Basic social assistance for self-employed persons
Before applying for basic social assistance, find out if you have the right to various primary benefits for self-employed persons. They include start-up grants for newly self-employed persons and unemployment benefits for those who are self-employed on a part-time basis. Contact the TE Services or Kela for more information on unemployment benefits for self-employed persons.
When evaluating your need for basic social assistance, Kela takes into account the factors specific to your self-employment. Enclose for this purpose with your application for social assistance the form Yrittäjän tuloselvitys, in Finnish (Income statement for self-employed persons) TO4e (PDF).
The purpose of social assistance is not to protect against business risk or cover business expenses.
Unprofitable self-employment
If you are self-employed and apply for social assistance, Kela will perform a profitability analysis on your business.
Your business is considered to be profitable if it produces an income which is roughly the same as your income in unemployment. If your business is clearly unprofitable, Kela will give you a certain amount of time in which you must attempt to get your finances in order.
If you choose to continue your unprofitable self-employment, the basic amount of basic social assistance may be reduced. In this case Kela will notify the municipal social services and refer you to them. They will draw up a plan outlining how you can increase your autonomy and independence and what could be done to support you in that effort.