If you become unemployed
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Register as an unemployed jobseeker
Register immediately as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services of your municipality of residence if
- you become unemployed
- you are temporarily laid off
- your studies end and you do not have a full-time job.
Register as unemployed at the latest on the first day of unemployment or temporary lay-off. Read more about searching for work (tyomarkkinatori.fi).
You can only get an unemployment benefit if you have registered as an unemployed jobseeker.
Where and how to apply for unemployment benefits
There are two kinds of unemployment benefits: earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha) and the general social security benefit (yleistuki). Unemployment benefits are sometimes also called income security for the unemployed. Read more about the unemployment benefits.
Unemployment funds (työttömyyskassa) pay earnings-related unemployment allowance. Visit tyj.fi to check the contact information of your unemployment fund and instructions on how to apply.
If you do not belong to an unemployment fund, apply for the general social security benefit (yleistuki) from Kela.
If your application is pending at your unemployment fund, you cannot apply for the general social security benefit from Kela. You must wait until you get a decision from your unemployment fund.
If the decision you get from your unemployment fund is negative because you do not meet the work requirement (työssäoloehto), you can apply for the general social security benefit from Kela. If your unemployment fund’s decision is negative for some other reason, you cannot get the general social security benefit from Kela either. In that case, you may have the right to basic social assistance from Kela.
The payment of unemployment benefits will not start automatically after you have registered as a jobseeker. You must apply for unemployment benefits from your unemployment fund or Kela. You cannot get unemployment benefits from both Kela and your unemployment fund at the same time.
Unemployment benefits have a waiting period (omavastuuaika). Only days when you are registered as an unemployed jobseeker looking for work count towards the waiting period. Make sure that you stay registered as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services at all times while you are unemployed.
Employment services will make an employment plan with you. Follow your employment plan and use Job Market Finland’s e-service (tyomarkkinatori.fi) to report on the matters agreed in it.
Complete the application for unemployment benefit only after the waiting period is over
You can get general social security benefit from Kela after you have been registered as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services for at least 7 working days. This is called a waiting period (omavastuuaika). The waiting period is based on law, and you cannot get the general social security benefit during the waiting period.
The waiting period does not have to be continuous. Days you have been unemployed in a maximum of 8 consecutive calendar weeks can count towards the waiting period.
You only have to complete one waiting period for the general social security benefit. You do not have to complete a new waiting period if you go directly from earnings-related unemployment allowance to the general social security benefit.
If you work part time, your waiting period is calculated by deducting the hours you have worked in a calendar week from the maximum number of working hours stated in your collective agreement. When these hours amount to 7 full working days, the waiting period has been completed.
Holiday compensations affect the start date of the waiting period and of the unemployment benefit payments
If you become unemployed, any holiday compensation your employer pays you at the end of your employment will be periodised. This means that if you have vacation days left when your employment ends, the compensation paid for these days postpones the start of your general social security benefit.
Your holiday compensation will be periodised at the beginning of your unemployment so that the holiday compensation you get from your previous employer is divided by your average daily wage at your former job. The result is the number of days by which the start of your general social security benefit is moved forward.
The periodisation applies to the holiday compensation paid when a full-time job of more than 2 weeks ends.
The periodisation of your holiday compensation will not apply at the same time as your waiting period (omavastuuaika). This means that the waiting period starts after the end of the periodisation of any holiday compensation that may be paid to you by your previous employer.
If you receive a negative decision on the unemployment benefit
If Kela does not grant you the general social security benefit, check if you can get other benefits from Kela such as sickness allowance (sairauspäiväraha) or social assistance (toimeentulotuki).
What do Kela and municipal employment services do?
After you have registered as an unemployed jobseeker, the employment services of your municipality of residence will examine your situation. After that, Kela will get a labour policy statement from the employment services or the KEHA Centre (keha-keskus.fi, In Finnish).
The statement tells Kela whether you are an unemployed jobseeker and if there are any reasons why you should not get unemployment benefits. For example the following reasons may prevent you from getting unemployment benefits:
- you study full time
- you are employed full time with a valid employment contract
- you are self-employed on a full-time basis
- you refuse to accept a full-time job offer.
You cannot get unemployment benefits if the statement shows that there is a reason why you should not be paid unemployment benefits.
The KEHA Centre also checks what you did before you became unemployed. For example, if you stopped working without an acceptable reason, the KEHA Centre can impose a mandatory waiting period (karenssi) on you. This means a period when you cannot get unemployment benefits.
If you are under 25 years old and you do not have a vocational qualification or a higher education degree, the KEHA Centre will also check whether you have applied for at least two places of study.
You can get the general social security benefit (yleistuki) only if you are available for work on the labour market.
Examples of reasons why you cannot get the general social security benefit:
- compulsory military or non-military service
- a prison sentence
- hospital or other institutional care
- other comparable reasons.
If Kela pays you general social security benefit, you must tell Kela immediately if your situation changes.
If the labour policy statement shows that you can be paid unemployment benefits, Kela will check whether you have to complete a qualifying period (odotusaika) of 21 weeks before you can be paid the benefit. The qualifying period will only be checked if you do not have vocational qualifications or a higher education degree (the matriculation examination is not a vocational qualification). The qualifying period applies to jobseekers of all ages.
Contact Kela if you have any questions about the unemployment benefits paid by Kela. You can send a message to us in the OmaKela e-service or you can call one of our customer service number.
Contact employment services if your question is about
- registering as a jobseeker
- the obligation to look for jobs
- a labour policy statement
- the mandatory waiting period (karenssi) for unemployment benefits
- employment-promoting services.
You can find contact information for employment services on the regional pages of Job Market Finland.
If you have questions about unemployment benefits, you can also contact the national unemployment security advice service.
Unemployment in different life situations
You cannot get unemployment benefits immediately if you have graduated from an upper secondary school (lukio) and you do not meet the the work requirement (you have not worked long enough). It is important that you register as a jobseeker immediately after graduating and that you stay registered as a jobseeker for the whole time you are unemployed.
You must apply for admission to at least two forms of education that
- start in the autumn
- lead to a degree or qualification.
The education programmes you apply to do not have to be included in the joint application period. If you are invited to take an entrance exam, you must participate.
You must also complete a qualifying period (odotusaika) of 21 weeks or about 5 months before you can get unemployment benefits during your unemployment. Only days when you are registered as a jobseeker with the employment services count towards the qualifying period. You can get the general social security benefit after you have completed the qualifying period.
If you live with your parents, their income may affect your general social security benefit.
More information on how parental income affects the general social security benefit.
What happens if you do not apply for admission to a place in education?
The KEHA Centre will impose an obligation to work (työssäolovelvoite) on you if
- you do not apply for admission to education
- you turn down a place of study
- you stop your studies.
An obligation to work means that you cannot get unemployment benefits during your unemployment until you meet one of the following conditions:
- You complete a vocational qualification or a higher education degree.
- You work for 21 calendar weeks in a job that counts towards the work requirement.
- You participate in employment-promoting services for 21 calendar weeks.
- You study on a full-time basis for 21 calendar weeks.
- You are self-employed or work as an independent entrepreneur on a full-time basis for a total of 21 calendar weeks.
- You turn 25 years old.
Even if you do not get unemployment benefits during your unemployment, you can get unemployment benefits for periods when you participate in employment promoting services. You can fulfil your obligation to work by participating in the services. In that case, we will check if you meet the other criteria for the general social security benefit. You may have to wait for 21 weeks before Kela can start paying you general social security benefit.
Have you worked?
You can get earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha) if you have graduated from upper secondary school, you belong to an unemployment fund (työttömyyskassa) and you meet the work requirement. Register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services of your municipality of residence (kotikunta) immediately after you graduate. Earnings-related unemployment allowance is paid after you have completed a waiting period (omavastuuaika). The waiting period is 7 working days from the day when you registered as an unemployed jobseeker.
If you have graduated from an institute of vocational education or an institution of higher education, you can get unemployment benefits after you have completed a waiting period (omavastuuaika) of 7 working days. Register as a jobseeker with the employment services of your municipality of residence (kotikunta) immediately after you have graduated if you do not have a job or if you work part time.
Read more about the work requirement and the unemployment benefits.
If you are under 25 years of age and you do not have vocational qualifications or a higher education degree, you must apply for admission to at least 2 study programmes that begin in the autumn term.
The study programmes can be:
- studies that will lead to a degree and give you vocational qualifications
- upper secondary school studies, if you have only completed comprehensive school
- full-time studies at a folk high school or sports institute.
The study programmes you apply to do not have to be included in the joint application period for education. If you are invited to take an entrance exam, you must participate.
In certain situations, you can agree on the following with the employment services:
- applying to studies other than those mentioned above or that do not start in the autumn term
- doing something else that has been agreed on rather than applying to a study programme.
Contact employment services (tyomarkkinatori.fi) to agree on the details for applying for admission to education.
The KEHA Centre will impose an obligation to work (työssäolovelvoite) on you if
- you do not apply for admission to education
- you turn down a place of study
- you stop your studies.
An obligation to work means that you cannot get unemployment benefits during your unemployment until you meet one of the following conditions:
- You complete a vocational qualification or a higher education degree.
- You work for 21 calendar weeks in a job that counts towards the work requirement.
- You participate in employment-promoting services for 21 calendar weeks.
- You study on a full-time basis for 21 calendar weeks.
- You are self-employed or work as an independent entrepreneur on a full-time basis for a total of 21 calendar weeks.
- You turn 25 years old.
Even if you do not get unemployment benefits during your unemployment, you can get unemployment benefits for periods when you participate in employment-promoting services. You can fulfil your obligation to work by participating in the services. In that case, we will check if you meet the other criteria for unemployment benefits. If you do not have an occupation, you may have to complete a qualifying period (odotusaika) of 21 weeks before you can get unemployment benefits.
If you live with your parents, their income may affect your general social security benefit.
More information on how parental income affects the general social security benefit.
Compulsory education continues until you reach the age of 18 years.
You can get general social security benefit if you are 17 and you already have a vocational qualification. You cannot get earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha) because work you do before you turn 18 does not count towards the work requirement.
If you are 17 and you have graduated from upper secondary school, you can get general social security benefit only if you participate in employment-promoting services.
Persons under 17 cannot get the general social security benefit or earnings-related unemployment allowance in any circumstances.
You may qualify for the general social security benefit if you stop your self-employment. Employment services will examine your situation and issue a statement on it to Kela.
If you are 55 or older and you have been laid off, you may have the right to transition security (muutosturva).
What else is going on in your life?
Do you need help with housing costs?
Housing allowance can compensate for reduced incomes and help with the housing costs.
Are you short of money?
If you are unemployed, you may be really short of money. In that case, social assistance can help you get through the worst.
Did you fall ill?
If you are ill, you should apply for sick leave and sickness allowance instead of unemployment benefit.
Has your income decreased?
Changes in your income may affect Kela benefits.