• 1.4.2026
• News

Smooth processing of applications – tips for members

Applications are processed most smoothly when all required information and attachments are included at the time of submission. With a few simple checks, you can help ensure that your application is processed as efficiently as possible.

Make sure your situation is fully reported to the employment authority

The validity of your job search is one of the conditions for entitlement to earnings-related unemployment allowance. When you register as an unemployed jobseeker, it is important to provide the employment authority with as comprehensive an account of your situation as possible.

Always report, for example, if you have:

• self-employment or business activity
• unfinished studies
• duties as an informal carer or family carer
• work lasting more than two weeks without an employment relationship

In addition, the reason for the termination of your employment must be reported correctly to the employment authority (for example, the end of a fixed-term contract, dismissal by the employer, or resignation).

More information on registering as an unemployed jobseeker and on what details must be reported to the employment authority can be found on the employment authority’s website.

If we need to request an official statement from the employment authority, for example due to unreported business activity, the processing of your decision may be delayed by several weeks.

We also recommend responding to any requests for additional information from the employment authority as promptly as possible, as this can speed up the issuance of the statement and the processing of your application.

If you start any of the activities mentioned above (for example business activities, studies, informal care) during your unemployment, please report this without delay both to the employment authority and to us at the unemployment fund.

If we need to request an official statement from the employment authority, for example due to unreported business activity, the processing of your decision may be delayed by several weeks

Get familiar with Otenetti in advance

If you are applying for earnings-related unemployment allowance for the first time, or if using Otenetti is not yet familiar to you, we recommend that you explore the service in advance.

Pay special attention to the following:

• your contact details (My details → Contact details) and make sure they are up to date
• that your contact details are valid also while unemployed (for example, not a work email address)
• the fund’s contact preference settings

It is also a good idea to check your tax card information under Income and tax details → Tax details. Please note that if the fund has your wage tax card, the withholding tax on earnings-related unemployment allowance is always at least 25%, even if the tax rate on the wage tax card is lower. If we do not have any tax card information, or if you wish to reduce your tax rate, you can order a revised tax card calculated specifically for benefits.

You can find more information about the taxation of the benefits we pay under Taxation of benefits.

Fill in the application carefully

Filling in the application carefully the first time can help the processing proceed more smoothly. The electronic application form guides you through the process, and support is available via the Help button on the form and the blue question mark icons. Below, we have listed sections that often raise questions.

Reporting working hours

If you have worked during the application period:

• report working hours separately for each employer
• report working hours also for short-term and occasional work
• do not report any working hours related to self-employment

Payday

Report any payday that falls within the application period. If the wages for the working hours you have reported will be paid during the next application period, provide an estimate of the future payday.

Report a reason for break between the applications. What have you done since your last application?

If there has been a short break in applying for earnings-related unemployment allowance, for example due to employment, the application will ask you to explain what you have done since your previous application, i.e. during the break in applications. In this case, select the reason for the break (for example, Employed) and indicate the relevant period.

Example: Break between the applications

Hans has applied for earnings-related unemployment allowance starting from 1 January 2026. He takes up full-time employment for the period from 1 February 2026 to 15 March 2026, and he does not apply for allowance for that period.

After his employment ends, Hans applies for allowance again starting from 16 March 2026. The application form asks for an explanation for the break in applications, i.e. the period for which allowance was not applied for. Hans states the reason as Employed and selects 1 February 2026 as the start date and 15 March 2026 as the end date.

Did my application go through?

You can check whether your application has been received in Otenetti under Application monitoring → Application processing status. Please note that the application usually appears in the processing status about half an hour after submission, not necessarily immediately. We recommend contacting us about the receipt of your application only after you have waited at least 30 minutes and first checked whether the application is visible in the processing status.

If, when submitting your application, you receive a form ID confirming the submission (for example, archive ID: 123456), the application has been successfully submitted to the system.

Need help filling in the application?

The Otenetti instructions available on our website include illustrated guidance for completing the application, for example on reporting working hours. You can access the Otenetti instructions via the link below.

Provide only additional information that is relevant to your application

In the Additional information section of the application, you should include only details that are relevant to the processing of your application. Many details, such as the payday, are already reported in their designated sections on the form and do not need to be repeated in the additional information. The same applies to messages sent via Otenetti: if the information is already included in the application, there is no need to report it again in a separate message. This helps your application progress smoothly and allows the automated processing to work as effectively as possible.

Check that you are applying for the correct period

Earnings-related unemployment allowance is applied for in cycles of four calendar weeks or one month. A monthly period does not have to follow the calendar month and may, for example, run from 25 March 2026 to 24 April 2026.

You will be informed of your application cycle via an Otenetti message when your first application is processed. After that, the allowance must always be applied for using the same cycle. The application period may be shorter only if your unemployment begins or ends during the period. If, for some reason, the application form offers an incorrect application period, you can edit the period by selecting the Edit application period button and entering the correct dates.

If an application is submitted too early and for too short a period, it cannot be processed through automatic payment. In such cases, the application must be archived, and you will be asked to submit a new application, which may delay processing.

Are attachments required?

It is not always possible to know all the required attachments in advance, as some of them only become apparent as the processing of the application progresses. For this reason, it is understandable that submitting an application may feel challenging if you are unsure which attachments are needed.

We usually do not require payslips as attachments, as we receive salary information from the Incomes Register. In some situations, however, the information in the Incomes Register may not be sufficient, in which case we may need to request additional clarification either from the payroll provider or from you.

Below, we have compiled a list of the attachments most commonly required for applications.

More detailed instructions and a more comprehensive list of possible attachments can be found in the section Applying for earnings-related daily allowance.

Use the instructions on our website and the messages you have received

Our website contains a wide range of information about applying for earnings-related unemployment allowance, entitlement to the allowance, and different life situations that may affect your entitlement. We especially recommend visiting the Life situations section, where we explain how, for example, part-time work, business activities, studies, illness and participation in employment services can affect your earnings-related unemployment allowance.

We may send you messages in Otenetti that include guidance on applying for unemployment allowance in the future. Messages sent to you can be found in Otenetti under Communication → Messages. The Otenetti front page also displays the five most recent messages sent to you.

Life situations

How do different life situations, such as starting part-time work, falling ill, being laid off or engaging in business activities, affect earnings-related unemployment allowance?

Read more about different life situations