Duration of the Earnings-Related Allowance 

Your employment history affects the duration of your earnings-related allowance.

300 days – if your employment history is less than 3 years
400 days – if your employment history is more than 3 years
500 days – if you are at least 58 years old and have worked for at least 5 years during the past 20 years 

Additional days

• The additional days system will be discontinued and replaced by a new transition security package.
• In certain situations, earnings-related unemployment allowance is paid after the maximum payment period until retirement age. These are called additional days. Additional days can be paid if you have reached the maximum payment period and meet the age requirement. In addition, you must have worked for at least five years during the previous 20 years.
• The age limit for additional days will increase by one year per birth year starting from those born in 1963, and the possibility of receiving additional days will be completely abolished for those born in 1965 or later.
• The reform will affect the right to earnings-related unemployment allowance starting in 2025, when those born in 1963 reach the current age limit of 62 for additional days. The payment of additional days will end entirely in 2030.

Age requirement for additional days

•  Born in 1955–1956: 60 years
•  Born in 1957–1960: 61 years
•  Born in 1961–1962: 62 years
•  Born in 1963: 63 years
•  Born in 1964: 64 years
•  Born in 1965 or later: no entitlement to additional days

Holiday compensation periodization

• Holiday compensation periodization means that when your employment ends, any compensation paid for unused holidays affects the start date of your entitlement to earnings-related unemployment allowance. For example, a holiday compensation equal to one month’s salary will postpone the start of your unemployment benefit entitlement by approximately one month.

• Periodization is applied if your employment was full-time and lasted at least two weeks.

• If you have been paid holiday compensation with each salary payment contrary to the terms of the collective agreement (TES), those compensations are added together, and the total amount is periodized when your employment ends.

  What to do if you continue working for the same employer after your previous employment ends

• If you continue working for the same employer immediately after your previous employment has ended, the holiday compensation will be periodized only after the latter employment ends. In such cases, the periodization will take into account the total amount of holiday compensation accrued during the entire period of employment.

• You can agree with your employer that the annual leave benefits accrued before the end of your previous employment will be transferred to be taken during your next employment. This is possible if the new employment contract is signed before the previous one ends.

• The agreement on transferring unused holiday days must be made in writing, but the new employment does not have to begin immediately after the previous one ends.

• If you receive holiday compensation based on two or more successive employment contracts, the periodization of the holiday compensation will be done based on the total combined amount of compensation.

Studies and employment-promoting services

• Earnings-related unemployment allowance can also be paid during participation in employment-promoting services. These include, among others: 

  career coaching, labour market training, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefits, work trials and rehabilitative work activities.

• A labour policy statement from the employment authorities is required for payment of the unemployment allowance during these services.
• During participation in these services, you may also be entitled to a daily expense allowance, which is paid according to the statement issued by the employment authorities.

For more information, visit Työmarkkinatori (the Finnish employment services portal).