The compensation for expenses is
EUR 9 per day
Financial assistance during participation in employment promoting services
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While you participate in employment-promoting services, you are paid the same unemployment benefits that you would have the right to while unemployed. There are two kinds of unemployment benefits: earnings-related unemployment allowance and the general social security benefit. In addition, you may get compensation for expenses.
You agree on participating in employment-promoting services in the employment plan you make together with the employment services.
Employment-promoting services include:
- job search coaching
- career training
- labour market training
- self-motivated study while receiving unemployment benefits
- self-motivated study by immigrants
- work try-out
- training try-out
- rehabilitative work activity.
Read more about the services available to you to support employment (tyomarkkinatori.fi).
General social security benefit during participation in employment-promoting services
Kela will pay you the general social security benefit for the period you participate in employment-promoting services. You get the benefit for 5 days per week even if the service is not offered every day.
When you participate in employment-promoting services, you will get the general social security benefit without means testing. This means that, for example, your parents’ income will not affect your general social security benefit during that time.
In certain situations, Kela can pay the general social security benefit during participation in employment-promoting services even if you would not qualify for the benefit while unemployed. This may be the case for example if you are subject to a mandatory waiting period (karenssi) or an obligation to work (työssäolovelvoite) or you have to complete a qualifying period (odotusaika).
If you are still unemployed when the employment-promoting service ends, you must tell Kela that you are still unemployed in the OmaKela e-service.
If you are absent from employment promoting services
If you are absent from employment-promoting services, you must tell Kela about it in the OmaKela e-service. You do not need to report your absences if you participate in labour market training or do self-motivated study while receiving the general social security benefit.
Report absences
If you are absent from employment promoting services, you must report this.
Absence
You are considered absent on days when the employment-promoting service is offered but you do not participate even if you should have. Days of absence do not include days when the employment promoting service is not offered (such as mid-week holidays).
You have the right to the general social security benefit but not to compensation for expenses if your absence is due to
- your own illness
- illness of a child under the age of 10 (a maximum of 4 days)
- a job interview or an equivalent reason related to your job search
- carrying out your duties for a public position of trust.
If you are absent due to your own illness for more than 3 days, you must send a statement from a nurse or a doctor to Kela.
If your absence is due to some other reason, you cannot get general social security benefit for the days of that absence.
If you wish to change the days when you participate in the employment-promoting service, you must agree on this with the service provider. You do need to report the change to Kela.
If the employment-promoting service is interrupted due to your absences, the service provider will tell employment services about it.
Service providers will report absences to Kela. The absence reports are submitted at least once every 2 weeks so that Kela can pay the benefit at the correct amount.
If the employment-promoting service is not offered for example during a break related to rehabilitative work activity, the service provider will tell Kela that the service was not offered (palvelua ei järjestetä) in the absence report. This is not considered an absence, so you can still get your general social security benefit. However, Kela does not pay compensation for expenses for such days.
Service providers use the form Ilmoitus poissaolosta YE 3 (PDF, in Finnish) to report absences to Kela.
The data for each customer are reported on separate forms.
If the participant is a member of an unemployment fund, the service provider sends the absence report to the unemployment fund.
Compensation for expenses
When you participate in employment-promoting services, you can get compensation from Kela for your travel and maintenance costs during your participation in the service. You agree on your participation in employment-promoting services with the employment services.
You can get compensation for expenses only if Kela also pays you general social security benefit.
You can get compensation for expenses from Kela while you participate in the following employment-promoting services:
- independent study under the Integration Act
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labour market training
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job search training or career counselling
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job try-out and training try-out
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rehabilitative work activity.
How much is the compensation for expenses?
You can get the compensation for up to 5 days per week. Kela pays the compensation automatically in connection with the payment of your general social security benefit. You do not have to apply for it separately.
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you participate in an employment-promoting service offered outside your principal area of employment, meaning that it is offered over 80 kilometres away from the place where you live
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the service is offered in your principal area of employment but outside your municipality of residence (kotikunta) and you have to pay for accommodation. Send proof of your accommodation expenses in the OmaKela e-service.
If you participate in rehabilitative work activity, the compensation for expenses is always EUR 9 per day.
Kela pays compensation for expenses only for days when you participate in the service. This means that you cannot get the compensation for example during holidays or days of absence.
You do not have to pay taxes on the compensation for expenses.