Conditions for earnings-related allowance

To receive earnings-related daily unemployment allowance, you must meet both the membership and employment conditions. This means that you must have worked a sufficiently long time while you have also been a member of an unemployment fund.

Due to a legislative change, as of 2 September 2024, the membership and employment conditions of either the old or new legislation may apply. See below to check if you are subject to the old or new conditions. If the new employment condition applies to you, be sure to also read the section on this page about combined employment condition, as since 2 September 2024, the employment condition is usually a combination of the old and new requirements.

KOKO will check whether you meet your employment condition.

Explained on this page:

Membership condition
Employment condition
Monthly wages are calculated based on date of payment
As of 2 September 2024, the employment condition is accrued as a combination of the old and new requirements
The reference period of the employment condition, in other words the time within which the condition must be met
Re-fulfilment the employment condition

Membership condition

To meet the membership condition for earnings-related unemployment allowance, you must have been a member of an unemployment fund for at least

26 weeks, if the final work week that counts towards earnings-related unemployment allowance ends on 1 September 2024 or earlier.
12 months, if you have worked on or after 2 September 2024 and earned at least €465 per month.

Example:26-week membership condition

You joined the unemployment fund on 1 March 2024. Your employment ends on 31 August 2024 and your first day of unemployment is 1 September 2024. Your membership condition is 26 weeks because the final work week that counts towards earnings-related unemployment allowance ends on 1 September 2024 or earlier. You may be paid earnings-related unemployment allowance if you meet the other requirements for eligibility.

Example: 12-month membership condition

You joined the unemployment fund on 1 March 2024. Your employment ends on 30 September 2024 and your first day of unemployment is 1 October 2024. You are paid at least 465 euros in wages earned after 2 September 2024 on the payday on 15 September 2024. Your membership condition is 12 months because you have worked on or after 2 September 2024 and earned at least €465 per month. You cannot be paid earnings-related unemployment allowance because you will not meet the membership condition until 28 February 2025.

You can transfer any months you have accrued towards the membership and employment conditions from another fund to KOKO fund if you join KOKO within one month after leaving your previous unemployment fund.

Example 1

Example 2

Employment condition

To receive earnings-related unemployment allowance, you must meet the employment condition. This means that you must have worked a sufficiently long time while you have also been a member of an unemployment fund. Your unemployment allowance is calculated based on your earnings from work you have done to meet the employment condition.

Employment condition until 1 September 2024

You are still covered by the old employment condition if your final work week that counts towards earnings-related unemployment allowance ends on or before 1 September 2024.

In this case, you may receive earnings-related unemployment allowance if you have worked for 26 calendar weeks (about six months) while a member of an unemployment fund, and

you have worked at least 18 hours in a calendar week (Monday to Sunday) (with the exception of teachers and periodical work)
you have worked in an employment relationship
taxes and unemployment and social security contributions have been paid for the work
the pay for your full-time work is at least the minimum pay in Finland (at least €1,399 per month in 2024) or in accordance with the collective agreement.

If the requirements of the old law on employment condition apply to you, read more here: Conditions for earnings-related unemployment allowance until 1 September 2024

Employment condition from 2 September 2024 onwards

The employment condition of the new law applies to you if you have been employed on or after 2 September 2024 and have been paid at least 465 euros in wages.

In addition, the requirement is that

you have worked in an employment relationship
taxes and unemployment and social security contributions have been paid for the work
the pay for your full-time work is at least the minimum pay in Finland (at least €1,399 per month in 2024) or in accordance with the collective agreement.

The employment condition can also be accrued in half months

The employment condition is accrued in periods of a full month or half of a month. If you earn at least 930 euros per month, you will accrue a full month towards your employment condition. Months in which you are paid between €465 and €929 count as half of a month towards the employment condition. Two half-months are equal to one full month of employment. The half-months do not need to be consecutive. In other words, the right to earnings-related unemployment allowance can be earned from 10 full months and four half-months, for example.

This means you can meet the employment condition even if your monthly earnings are small. However, please note that the amount of your earnings-related unemployment allowance may be lower in this case as your daily allowance is calculated from your earned income during the months included in your employment condition.

Income used to determine the employment condition is your gross pay, in other words your pay before taxes and other deductions.

Monthly pay	Time accrued towards your employment condition
at least €930	1 month
€465 to €929	1/2 months
under €465	no time accrued

Monthly pay is calculated based on date of payment

Under the new law, wages are generally calculated towards the employment condition based on the date of payment. For example, if you work temporary jobs for different employers in October and November and you are paid in December, only the month of December will count towards your employment condition.

Exceptions include bonuses earned over the course of a year, which are divided across the year and are calculated according to when they are earned.

Read more about exceptions:

Salary earned over a period of more than one month

If you are exceptionally paid a salary for a longer earnings period than the standard salary payment period, your salary is distributed over corresponding number of calendar months before or after payment form which the salary was earned, including the month of payment. Distributing the salary to months before or after the month of payment depends on when the salary was earned:

– Distribution over previous months: The salary is distributed over previous months if it is paid in arrears for a period of more than one month.

– Distribution over future months: The salary is distributed over future months if it is paid in advance for a period of more than one month.

Example:

Your employment begins on October 15th and ends on the last day of the following month, upon which you are paid the salary for the entire employment relationship in a single instalment. Your salary of 3,000 euros for the employment period (15 October to 30 November 2024) is paid in a single instalment on 30 November 2024. This differs from the standard salary payment period and earnings period of one month. The salary is distributed and allocated to the month of payment and the previous month, in other words October and November.

In cases where the base salary and supplements from previous months are paid during a calendar month, the salary is not distributed over several months.

Example:

On 15 October, you are paid your base salary for October and supplements from work done in September. The salary is allocated only to the month of October based on the payday, not to two separate months. The situation does not constitute a non-standard salary payment period or a longer earnings period than normal.

Performance-based pay, bonus and other pay by results earned over a period of more than one month

Delay due to the employer and wage security

If the payment of wages or salaries is delayed due to reasons attributable to the employer, the pay is allocated to the calendar month in which it should have been paid without the delay. A delay in payment refers to a situation in which the payment of wages or salaries is postponed in such a way that the salary is paid in a different calendar month than when it should have been paid.

Salary or wages paid from wage security is also allocated to the calendar month in which the salary or wages should have been paid before the delay.

Example:

Your employer faces financial problems and is unable to pay wages on the standard paydays (June 15, July 15 and August 15). You should have been paid €1,200 in June, €675 in July and €985 in August. The employer pays all of the late wages, 2,860 euros in total, on 21 October. The wages are allocated for the period 1 June to 31 August.

As of 2 September 2024, the employment condition is accrued as a combination of the old and new conditions

In order for the employment condition to be calculated entirely based on the requirements of the new law, the employment condition must be accrued fully during the period after the new requirements enter into force. Weeks of employment condition you have accrued before 2 September 2024 are converted into months of employment condition under the new law using a conversion factor. The conversion factor is as follows: 3 to 4 calendar weeks that meet the employment condition are the equivalent of one full month, and 1 to 2 calendar weeks that meet the employment condition are the equivalent of one half of a month.

We calculate the accrual of your employment condition as follows:

The calendar weeks accrued towards your old employment condition are converted into months that accrue the new employment condition by dividing the accrued weeks by 4. If the division is not even, 1 to 2 remaining weeks is the equivalent of half of a month, and 3 weeks the equivalent of one full month towards the employment condition.

See here for an example of how a combined old and new employment condition are calculated

Your employment relationship ends on 15 September 2024, so your employment condition follows the requirements of the new law. The old law applies to your work history up until 1 September 2024 and the new law to your work history after 2 September 2024.

Weeks that you have accrued towards the employment condition up until 1 September 2024 are converted to months of employment condition:

If you have worked 26 calendar weeks, this is the equivalent of 6.5 months of employment condition (26 divided by 4 is 6.5), or 6 full months and one half of a month. If you are also paid a salary or wages of at least 930 euros for work done after 2 September 2024, you will accrue one full month of employment condition. This would mean that, when you become unemployed, you have only accrued 7.5 months towards the employment condition and are not entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance.

If, on the other hand, you had worked for 25 calendar weeks by 1 September 2024, this is the equivalent of 6.5 months of employment condition (25 divided by 4 is 6.25), or 6 full months and 1 week, which is converted to one half of a month.

If you had worked for 27 calendar weeks by 1 September 2024, this would correspond to 7 months of employment (27 : 4 = 6.75, or six full months of employment and 3 weeks, which is the equivalent of a full month, for a total of 7 full months).

The reference period of the employment condition, in other words the period within which the employment condition must be met

The reference period of the employment condition is the same under both the old and new law. The reference period means that your employment condition must be met within 28 months (2 years and 4 months).

Months accrued towards the employment condition do not need to be consecutive or for the same employer. In other words, individual months during which you have been paid a salary or wages can be included in the employment condition from the last 2 years and 4 months.

The reference period can be extended by up to seven years if you have an acceptable reason to be absent from the labour market. For example, if you have been studying, sick, completing your military or non-military service, on job alternation leave, on a grant period or taking care of a child aged 3 or younger, months can be counted over a longer period.

Acceptable reasons for extending the reference period

full-time studies and grant periods
parental leave
caring for a child no more than three years of age
periods of illness or rehabilitation
job alternation leave
participation in an employment promotion services

The list is not exhaustive, so please contact KOKO if you are unsure of your own situation.

The reason for extending the review period must be personal. For example, the fact that you have been abroad because of your spouse’s job is not an acceptable reason to extend the review period. Your review period can be extended, however, if you have been abroad with your spouse and have simultaneously cared for a child no more than 3 years old or have studied.

The employment condition you have accrued remains valid as long as you are not absent from the labour market without an acceptable reason for more than six months. If there is a gap of more than six months in your availability in the labour market, you will have to accumulate your employment condition from scratch after returning to the labour market. More information: Make sure that you are not absent from the labour market!

Re-fulfilment of the employment condition

When you receive an unemployment allowance, every calendar month that meets the employment condition is counted towards a new employment condition. The unemployment fund will enter these months in your employment register.

You will meet the employment condition again once you have worked at least 12 calendar months that accrue towards the employment condition and during which you have earned at least 930 euros .

The employment condition is accrued in periods of a full month or half of a month. If you earn 930 euros per month or more, you will accrue a full month towards your employment condition. Months in which you are paid between €465 and €929 count as half of a month towards the employment condition. Two half-months are equal to one full month of employment. The half-months do not need to be consecutive.

When your employment condition is met again

the amount of your daily allowance is recalculated
a new waiting period is applied
the maximum period is reset.

1. Recalculating the amount of allowance

The amount of your allowance is calculated on the basis of the income from the work that fulfilled your employment condition. When the amount of your allowance is re-calculated, your new allowance will be at least 80% of your old allowance, on condition that your employment condition is met before you have been paid an allowance for the maximum period. In order for this rule to apply, the old daily allowance must have been paid.

2. New 7-day waiting period

A new waiting period is now applied after the employment condition is met. The waiting period is equal to 7 full working days.

3. Resetting the maximum period

The maximum payment period for earnings-related allowance is always reset when the employment condition is met.