The Finnish Government has proposed the abolition of job alternation leave from 1 August 2024 to Parliament. If you still want to take advantage of job alternation leave, act fast.
You must start your job alternation leave and deliver the job alternation leave agreement no later than 31 July 2024
Your job alternation leave must start no later than 31 July 2024. In addition, the job alternation leave agreement must also be delivered to the TE Office by the end of July. You must agree with your employer on which of you shall submit the agreement to the TE Office. The start date of your substitute’s employment contract must also be no later than 31 July 2024.
Terms of job alternation leave
You can take job alternation leave if:
- you have entered into an agreement with your employer to take job alternation leave,
- you have at least 20 years of employment history,
- you have been working for your current employer continuously for at least 13 months before taking your leave,
- you have been a member of the unemployment fund for at least 26 weeks before taking your leave,
- you are at least three years from retirement age, and
- you are employed. If you have been employed part-time, your working hours must be at least 75% of the maximum working hours of a full-time employee.
What is job alternation leave?
Job alternation leave is an arrangement where an employee goes on leave for six months or less, during which they receive job alternation compensation from their unemployment fund. To replace them for the duration of the job alternation leave, their employer hires an unemployed jobseeker.
Job alternation leave is often used for purposes like retraining, pursuing a hobby or travelling. Job alternation leave can last 100–180 days. The job alternation compensation received by the employee is equal to 70% of the unemployment allowance they would be entitled to if they were unemployed.
More information about job alternation leave: What are job alternation leave and compensation?
Get an estimate of how much job alternation compensation you would receive with our allowance calculator: Allowance calculator