Membership in the unemployment fund is worthwhile, because the earnings-related benefit for someone who becomes unemployed after full-time employment is significantly higher than the fixed-rate basic unemployment allowance or labor market subsidy paid by Kela!

Adjusted Earnings-Related Allowance

Are you working part-time or casually while looking for full-time employment? In that case, you may be eligible for adjusted earnings-related allowance, provided you meet the required conditions.
An employer can reduce a full-time position to part-time only by terminating the full-time employment contract, following normal notice periods.
A new employment contract must be made for part-time work. The right to unemployment allowance can arise only if the employer has unilaterally decided to reduce your working hours.
The employer and employee may also mutually agree on part-time work; however, in such a case, you are not entitled to unemployment allowance.

You may be eligible for adjusted unemployment allowance if:

You are registered as a full-time jobseeker with the employment authorities.
You are working part-time or have casual jobs.
Your working hours have been reduced at your employer’s initiative, and your employer cannot offer you full-time work.
Your working hours are no more than 80% of the maximum full-time hours in your field, or you have casual jobs, or you have accepted a full-time job lasting no more than two weeks while unemployed, or your working hours have been reduced due to temporary layoff.
You have secondary income from business activities that the employment authorities have deemed secondary in their statement, and your working hours can be monitored (especially relevant in commission-based work).
If you start full-time employment lasting more than two weeks, you are not entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance during that period.
You must also meet both the employment condition and the unemployment fund membership condition.

Effect of income and working hours on adjusted earnings-related allowance

All employment income affects the amount of earnings-related unemployment allowance. Fifty percent (50%) of your gross income is deducted from your adjusted allowance.
The adjusted allowance has a maximum limit. The combined total of your salary from work and the adjusted unemployment allowance cannot exceed the wage on which your allowance is based.
Income earned from full-time work lasting more than two weeks is not adjusted.
Income earned during a disqualification period (for example, a mandatory waiting period (sanction) or while receiving Kela’s sickness allowance) is also excluded from adjustment.
Income from part-time or casual work is considered on a payment basis, meaning that the pay from the work affects your allowance for the period during which the pay is received. For example if you work in March and are paid in March, the pay affects your March allowance. If you work in March but are paid in April, the pay affects your April allowance — even though the work was done in March.
Unemployment allowance can be paid if your working hours during the adjustment period are no more than 80% of the maximum full-time hours in your sector.
When receiving adjusted allowance, the maximum payment period of unemployment benefits accrues more slowly than when you are fully unemployed.

You can check the estimated amount of your adjusted allowance using the earnings-related allowance calculator.