Earnings-related unemployment allowance or general social security benefit? Unemployed persons can apply for benefits from their unemployment fund or Kela
If you become unemployed, you are laid off or you are self-employed but have no work, register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment services in your municipality immediately. After that, you can apply for unemployment benefits from Kela or your unemployment fund.
Four facts about unemployment benefits
- You can get unemployment benefits only if you are registered as an unemployed jobseeker. This is why your first step should be to register with the employment services in your municipality (Job Market Finland).
After you have registered, the employment services and the KEHA Centre will submit a statement on whether you have the right to unemployment benefits to Kela or an unemployment fund.
- If you are a member of an unemployment fund, for example as part of a trade union membership, submit an application for earnings-related unemployment allowance to your unemployment fund.
If you are a member of an unemployment fund, for example as part of a trade union membership, submit an application for earnings-related unemployment allowance to your unemployment fund.
The term ‘earnings-related’ means that the amount of unemployment benefits you can get depends on your pre-unemployment salary, among other factors. Follow the instructions of your unemployment fund when applying for unemployment benefits. - If you do not have the right to earnings-related unemployment allowance, submit your application for general social security benefit to Kela.
We recommend that you send your application and supporting documents in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish). available in Finnish and Swedish). You can also use OmaKela to check if any supporting documents are missing or if your application should be supplemented in some other way.
If you also need social assistance, you must register as an unemployed jobseeker on Job Market Finland. First, apply for other benefits, such as general social security benefit and general housing allowance.
Social assistance is paid out as a last resort. It is affected by all the income and assets available to you. Read more about applying for social assistance.