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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 benefits from the registration date.

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 entitlement 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.

Agree on further services with your assigned service specialist

When you start your job search, you will agree with your assigned employment service specialist on how your customer relationship will progress with employment services.

• view your employment plan that entails your agreed job search obligations, i.e. tasks that promote your employment, and mark them as completed by the due dates,
• view your own information related to your unemployment security, such as statements and open requests for clarification,
• update the changes in your job search situation or inform of employment,
• maintain your contact information, and
• submit a contact request to your service specialist.

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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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The rights of unemployed job seekers    

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    

• public employment services, which are determined by your service needs and
• unemployment security, if you meet the conditions for it.

Together with your assigned service specialist in the employment services 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 service specialist 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 service specialist 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 profits. The assessment made by the employment official 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

• study part-time,
• complete short-term studies (lasting 6 months at most),
• engage in volunteering or other work that is unpaid, regular, and for the public good,
• work part-time,
• work as a part-time entrepreneur or in a short-term commission relationship, or
• become a full-time entrepreneur or self-employed. The full or part-time nature of entrepreneurial activity or self-employment is not assessed for the first four months after you start such activities if you have started them while being unemployed.

However, you must notify the employment official in advance of any changes in your situation in order to check your entitlement to unemployment security.

Responsibilities of unemployed job seekers

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 employment official in the agreed manner and at the agreed times, and you are observing any instructions and deadlines given through the E-services at Job Market Finland or other official channels.

In addition to this, you have to take care of the following responsibilities.

• Ensure you can be reached and keep your contact information up to date. You can notify officials on any changes through the E-services at Job Market Finland or by calling the telephone service.
• Accept work that is offered to you by your assigned service specialist or an employer. If the job offer made by your service specialist is mandatory, you are required to contact the employer. You must also report contacting the employer by the deadline.
• Accept training your assigned service specialist offers you. Training offers require you to apply for programmes such as vocational labour market training. You must report your applications by the deadline.
• Attend the agreed interviews, job search discussions, and supplementary job search discussions. Participate in drawing up and reviewing your employment plan, activation plan, or integration plan.
• Apply for and participate in all employment-promoting services that are agreed in the employment plan or provided to you. Perform all the actions agreed on in the employment plan and report actions you have completed.
• If you are under 25 and do not have any post-comprehensive or post-upper-secondary education leading to a qualification or professional capabilities, you need to apply for at least two education programmes in the spring to receive unemployment benefits. Your entitlement to unemployment security will be reviewed at the beginning of the autumn semester, starting from 1 September. You can find more information and guidance from the One-Stop Guidance Center closest to you.
• Inform the employment official of any changes to your contact information.

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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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. For more information, you can browse information at our 'Unemployment security' and 'Information and guidance about unemployment security' sections.

If you are a customer of employment services, always report any changes in your work situation. You can submit a notification in the E-services at 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 entitlement 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.

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 employment official will, before the matter is decided, send a written request for clarification regarding your entrepreneurial activity.

More information

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Labour market subsidy for persons under the age of 18

Compulsory education continues until you reach the age of 18 years.

You can receive labour market subsidy, if you are 17 years of age and you already have vocational qualifications. You cannot receive basic unemployment allowance, since work performed before the age of 18 years does not count towards the work requirement.

If you are 17 years of age and you have completed upper secondary school education, you can only receive labour market subsidy if you participate in employment promoting services.

You can also get labour market subsidy if you have had to interrupt the completion of compulsory education for instance because of a long-term illness.

Those under 25 are obligated to apply for training   

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.

• The training does not have to be part of the joint application to upper secondary education and preparatory education. You may also apply to a university or university of applied sciences.   
• If you have only completed comprehensive school, you may also apply for places to study in general upper secondary schools intended for young people comprising at least 150 credits.
• If you are completing upper secondary school in the spring, you must apply in the spring that you graduate for education that begins in the autumn and provides professional skills. You must also apply to study if you intend to complete military or non-military service immediately after general upper secondary school.
• If you are invited to an entrance examination, you must participate in the exam as well as other events related to the application process.   
• If you are offered a place to study, accept it and begin your studies.   

If reasons related to matters such as your state of health or language skills prevent you from applying for education, discuss the matter with a service specialist in the employment services. You can also agree on meeting the obligation to apply to study in some other way.

Prerequisites for receiving unemployment security  

If you are still an unemployed job seeker at the beginning of the autumn term (1 September), a service specialist in the employment services 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 

• you have not applied for at least two educational opportunities without a valid reason, 
• you are not selected for training due to reasons attributable to you, or 
• if you refuse to accept training or do not start training without a valid reason.

If you quit your studies without a valid reason, you will lose your entitlement 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 entitlement to an unemployment security will be restored if one of the following conditions is met:

• You have completed a vocational qualification or higher education degree.
• You have spent at least 21 calendar weeks working at a job that meets the conditions of being employed, which means that you have worked at least 18 hours a week, taken part in services that promote employment, studied full time, or worked full time as an entrepreneur or at your own job.   
• You reach your 25th birthday.

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.

Services that promote employment 

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.

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If you need help in applying for unemployment security, read the contents of Job Market Finland or call the national Unemployment security advice.