The compensation for expenses is
EUR 9 per day
Financial assistance during participation in employment promoting services
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During participation in employment promoting services, you are paid the unemployment benefit to which you would be entitled as unemployed (labour market subsidy, basic unemployment allowance or earnings-related unemployment allowance). In addition, you can be granted compensation for expenses.
Participation in employment promotion services is agreed on in the employment plan, which is drawn up together with the employment services.
Employment promoting services consist of:
- job search coaching
- career counselling
- labour market training
- self-motivated study while receiving unemployment benefit
- self-motivated study for immigrants
- job try-out
- training try-out
- rehabilitative work activity.
Read more about the services available to you to support employment (tyomarkkinatori.fi).
How benefits are paid during participation in employment promoting services
You can receive unemployment benefit during participation in employment promoting services. You receive the benefit for 5 days per week even if the service is not arranged every day. Basic or earnings-related unemployment allowance paid during participation in employment promoting services counts against the maximum limit for receiving unemployment allowance.
When you participate in employment promoting services, you will receive labour market subsidy without means-testing, so for instance your parents' income will not affect the labour market subsidy during that time.
Unemployment benefits can in certain situations, during participation in unemployment promoting services, be paid even if the jobseeker would not qualify for the benefit in question when being unemployed. Such situations can occur when the jobseeker is for instance subject to
If you are still unemployed when the employment promoting service ends, you must report the continued unemployment when you file the unemployment status report in the OmaKela e-service (only available in Finnish or Swedish).
If you are absent from employment promoting services
If you are absent from employment promoting services, you must report this in the OmaKela e-service. You need not report the absences, if you participate in labour market training or self-motivated study while receiving unemployment benefit.
Absence
Absence means a day when the employment promoting service is arranged and you should have participated. Days of absence do not include days when the employment promoting service is not arranged (e.g. mid-week holidays).
You are entitled to unemployment benefit but not to compensation for expenses if the absence is due to
- your own illness
- illness of a child under the age of 10 years (a maximum of 4 days)
- a job interview or an equivalent reason related to search for employment
- carrying out of 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 the absence is due to some other reason, you cannot receive unemployment benefit for the days of absence.
If you wish to change your days of participation, you must agree on this with the service provider. You need not report the change to Kela.
If the employment promoting service is interrupted due to the absences, the service provider reports this to the employment services.
The service provider reports the absences to Kela. The absence reports are submitted at least once every 2 weeks so that Kela can pay the benefit to the correct amount.
If the employment promoting service is not arranged for instance during a break related to rehabilitative work activity, the service provider writes ‘service is not arranged' in the absence report. This is not considered an absence, so the jobseeker is entitled to unemployment benefit. However, Kela does not pay compensation for expenses for such days.
The service provider reports the absences on the form Ilmoitus poissaolosta TT3 (pdf, in Finnish), and sends the form to Kela (Kela, PL 10, 00056 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 receive compensation for the expenses from Kela as regards travel and maintenance costs during participation in an employment promoting service. Participation in employment promoting services is agreed with the employment services.
You can only receive compensation for expenses if you receive unemployment benefit.
When you participate in employment promoting services you can receive compensation for the expenses from Kela as regards travel and maintenance costs during participation in an employment promoting service. Participation in employment promoting services is agreed with the employment services.
Employment promoting services during which you can receive compensation for expenses include
- self-motivated study by immigrants
- labour market training
- job search training or career counselling
- work experience placements
- rehabilitative work activity.
How much is the compensation for expenses?
The compensation is payable for up to 5 days per week. Kela pays the compensation automatically in connection with the payment of the unemployment benefit. You do not have to apply for it separately.
- you participate in employment promoting services outside your principal area of employment, i.e. more than 80 kilometres from the place where you live
- the service is arranged in your principal area of employment, but outside your municipality of residence and you incur expenses for accommodation. Send proof of the accommodation expenses in the OmaKela e-service.
For rehabilitative work activity the compensation for expenses is always EUR 9 per day.
Kela only pays compensation for expenses for days when you participate in the service, which means that compensation is not paid for instance for holidays and days of absence.
The compensation for expenses is tax-free income.