Amount of earnings-related allowance

The amount of your earnings-related allowance is calculated on the basis of your salary, taking into account your so-called established earned income.

Income taken into account

monthly salary or hourly wages
bonuses paid on top of your salary (such as evening work and shift work bonuses)
fringe benefits (such as phone benefit, car benefit, housing benefit)
compensation for reduced working hours (so-called “Pekkanen” time off)
annual holiday pay
performance-related and other bonuses under certain conditions

Income not taken into account

holiday bonus
holiday compensation
lump sum payment made at the end of an employment relationship
performance-related and other bonuses under certain conditions
reduced pay during sick leave

Neither list is exhaustive.

Monthly salary on which the allowance is based

The monthly pay that forms the basis of earnings-related allowance is not the same as your monthly salary, as the employee’s pension contribution (TyEL) (3.76 % in 2024) is deducted from the salary for the purposes of calculating the allowance.

Example

Your established income for a period of 12 months is (12 months x €3.740.60 =) €44 887.20. A TyEL deduction of 3.76%, €1 687.76, is made from the total. The amount of the allowance is calculated on the basis of the total sum after the deduction, €43 199.44.

The pay minus the deduction is divided by the number of calculated working days over the 12-month period (a month is seen as containing 21.5 calculated working days, i.e. 258 days) and multiplied by the average number of working days in a month (21.5 days). Therefore, the monthly salary forming the basis of the daily allowance is calculated by dividing the amount of the pay minus the deduction by 258 days and multiplying by 21.5 days, i.e. €43,199.44 / 258 * 21.5 = €3599.96. This monthly income is the monthly pay on which your allowance is based.

Because of the formula involving deductions and averages, the monthly pay on which your allowance is based is different from the monthly salary that you were paid.

Calculating earnings-related allowance

The amount of your earnings-related allowance is not a simple percentage of your salary. The allowance consists of:

a basic component, which equals the basic unemployment allowance paid by Kela
and an earnings-related component, which is calculated on the basis of your pay preceding your unemployment.

You may also be paid an increased allowance.

The amount of earnings-related daily allowance decreases the longer the daily allowance is paid. At the beginning of unemployment, the amount of the daily allowance will be according to the calculations on this page, but the amount of the daily allowance will be reduced if the unemployment lasts longer. More information: Staggering of earnings-related allowance

The earnings-related component is 45 percent of the difference between your daily pay and the basic allowance, but 20 percent of the pay exceeding €3,534.95 (= 95 x basic component €37.21).

In the examples below, the calculations are based on a salary of €3 572.26 as a basis for the daily allowance.

The allowance is calculated using the following formula:

Basic component	€37.21
Earnings-related component up to income limit	45% x [(monthly pay up to €3,534.95 / 21.5) – basic component €37.21] = €57.24
Earnings-related component exceeding income limit	20% x [(€3,572.26 – €3,534.95) / 21.5] = €0.35
Total	€37.21 + €57.24 + €0.35
Amount of full earnings-related allowance	€94.80

You can use the Allowance calculator for an estimate of your allowance.

Amount of increased allowance

You can receive an increased allowance for the duration of participation in an employment promotion service. Higher factor percentages are used in the calculation of the increased allowance than for a normal earnings-related allowance. The earnings-related component is 55 percent of the difference between your daily pay and the basic allowance, but 25 percent of the pay exceeding €3,534.95 (= 95 x basic component €37.21).

The increased allowance is calculated using the following formula:

Basic component	€37.21
Earnings-related component up to income limit	55% x (monthly pay up to €3,534.95 / 21.5) – basic component €37.21 = €69.96
Earnings-related component exceeding income limit	25% x [(€3 572.26 – €3,534.95) / 21.5] = €0.43
Total	€37.21 + €69.96 + €0.43
Amount of full increased allowance	€107.60

Period on which your allowance calculation is based

The amount of your allowance is calculated on the basis of the salary you have earned during the period that counts towards your employment condition.

In the following situations, your allowance is calculated on the basis of your salary before this period:

temporary pay reduction
job alternation leave
part-time child care leave
part-time pension
partial disability pension

Partial early old-age pension

Being on a partial early old-age pension before unemployment is not comparable to a part-time pension, as the partial early old-age pension does not oblige the working hours to be reduced. If you have been on a partial early old-age pension and have worked reduced hours before becoming unemployed, your allowance will be based on the reduced salary you received before unemployment.

Please note that the amount of your allowance is re-calculated when your employment condition is re-fulfilled.