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.
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The point of unemployment security is to compensate for the economic losses that unemployment causes you. The first thing you need to do is register as a job seeker in the E-services of TE Services.
The purpose of unemployment security is to compensate you for the financial losses caused by unemployment.
Register as an unemployed job seeker in order to receive unemployment security. You can register a job seeker in the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland. The different forms of unemployment security include earnings-related unemployment allowance, basic unemployment allowance, and labour market subsidy.
You can find employment services, like registering as a job seeker, in the 'E-services' section.
In the customer service model, as a job seeker, you will be supported right from the start of your job search in meetings that are personal and held regularly.
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You can register as a job seeker in the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland. If you become unemployed or are laid off, register as a job seeker as soon as possible.
You can register as a job seeker before your unemployment or lay-off begins, but do so no later than on your first day of unemployment, because you can only receive unemployment security from the registration date.
You can identify yourself at Job Market Finland with online banking credentials, a mobile certificate, or a chip-based ID card. If you cannot identify yourself in these ways or you are not a citizen of an EU or EEA member state, you can register in the TE Office's general counseling service or by visiting a TE Office in person.
You can find employment services, like registering as a job seeker, in the 'E-services' section.
If you are applying for unemployment security, after starting your job search, you will receive a labour policy statement on your right to unemployment security. You can see the statements given to you in the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland. Unemployment benefits are only paid for the time you are an unemployed job seeker. Your right to unemployment security is influenced by many factors. Read more about them in the "Unemployment security" section.
If you have participated in labour market training or been employed on a pay subsidy and become unemployed again, register as a job seeker.
When you start your job search, you will agree with your assigned TE Office or local government pilot expert on how your customer relationship will progress with the TE Services.
You can contact your specialist via the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland. There you can also view all your open tasks.
In the ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland you can
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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
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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Receiving unemployment benefits is conditional on many factors, which is why you have not only rights but also certain obligations.
You can find employment services, like registering as a job seeker, in the 'E-services' section.
The term unemployed job seeker refers to people who are without employment, have been laid off, and job seekers who are not part of the workforce.
Once you have registered as a job seeker, you are entitled to
Together with your assigned expert at either the TE Office or the local government pilot for employment, you will create an employment plan. The plan will be a record of your job seeking goals and obligations, and the actions you will take to achieve those goals. You will review the plan and your progress through it with your assigned expert every three months.
Your entitlement to unemployment benefits is affected by whether you are a wage earner, an entrepreneur, self-employed, or a student. How much work you do and how long you work is also significant.
Your assigned expert will always assess the amount of work required for your activities on a case-by-case basis, as this will have an impact on your unemployment security. The amount of work you do is the key factor in the assessment, not your income or profit. The assessment made by authorities of the TE Office or the local government pilot may not be in line with the decisions made by the providers of unemployment security, i.e. KELA, unemployment insurance funds, or the Tax Administration.
While receiving an unemployment benefit, and provided you meet the prerequisites, you can
However, you must notify the TE Office or the local government pilot in advance of any changes in your situation in order to check your entitlement to unemployment security.
If you are applying for or already receive an unemployment benefit, you need to search for full-time work. Only job seekers who receive a partial disability pension are entitled to unemployment benefits without being obligated to seek full-time employment. A nonconditional requirement of receiving unemployment benefits is that your job search is valid. Your job search is considered valid when you are working with the TE Office or local government pilot in the agreed manner and at the agreed times, and you are observing any instructions and deadlines given through ‘E-services' section of Job Market Finland or other official channels.
In addition to this, you have to take care of the following responsibilities.
Note that if you neglect your responsibilities, you may lose your entitlement to unemployment security for a fixed period or indefinitely.
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The way that work is done is changing, opening new opportunities for you to find employment. In addition to traditional salaried work and entrepreneurship, you may also employ yourself in other ways, such as using light entrepreneurship services, working as a freelancer, working on a grant, working in a worker cooperative, or working as a family caregiver, professional athlete, or volunteer. These different ways of working offer you alternatives when preparing for changes in working life.
You can employ yourself in many different ways. You can earn your income from multiple sources, either simultaneously or in alternation. For example, you may work part-time through light entrepreneurship whilst also in paid employment or doing your studies, or your work may consist of a number of short-term job assignments. Have you ever considered that you could also earn money from your hobby?
This may bring up questions about unemployment security. There is no unequivocal model for all self-employed people, as the amount and duration of the work you do has an impact on unemployment security. It is worth taking a look at our Unemployment security section and asking Information and guidance about unemployment security.
Explore the entrepreneurship content at Job Market Finland.
Entrepreneurship section
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.
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
When you start entrepreneurial activity lasting up to two weeks,
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
If you wish, you can continue as a job seeker in the TE Services or you can stop your job search completely.
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.
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.
More information
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Are you under 25 years of age without a professional degree and have finished comprehensive school or upper secondary school? Conditions for unemployment security that apply to you partially differ from those of other job seekers. Your situation will change when you receive vocational training or take part in a service that promotes employment.
If you are under 18 years of age and have not completed education after comprehensive school or general upper secondary school leading to a qualification that provides professional skills, you are usually not entitled to a labour market subsidy paid on the basis of unemployment.
If you are a 17-year-old job seeker, you can receive
A person under the age of 18 may also be entitled to unemployment security provided that they have interrupted their compulsory education due to a weighty reason referred to in the Act on Compulsory Education. These include long-term illness, parental leave, or being abroad.
Are you under 25 and have had no education beyond comprehensive school or general upper secondary school? In order to be eligible for unemployment security, in the spring you must apply for at least two opportunities for education leading to a degree that will start in the following autumn, provide professional skills, and for which you meet the requirements for admission.
If reasons related to matters such as your state of health or language skills prevent you from applying for education, discuss the matter with an expert at the TE Office or the local government pilot. You can also agree on meeting the obligation to apply to study in some other way.
If you are still an unemployed job seeker at the beginning of the autumn term (1 September), an expert from the TE Office or the local government pilot will inquire what training you have applied for.
You will lose your right to unemployment security from the beginning of the autumn term, i.e. from 1 September until further notice if
If you quit your studies without a valid reason, you will lose your right to unemployment security from the day that you quit.
To receive unemployment security, you are not required to apply in the autumn for education that begins in the spring. However, if you do apply for education in the autumn and you get a place to study, but fail to start your studies in the spring without a valid reason, you will lose your right to unemployment security until further notice.
Your right to an unemployment security will be restored if one of the following conditions is met:
Kela can impose a mandatory waiting period for your labour market subsidy, during which you will not receive the labour market subsidy. The maximum length of the waiting period is 21 weeks. Kela will decide on the length of the waiting period.
If you are not entitled to unemployment security due to not applying for education or training or due to discontinuing studies, you can still receive unemployment benefits while participating in services promoting employment.
Services promoting employment include rehabilitative work activities, job-search coaching, career coaching, work try-outs, and labour market training.
This website is part of the European Commission's Your Europe portal. Did you find what you were looking for? Give feedback! (europa.eu)
This website is part of the European Commission's Your Europe portal. Did you find what you were looking for? Give feedback! (europa.eu)