The Government has decided on new employment measures
The Government has decided on employment measures for the coming years. These are also significant for unemployment security. The biggest change in unemployment security is that the employment requirement is now based on income. The Government also decided on changes to the requirements for self-motivated studies and that in the future, royalties will not affect unemployment security and its payment.
The changes to the Unemployment Security Act are expected to enter into force at the start of 2023. The details will be decided when the laws are drafted and may still change.
What is meant by an income-based employment requirement?
In the future, your employment requirement will be met based on your earned income instead of hours worked. Under the current law, the employment requirement is met when you have worked at least 26 weeks that are eligible for the requirement over a period of 28 months. A week is eligible for the employment requirement if you have worked at least 18 hours during the week.
In the new income-based model, each month in which you have earned at least €844 (in 2021) is eligible for the employment requirement. The employment requirement is met when you have been at work for at least 26 weeks that are eligible for the requirement, or about six months. The employment requirement must be met over a period of 28 months. According to the Government's plan, in certain situations, the employment requirement could also be accumulated in periods of two weeks, in which case the income limit would also be lower.
Changes to the requirements for self-motivated studies
In certain situations, earnings-related daily allowance could be granted for self-motivated studies. The decision on this is made by the TE Office. The Nordic labour market service model will enter into force in spring 2022 and will place certain obligations on jobseekers. According to the Government's employment measures, the obligation to search for work normally also applies to those engaged in self-motivated studies. This was not the case in the Government’s earlier decision. Exceptions to this are persons who are engaged in self-motivated studies and lack professional skills.
We’ll announce more details about the changes as the drafting of the law proceeds.