship without serving any period of notice. In such cases, the employment relationship ends immediately, in practice on the same day.

As an employee, you can also terminate the employment contract if your employer violates or neglects very seriously their own obligations, such as payment of wages or occupational safety

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As your retirement age approaches, you get to make a significant personal decision: you can continue working, take part-time retirement, or enjoy your retirement days in full. We also offer information on what to do if you need to retire on a disability or career pension or if you become unemployed just before retirement. There is also the option of returning from retirement to continue working.

Working at retirement age 

Continued employment after the earliest retirement age 

Working can be motivating even if you are reaching retirement age. The older you are when you end your career, the higher your pension will be. However, you must sign a new employment contract even if you continue with the same work. You can get more detailed information from your own pension company.

Work arrangements made at the workplace, vocational rehabilitation, or partial disability pension can all help you to continue working if, for example, you have an illness or a life situation that reduces your ability to work. Even if you are unable to continue your current work, you may still have plenty of work ability left for some other tasks or to continue working on a part-time basis.

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Part-time pension and partial early old-age pension

Part-time pensions were abolished at the beginning of 2017 with the introduction of the pension reform. The pension reform did not affect part-time pensions that have already begun – if you are in this category, you will continue to receive your part-time pension as normal until you retire. The reform replaced the part-time pension with a partial early old-age pension.

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Becoming unemployed towards the end of one’s career

If you become unemployed at the end of your career, you may be entitled to unemployment security. Register as an unemployed job seeker through the E-services at Job Market Finland no later than on your first day of unemployment.

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Retirement at the end of your career

When you are about to retire, you should use the pension calculator to check how much pension you will receive. Once you have made your decision to retire, terminate your employment and fill in the pension application form. It is a good idea to apply for your pension approximately two months before retirement.

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Old-age pension

You can apply for an old-age pension once you reach the minimum retirement age for your age group. With the same application, you can apply for a pension from both Kela and an employee pension institution.

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Years-of-service pension

If your ability to work has deteriorated permanently and you were born in 1955 or later, you can apply for a years-of-service pension. This is a new alternative introduced by the pension reform for those who have had a long career of heavy work.

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Disability pension

You may receive a disability pension (sickness pension) if you are not yet at the age of retirement and your ability to work has been reduced for at least one year, for example due to illness or disability. 

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Pension from abroad

If you live in Finland and apply for a pension from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, you must notify Kela, your employee pension institution, or the Finnish Centre for Pensions that you are also applying for a pension from abroad. You will need a separate application form for other countries with which Finland has a bilateral social security agreement. The Finnish Centre for Pensions will submit your application to the relevant organisations overseas.

You must yourself find out about your pension entitlements in countries with which Finland has not made such an agreement.

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Work during retirement

Even if you are already retired, you can return to work if you wish. While receiving an old-age pension, meaning a pension received because of reaching a certain age, you can work without facing any income limits. However, it is a requirement that your pre-retirement employment relationship has been terminated. You can also work while on a part-time pension and disability pension. There are certain restrictions that apply in these cases, however, including income limits. When on a disability pension, you can try returning to work by pausing your pension based on certain conditions.

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When on a pension you get to decide, according to your life situation, whether you want to work or to participate in voluntary activities.

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The term working ability means every person’s individual ability to cope with their work. It is affected by a number of factors, including physical and psychological resources, attitude, and skills. There are various services to help you assess your working ability.

You can carry out a self-assessment of your work ability by completing the Abilitator questionnaire. Assessing work ability may also require a health assessment. In that case, contact the health services in your area. You can also get help in assessing your work ability from the employment official. If you are under 30 years old, you can also use the services of the One-Stop Guidance Center (Ohjaamo).

The Abilitator is a free self-assessment method of work ability and functioning for all people of working age. With the Abilitator quiz you can find out about your situation, strengths, and development needs. 

You should find out what your current state of health is if it has not been checked in a long time or if you feel like it has changed. If you are unemployed, the employment official is responsible for providing you with an examination of your working ability and functional capacity. You need a medical certificate so that you can participate in services promoting work ability.

The state of health of unemployed persons can be ascertained in the health examination of unemployed persons organised by the wellbeing services counties, the state of health of employed persons in occupational healthcare, and the state of health of students in student healthcare.

If you are aged under 30, a visit to a One-Stop Guidance Center can help you get started. The One-Stop Guidance Center provides information and guidance according to your needs, for example on matters related to studying, finding employment, and the smoothness of everyday life. 

If you are partially able to work, various services can help you find employment 

If your work ability is limited or otherwise impaired by a disability or illness, your employment can be promoted through, for example, multisectoral joint services, or rehabilitation measures. If your ability to work requires changes at your workplace or you need help with certain tasks, your employer may be able to provide financial support to help you make such arrangements. You can promote your chances of getting a job with a large employer by requesting from the employment official a certificate stating that you have been entered in the customer register of employment services as a job seeker with partial work ability.

If you need a comprehensive service to support your employment, you can get help from multisectoral services.

Target Group

Citizens

The cooperation model for multi-sectoral support promoting employment helps you find employment if you need comprehensive support. The aim of the service is to remove obstacles to employment related to, for example, your life situation, state of health, work and functional capacity, and talents and vocational skills. 

In the cooperation model, the employment authority, wellbeing services county and Kela together with you will assess what kind of support you need for finding employment. A multisectoral employment plan will be drawn up for you. The plan will schedule the employment services, social and healthcare services and rehabilitation services you need. 

If you are under the age of 30, you can receive multisectoral advice, guidance and services meant for young people and offered jointly by different authorities and other actors at a low threshold. The purpose of the shared service of multisectoral support service promoting the employment of young people is to promote young people’s study opportunities, employment, capabilities for action and wellbeing.

To whom and on what terms

If you are unemployed and your employment situation could be improved by using labour, social, health and rehabilitation services, the employment authority, wellbeing services county or the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) can direct you to a multisectoral assessment of service needs.

You can use the joint service for multisectoral support promoting the employment of young people if you are under the age of 30. You can also use the low-threshold service anonymously. 

Do the following

Contact the employment authority in your area and ask if they could direct you to the services of the multisectoral cooperation model of support for employment. Your wellbeing services county or Kela can also direct you to the services.

In the joint service for multisectoral support promoting the employment of young people, you can use the services at a low threshold according to your needs.

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

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You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

Rehabilitative work activities can be a suitable solution when you are returning to working life after prolonged unemployment, starting your career, or rehabilitating from an illness or a difficult time in your life. The purpose of rehabilitative work activities is to assist individuals whose unemployment has been prolonged, who have received unemployment benefits or basic social assistance for a certain time period, and who are unable to participate in the services offered by the employment official.

Rehabilitation may help you when the disability or illness complicates your studies, work, or coping at different stages of life.

Rehabilitation is organised by Kela, public health care, occupational health care, municipal social services, disability organisations, transport and accident insurance institutions, and earnings-related pension insurance companies. Kela and the transport and accident insurance institutions can also secure your livelihood when you participate in rehabilitation. They may also cover costs related to participation in rehabilitation.

Vocational rehabilitation can help you with choosing a suitable vocational field, finding employment, and staying in or returning to working life despite your illness. Traffic and accident insurance institutions, work pension companies, and Kela organise legally mandated professional rehabilitation. Access to rehabilitation requires meeting certain requirements.

You can find out from your doctor or Kela which party organises the rehabilitation that you can apply for. Employment service specialists can also help you find out about your possibilities for rehabilitation.

You can apply for a subsidy for arranging working conditions if your employee’s disability or illness requires new tools or alterations at work.

Target Group

Businesses and non-government organizations

As an employer, you can receive support for arranging working conditions if the disability or illness of a person you are going to employ or who is already employed by you requires

  • new tools or furniture
  • alterations to be made at the workplace or
  • assistance provided by another employee.

The subsidy improves the chances of people with demand-specific work ability 
to find suitable employment or to keep their job in the open labour market.

To whom and on what terms

The subsidy for arranging working conditions is discretionary. The employment authority assesses the appropriateness of the subsidy. The assessment will take into account your employee’s needs and the financial position of your organisation. You must deliver to the employment authority sufficient information for the assessment of the need for the subsidy.

A prerequisite for granting the arrangement subsidy for procurements or alterations due to a disability or an illness of an employee is that you, as the employer, participate in covering the costs with a reasonable sum.

The maximum amount of subsidy for the procurement of work equipment or making alterations is €4,000 per person. The employment authority may grant the subsidy to be paid completely or partially in advance.

The employment authority can grant the subsidy as compensation for the assistance by another employee for a maximum of 20 working hours per month for a period of up to 18 months. The amount of the subsidy is €20 per hour, and it is paid on the basis of the realised time spent for providing assistance. A maximum of €400 per month is paid to compensate for the support provided by another employee.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions is primarily used to eliminate or reduce the harm caused by a disability or illness in recruitment situations. The subsidy may also be granted to support the preservation of the work of an employed person. The subsidy will not be granted for adaptation needs arising from the entrepreneur’s own disability or illness.

Subsidy for arranging working conditions for economic activities is granted in accordance with the General Block Exemption Regulation on State aid.

Do the following

You can only apply for the subsidy using an electronic form. The employment authority will check the conditions for granting the aid and, if necessary, request additional information before the decision.

Apply for the subsidy for arranging working conditions for an alternation or the procurement of work equipment or furniture within a month from the performance of the alteration or the procurement of the equipment or furniture.

The subsidy for arranging working conditions to compensate for assistance provided by another employee is paid monthly and retrospectively. Submit the payment application concerning the subsidy to the employment authority within two months of the end of the payment period.

Apply for subsidy and its payment in the e-service

Apply for subsidy and its payment using an electronic form in the e-service. Log into the service with your personal banking IDs, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.

Complete the application in the service and attach the required documents. The service’s internal instructions will help you fill in the application. In the e-service, you can submit an application, respond to requests for supplementary information concerning the application, supplement your application and receive decisions concerning your case.

In the e-service, the application can be submitted by an authorised person. Persons without separate authorisation can act on behalf of an organisation if they have an existing mandate for transactions or a right based on register data. The e-service checks the person’s right to use e-services when logging in.

The mandate theme used for the subsidy is called “Applying for subsidies for employment, environment, business and transport” (TYPO).

In addition to the mandate, organisations need a business ID to use the e-services.

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

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You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

If you have a disability or illness affecting your ability to work, you can request a certificate for a jobseeker with partial work ability from the employment authority.

Target Group

Citizens

If you have an injury or illness diagnosed by a physician that affects your employment and you are about to be employed by a large employer, you can ask the employment authority for a certificate stating that you have been registered as a jobseeker with partial work ability in the employment services customer information system. A large employer is an employer who has insurance from an employment pension company and whose annual salary exceeds the large employer’s salary limit.

Certificate for a jobseeker with partial work ability reduces the threshold for a large employer to hire an employee with partial work ability and promotes your employment. When you have the certificate, your employer’s employment pension contribution category will not change if you have to retire on a disability pension during the first five years of your employment relationship.

To whom and on what terms

You can obtain a certificate for a jobseeker with partial work ability if

  • you are an unemployed jobseeker in the employment services of your area
  • you have an illness or disability diagnosed by a physician that, according to the employment authority’s assessment, reduces your chances of getting a job, maintaining a job or progressing at work. 

You can request a certificate for a jobseeker with partial work ability when you are about to be employed by a large employer. The certificate is valid for five years from the date of signature. The certificate cannot be issued retrospectively. 

Do the following

Submit a valid medical report or other medical document to the employment authority on an illness or disability affecting your work ability. The employment authority will assess whether your illness or disability reduces your chances of getting a job, retaining a job or progressing at work.

When you are about to be employed by a large employer, ask the employment authority for a certificate of partial work ability. 

If you wish, you can submit the certificate to your employer at the beginning of the employment relationship. 

The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.

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You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.

Support for maintaining the ability to work

While an illness or disability may reduce your work ability and functional capacity, this does not necessarily mean that you are completely unable to work. You can get a wide range of help to maintain your work ability.

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Support for job seeking

You need to be proactive to find a job. You can also use a range of services to help in your job search.

Do you wish to develop your competence? There are many different ways to expand your expertise.

Identify your competence

Are you aware of all your areas of competence? It is important to acknowledge what you already know and what you could still learn if you are seeking to find a new job or to develop your competence. You can attend higher education institutions to complement your existing competence and degrees, or study at any institution of your choosing alongside work.

Complementing studies and degrees through higher education

Higher education institutions allow you to complement your previous degrees or take studies in an entirely new field. These non-degree studies can also be taken alongside work to expand professional competence.

Studying while working

If you are working, you can take multiform studies or ask your employer about the possibility of taking study leave.

Multiform studies are designed to be taken alongside work, so contact teaching is reduced and mostly takes place in the evenings and on weekends. Multiform studies combine different forms of study, which may include contact teaching, online learning, working in study groups, and independent study, for example.

Policies on study leave vary from workplace to workplace, so discuss them with your own employer.

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