The unemployment funds are paying out a new benefit called mobility allowance. The purpose of the new benefit is to support receiving work located at a longer commuting distance. Please inspect your entitlement to mobility allowance in case you receive a job with a travelling time of over 3 hours (full-time employment) or 2 hours (part-time employment) per day.
Mobility assistance can be applied for in a retrospective period of 3 months. You should therefore apply for mobility assistance within 3 months of the date you wish to be paid.
You can be entitled to mobility allowance, in case
- you are entitled to a daily allowance immediately before the beginning of your employment relationship (even during a suspension period or employment requirement imposed by a TE Office, or the 5-day waiting period),
- your new employment relationship has a duration of at least 2 months,
- your daily commute to and from work is more than 3 hours altogether for full-time employment, or more than 2 hours altogether for part-time employment,
- you participate in a training related to an employment lasting for a minimum of 2 months. In order to receive mobility assistance for the training, the travel to and from work should take more than 3 hours a day (for a full-time job) or 2 hours (for a part-time job)
How to apply for mobility allowance
- Submit a mobility allowance application (in Finnish)
- Send your application at eService
- Attach the employment contract to the application (the contract can be submitted afterwards)
Amount and duration
Mobility allowance equals to the basic unemployment allowance, which means that it will be a maximum of about €700 per month.
Mobility assistance can be paid with a child support supplement.
The allowance is paid for 5 days per week at the most from the beginning of the employment. The duration of payment depends on the duration of the employment relationship as follows:
Employment of 2 months: 30 days
Employment of 3 months: 45 days
Employment of 4 months: 60 days.
Mobility allowance is paid by the payment periods retrospectively. The mobility allowance is a taxable benefit.