FAQ: Earnings-Related Allowance During Summer Unemployment
During the summer, our telephone service may occasionally be busy. Many of the questions below are the same ones that others often wonder about when unemployment begins. We therefore recommend reviewing the instructions below before calling us. You may find the answer to your question right away – and avoid waiting in a queue altogether.
Becoming Unemployed and the First Steps
I have become unemployed. What should I do first?
First, register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment authority through the Job Market Finland e-services. Having an active job search is a requirement for receiving earnings-related allowance, so make sure to register no later than your first day of unemployment. Job seeking cannot be activated retrospectively.
Registration as an unemployed jobseeker is done with the employment authority. Earnings-related allowance is applied for from the unemployment fund.
Also take a look at our summer guidance. There you will find information about, for example:
- when you can submit your first application
- which attachments are usually required
- how holiday compensation may affect your allowance
- how the allowance is taxed.
Applying for the Allowance
When can I submit my first application?
You can submit your first application once you have been unemployed for two full calendar weeks (Monday–Sunday).
Example: If your first day of unemployment is 1 July 2026, you can submit your application no earlier than 19 July 2026.
Remember to apply for the allowance within three months of the date for which you want the benefit to be paid.
For more detailed guidance on when to submit your first application, please see our summer guidance section.
When should I submit a follow-up application?
The timing of your follow-up application will be determined when your first application is processed.
You will receive a message in Otenetti informing you when to submit your next application once your first application has been processed. Until then, simply wait for your first application to be handled.
Read more about submitting follow-up applications in the news article on our website.
Time to submit your follow-up application? Here’s how to do it correctly
Read moreAttachments and Application Processing
Have I submitted all the required attachments?
The final determination of which attachments are needed can only be made when your application is processed. However, the most common attachments are:
- the employment contract for a job that has ended, if the required information is not available in the Incomes Register
- a notice of termination, lay-off notice, or other documentation showing a change in working hours
- the latest confirmed tax decision for entrepreneurs
- your latest payslip and the payslip showing the amount of holiday compensation, which may help speed up the processing of your application
- documentation of any performance-based bonus or other bonuses you have received.
You can check the attachments you have already submitted in Otenet under Application Monitoring → Application Archive.
What should I do if I no longer have my employment contract?
The employment contract for a job that has ended is not always a required attachment. This depends, for example, on whether all necessary information is available in the Incomes Register.
At a minimum, we need the following information:
- the duration of the employment and whether it was fixed-term or permanent
- the basis and amount of pay (for example, monthly or hourly pay)
- the agreed working hours and the full-time working hours for the position.
If you do not have the employment contract and the information is not available from the Incomes Register, payslips, or an employment certificate, you can submit a statement describing the key terms of the employment relationship. A form for this purpose is available on the Forms page of our website.
Have I met the employment condition?
Whether the employment condition has been met can only be reliably assessed when your application is processed. This is because, among other things, we can access your earnings information in the Incomes Register only after you submit an application.
Please note that if you have already met the employment condition previously and still have payable benefit days remaining in your current benefit period, you generally do not need to meet the employment condition again.
Whether the employment condition has been met can only be reliably assessed when your application is processed.
Application Status and Benefit Payments
Has my application been received and what is its current status?
You can check the status of your application in Otenetti under:
Application Monitoring → Application Processing Status
There you can see the date your application was submitted and its current status (received, awaiting additional information, completed, or archived).
📞 Unfortunately, our telephone service cannot provide an exact processing date for your application. Calling us will not speed up the processing of your application.
When will my allowance be paid?
Unfortunately, we cannot provide the exact payment date in advance before your application has been processed.
Once your application has been processed, the benefit will be transferred to your bank account within two banking days.
Example: Application processed on Friday, 17 July 2026 → allowance paid to your account on Tuesday, 21 July 2026.
You can check the homepage of our website to see which application dates are currently being processed. The status of your own application can be viewed in Otenetti’s Application processing status.
Factors Affecting the Amount of Your Allowance
Why was my first allowance payment so small?
The first payment may be smaller than expected, for example if:
- you have received holiday compensation that has been periodised
- a waiting period has been applied to your claim.
The waiting period corresponds to seven working days of unemployment, and no allowance is paid for those days. If holiday compensation is allocated over a period, the waiting period will only begin after that periodisation of holiday compensation has ended.
If the payment seems smaller than you expected, we recommend carefully reviewing the decision we have issued. The decision will be available in Otenetti on the next working day after it has been issued.
Example 1
Kirsi applies for earnings-related allowance for the period 1 June 2026–30 June 2026. She has received holiday compensation, which has been periodised to the period 1 June–17 June 2026.
After the periodisation time ends, a waiting period is applied from 18 June 2026 to 26 June 2026.
As a result, the allowance payment includes benefits only for the period 27 June 2026–30 June 2026, which corresponds to two payable benefit days.
Example 2
Marko applies for earnings-related allowance for the period 1 June 2026–14 June 2026. He has received holiday compensation, which has been periodised for the period 1 June 2026–18 June 2026.
As a result, Marko receives a negative decision for this application period because the holiday compensation covers the entire period claimed.
Marko is instructed to submit his next application for the period 19 June 2026–18 July 2026. At the beginning of that period, a waiting period is applied for the time 20 June 2026–29 June 2026.
As a result, Marko’s first payment of earnings-related allowance covers the period 30 June 2026–18 July 2026, corresponding to 14 payable benefit days.
Why did my salary reduce my allowance even though my employment had already ended?
Salary from part-time work or full-time work lasting no more than two weeks is generally taken into account based on the salary payment date, not the dates when the work was performed.
If the salary payment date falls within the adjustment period, the salary will reduce the amount of your allowance, even if the employment has already ended.
The adjustment period is always four calendar weeks or one calendar month, regardless of the period covered by your application.
Salary paid for full-time work is not adjusted and therefore does not reduce the amount of your allowance.
We have published an article on this topic, which you can read below.
Did you know? Past part-time work can still affect your allowance
Read moreDoes Holiday Compensation Affect My Allowance?
Holiday compensation paid for full-time work is periodised over a period of time, and no allowance is paid during that period.
The periodisation usually begins when the employment ends. Its length is calculated by dividing the holiday compensation by a calculated daily wage. Only weekdays (Monday to Friday) count towards the allocation period.
The exact length of the allocation period can only be determined when your application is processed.
Please note that holiday compensation and holiday bonus are different things. A holiday bonus paid in relation to full-time work does not affect your allowance.
If the holiday compensation was paid for part-time work, it is not periodised. Instead, it is taken into account in the same way as other wages paid for part-time work.
Read more about the periodisation of holiday compensation:
Why Did My Allowance Suddenly Decrease?
The amount of earnings-related allowance decreases as unemployment continues. The allowance is reduced to:
- 80% of the original amount after allowance has been paid for 40 payable benefit days
- 75% of the original amount after allowance has been paid for 170 payable benefit days from the start of unemployment.
Read more about the staggering of earnings-related allowance:
Membership and Customer Service
Are my membership fees up to date?
Are you a member of the unemployment fund through a trade union? (You can find our member unions here)
- Please contact your union’s membership services. In this case, the unemployment fund membership fee is included in your union membership fee, and unfortunately we cannot assist with membership fee matters.
Are you an individual member of the unemployment fund?
- You can send us a message through Otenetti if a membership fee invoice is missing or if there is any uncertainty regarding your payments.
I am a new member and cannot log in to Otenetti. What should I do?
If you cannot log in to Otenetti, you can contact us by email using the secure email link available on our website. You can find the link on the Customer Service page.