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In order to receive unemployment benefits, you must provide more detailed information for a labour policy statement, if necessary. Respond to requests for clarification by the deadline.
When you are an unemployed job seeker, unemployment security financially ensures your ability to apply for work and improves your chances of entering or returning to the labour market.
You can find employment services, like registering as a job seeker, in the 'E-services' section.
Register as a job seeker and start your job search on your first day of unemployment so that you can receive unemployment security right from the beginning of your unemployment.
After registering you will receive a labour policy statement stating whether you are eligible for unemployment security. If you are applying for unemployment security, you may receive a request for additional information before the statement is issued.
You may receive an increase in your unemployment security if you participate in services promoting employment. You must agree on participation in the service with your expert either in the employment plan or an equivalent plan.
Unemployment security is paid by either the unemployment fund or Kela
When applying for unemployment security, first find out whether your unemployment benefit is paid by the unemployment fund or Kela. Various forms of unemployment benefits include earnings-related allowance, basic unemployment allowance, and labour market subsidy.
If you are a member of an unemployment fund through your trade union, for example, apply for earnings-related unemployment allowance from your fund.
If you are not a member of an unemployment fund, apply for basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy from Kela.
You should apply for unemployment security from an unemployment fund or Kela, even if the processing of an additional clarification request is in progress at the TE Office. This way you avoid an extra delay in receiving an unemployment benefit when it is determined that you are entitled to unemployment security. You can find out on the unemployment fund's or Kela's website how long after the start of your unemployment you can submit an application for unemployment security.
If you have any questions about unemployment security, the experts at the unemployment security helpline will assist you.
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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.
Report changes in your employment situation in the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland, the telephone service, or at the office of the TE Office or the local government pilot.
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 TE Office or the local government pilot are listed above. If you are unsure about how the change in your situation affects your right to unemployment security, you should contact the TE Office, the local government pilot, or the unemployment security helpline. An expert will also 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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Are you wondering whether you need to notify the TE Office, the local government pilot, or the party paying your unemployment benefit of the start or end of your employment? The decisive factor is whether the work lasts over or under two weeks.
If you are a customer of a TE Office or a local government pilot, always report any changes in your work situation. You can submit a notification in the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland or call the telephone service.
At the same time, indicate whether you intend to apply for unemployment security after your employment situation has changed. If necessary, you will receive a new labour policy statement on your right to unemployment security.
You can only receive unemployment security for the time that you are a job seeker and looking for full-time employment. If you are a job seeker who receives a partial disability pension, you do not need to apply for full-time employment.
You can find employment services, like registering as a job seeker, in the 'E-services' section.
Termination of entrepreneurial activity of a private entrepreneur
If you are a private entrepreneur, the termination criteria applied to your entrepreneurship are different from those applied to company form business operations. Under the Unemployment Security Act, your entrepreneurial activity as a private entrepreneur is seen to have ceased when production and economic activities have ended according to your notification which is deemed reliable, or it is otherwise evident that you will no longer continue the entrepreneurial activity. It is an additional requirement that you have cancelled your entrepreneur's pension insurance (YEL) or farmer's pension insurance (MYEL), except for MYEL taken out for a grant period.
The TE Office or the local government pilot will, before the matter is decided, send a written request for clarification regarding your entrepreneurial activity.
When you start an employment relationship lasting up to two weeks
inform the party paying for your unemployment security of your employment.
When you start entrepreneurial activity lasting up to two weeks,
inform the party paying for your unemployment benefit of your employment, and
also inform the TE Office or the local government pilot of your employment if your entrepreneurial activity has previously been considered part-time and your business is expanding, or you are unsure of the duration of your entrepreneurial activity.
When you end an employment relationship or entrepreneurial activity that lasted no more than two weeks, notify the payer of your unemployment benefit of it.
When you start an employment relationship or entrepreneurial activity lasting more than two weeks, report it to
the TE Office or the local government pilot, and
the payer of your unemployment benefit.
If you wish, you can continue as a job seeker in the TE Services or you can stop your job search completely.
If you stop your job search, you are not entitled to unemployment security.
If you continue as a job seeker, the TE Office or the local government pilot will determine whether you are entitled to unemployment security. In order to be eligible for unemployment security, you must, among other things, keep your job search valid and apply for full-time employment.
As a job seeker, you may be entitled to unemployment security for a period of four months when you are an entrepreneur or self-employed, if the new activity starts during your unemployment.
You may also be entitled to an adjusted unemployment benefit if the employment relationship is part-time and lasts over two weeks.
When you end an employment relationship or entrepreneurial activity that has lasted more than two weeks, you should take action according to whether your job search is valid.
If your job search is not valid, register as a job seeker.
If your job search is already valid, notify the TE Office or the local government pilot of the changes in your situation.
The TE Office or the local government pilot will determine whether you are entitled to unemployment security and can ask you to submit certificates of your business activities or employment relationship.
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In a mandatory waiting period (karenssi), a job seeker temporarily loses the right to unemployment security because they have acted in an improper manner in terms of labour policy. In legislation, the waiting period is referred to as an unpaid time period. On this page you will find information on the most common causes of a mandatory waiting period.
Improper actions in terms of labour policy are the causes for a mandatory waiting period
Your job search obligation, participation in services, and the timeframe of completing them are agreed upon in your employment plan.
The TE Office and the local government pilot can make job offers to job seekers. Job offers are obligatory if your job search has lasted six months since the initial interview. A job offer is not obligatory if you have reported that you have applied for the agreed number of job opportunities before the job offer.
If you, for example, neglect your appointments, updating the plan or participating in services, fail to fulfil your job search obligation, or repeatedly fail to apply for a job indicated in an obligatory job offer during the 12-month review period, waiting periods of different lengths may be imposed for these improper actions.
The most common causes for being imposed a waiting period are, for example
failure to look for work,
refusal of a mandatory job offer from the TE Office or the local government pilot,
failure to attend an initial interview, job search interviews, or supplementary job search interviews,
refusal or failure to draw up an employment plan or an equivalent plan, and
refusal or suspension of service.
You will also be put under a mandatory waiting period if you repeatedly fail to meet agreed appointments with the TE Office or the local government pilot, or if you do not submit the documents related to your ability to work as agreed. As a result, your job search and thus your right to unemployment security will end for the time being.
The graduated waiting period works as follows. A reminder will follow from the first forgetful action or failure. If you do not fulfil your agreed job search obligations after receiving the reminder, you will be placed on a 7-day mandatory waiting period. If you still fail to comply with your obligations, you will be subject to a 14-day waiting period. For the fourth failure to comply, you will lose your entitlement to unemployment security for the time being until you fulfill the obligation to work. The review period is 12 months.
Please note that the mandatory waiting period is different from the 7-day waiting period. The 7-day waiting period refers to the first five days of unemployment for which the provider of unemployment security, i.e. Kela or the unemployment fund, does not pay the daily allowance.
An expert from the TE Office or the local government pilot can make you job offers. Job offers are mandatory if your job search has lasted six months from the initial interview. Employers can also directly offer you work. Refusing work may result in a temporary loss of unemployment benefits.
If your own actions cause an employment relationship to not start, this is considered a refusal to work.
The regulations of the Unemployment Security Act concerning refusal to work are only applied to work in an employment or public service relationship.
If you refuse the job for which you have been selected without a valid reason, the mandatory waiting period is 30 or 45 days, depending on the length of your employment. A mandatory waiting period based on a refusal to work begins 30 days after the refusal. If you find new employment before the start of the waiting period, you can avoid the financial disadvantage caused by it.
If you refuse a mandatory job offer provided by the TE Office or the local government pilot, a graduated waiting period will follow. This means that a reminder will follow from the first forgetful action or failure, and if you do not fulfil your agreed job search obligations after receiving the reminder, you will be placed on a 7-day mandatory waiting period. If you still fail to comply with your obligations, you will be subject to a 14-day waiting period. For the fourth failure to comply, you will lose your entitlement to unemployment security for the time being until you fulfill the obligation to work. The review period is 12 months.
If you resign without a valid reason, the mandatory waiting period will be 30 or 45 days from the end of your employment, depending on the length of your employment. If the work would have lasted no more than five days, the waiting period is 30 days. If the work would have lasted more than five days, the waiting period is 45 days.
If you cause the termination of your employment with your own improper actions, you will be placed under a waiting period of 30 or 45 days from the termination of your employment, depending on the length of your employment.
If you refuse a work or training trial or other employment-promoting service without a valid reason, a graduated waiting period will follow. This means that a reminder will follow from the first failure to comply, a 7-day waiting period from the second, a 14-day waiting period from the third, and from the fourth, you will lose your entitlement to unemployment security for the time being until you fulfill the obligation to work. The review period is 12 months. If your actions cause you to not be selected for a service, this is considered a refusal.
If you terminate the service without a valid reason, a graduated waiting period will follow. This means that a reminder will follow from the first failure to comply, a 7-day waiting period from the second, a 14-day waiting period from the third, and from the fourth, you will lose your entitlement to unemployment security for the time being until you fulfill the obligation to work. The review period is 12 months.
If you do not take part in the initial interview or integration training (including self-study with unemployment benefits) during the integration period, a graduated waiting period will follow. This means that a reminder will follow from the first failure to comply, a 7-day waiting period from the second, a 14-day waiting period from the third, and from the fourth, you will lose your entitlement to unemployment security for the time being until you fulfill the obligation to work. The review period is 12 months.
Valid work and service-related reasons, i.e. when a waiting period is not imposed
If you have an obstacle that prevents you from participating in an interview, job search discussion, or drafting an employment plan, let your assigned expert know. If the obstacle is an illness, accident, or other cause beyond your control, no mandatory waiting period will be imposed.
You will not be placed under a waiting period in each case of resignation, as you may also have a valid reason to resign. You may have a valid reason to resign,
if the average duration of your daily commute is more than three hours for full-time work and more than two hours for part-time work, you have an acceptable reason to resign within three months of starting work,
if, within one week of resigning, you move to another municipality where your spouse has a secure job or business and the duration of the daily commute exceeds an average of three hours for full-time work and two hours for part-time work,
if your place of work changes during your employment so that the duration of your daily commute to a new place of work exceeds an average of three hours for full-time work and of two hours for part-time work,
if the job is not suitable for you given your ability to work,
if you have a so-called zero-hour contract, and there has been no work available during the 12 calendar weeks prior to the resignation during which the employment requirement could be fulfilled, i.e. generally at least 18 hours, or
if you are not entitled to mediated unemployment security and your salary is less than EUR 1,283 per month.
When looking at time, public transport, the use of a bicycle or your own car, as well as the possibility to walk on a business trip are taken into account. You are not required to own a car.
Criteria in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act, such as non-payment of wages and endangering occupational safety, are also considered valid reasons for resignation. However, try to resolve conflicts at the workplace first. You can talk to your supervisor yourself or with the help of a trade union representative or an occupational safety and health representative. The occupational safety and health authorities can help you with certain matters.
You may have a valid reason for refusing a job that you have applied for or have been individually selected for by your employer without being imposed a waiting period, if it is
part-time work, where your earnings would be less than your unemployment benefit while completely unemployed (when the salary for the work and the adjusted unemployment benefit are added up and the employment costs are deducted),
work that is against your religious or conscientious beliefs,
work that requires performing inappropriate work tasks,
work involving a clear threat of violence,
work involving harassment or other inappropriate treatment causing harm or danger to the employee's health,
work that cannot be considered suitable for you given your ability to work,
work that does not provide a salary in accordance with the collective agreement or, in the absence of a collective agreement, less than EUR 1,283 per month for full-time work,
work for which the salary is based entirely on a commission or, if the salary is partly based on a commission, the fixed part of the salary in full-time work is less than EUR 1,283 per month, or
work for which the duration of your daily commute would exceed an average of three hours for full-time work or two hours for part-time work.
You also have skills protection, which means that during the first three months of unemployment, you can refuse work that does not correspond to your professional skills acquired through education or work experience.
You can also refuse if you have not been given a reasonable amount of time to arrange childcare or care for another person dependent upon you and to overcome commute-related or other similar difficulties.
If you refuse a job that you had applied for and been selected for, you have a valid reason to refuse the job only if you were unaware of the above matters when applying.
You will never be imposed a waiting period for refusal to work as an entrepreneur.
You may refuse to participate in a service promoting your employment or discontinue using the service without notice, if
the service is not suitable for you considering your state of health or your ability to work and function,
the daily commute to the place where the service is provided exceeds an average of three hours,
the service provider neglects their responsibility for the occupational safety of the person participating in the service or the service cannot be organized safely for any other reason,
the service provider fails to comply with the legislation governing the organization of the service or the terms of the service contract, or
the service differs significantly from what was agreed upon in the employment plan or an equivalent plan.
You are allowed to refuse or discontinue labour market training if the work in the sector is not suitable for you considering your state of health and work ability, or the income of you and your dependants is not reasonably secured during the training. A reasonable income means that you receive benefits in accordance with your entitlement to unemployment security.
Learn more
If you have any questions regarding the mandatory waiting period, please contact the unemployment security advice telephone service.
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