What to do if you are laid off due to the coronavirus

In principle, you are paid either a salary or sickness allowance for the period of illness, and sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease for the period of quarantine. Temporary lay-offs may also be possible as a result of the coronavirus.

Lay-offs may be caused by, for example, travel restrictions, reduced consumption, or a significant part of the work community being quarantined.

If you are laid off, register as an unemployed jobseeker online on the first day of your lay-off.

Apply for earnings-related unemployment allowance in KOKO’s eService 1 week after the start of your lay-off. If your lay-off is for a shorter period, apply for the allowance at the earliest after the last day of your lay-off.

In the current situation, if you have been laid off, you only have to attach the following documents to your application: lay-off notice, pay certificate for 26 calendar weeks preceding the layoffs, and the payslips for the lay-off months if you have been partially laid off. If you are engaged in business activities while being laid off, please read the instructions under Attachments to the daily allowance application – Entrepreneurship. If you become fully unemployed, the instructions regarding the attachments are the same as before.

The salary information received through the incomes register is not always accurate enough for the processing of the daily allowance application. For this reason, we recommend that you attach the pay certificate (or payslips for the corresponding period) that precedes your unemployment or lay-off to the application. This will allow your application to be processed smoothly and reduce the need of us contacting you. Similarly, if you are working part-time during your unemployment or lay-off, the processing of applications will be accelerated if you submit the payslip to the fund yourself as soon as you have received it.

More information on the payment of daily allowance during a lay-off is available here: Instructions for temporarily laid off

Further information

Frequently asked questions about coronavirus to the KOKO unemployment fund

Kela: Sickness allowance

Kela: Sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease