Unemployment allowance is paid during the lay-off period. If you are laid off, do the following:
1. Register as a jobseeker
- Register as a jobseeker at the E-services at Job Market Finland no later than the first day of the lay-off. Registering as a jobseeker cannot be done retroactively.
- When registering as a jobseeker, you must select “I am looking for full-time work”.
2. Send your allowance application to the unemployment fund
- Send your first application for daily allowance to your unemployment fund.
- Check with your YTN member union to see which unemployment fund is your fund. For architects it is usually KOKO.
- You can estimate the amount of your earnings-related allowance using the allowance calculator on the website of the Joint Association of Unemployment Funds.
3. Remember to include the attachments to your allowance application
- For more information on how to apply for allowance, see the KOKO fund’s website.
4. If you do not meet the employment condition, apply for unemployment allowance from Kela
- If you have not yet fulfilled the membership and employment condition of the unemployment fund, you can apply for unemployment allowance from Kela.
5. Check whether your YTN member union offers a reduction in membership fees for the unpaid period.
6. Take advantage of the wide range of career and legal services offered by your association!
- In addition to personal advice and guides, many unions offer webinars on topics such as employment law, skills development, career planning and job search.
For all questions relating to your employment relationship, you can contact your YTN member union.
Employees on layoff also have the right to take annual leave
Many companies resorting to layoffs inevitably find these overlapping with the summer holiday season. The summer holiday period defined by the Annual Holidays Act begins after May Day in May and ends at the end of September.
An employer must ensure that leave is actually taken during this period. The employer decides on the placement of the leave after consulting with the employees.
The Annual Holidays Act allows some flexibility in the timing of leave if the parties agree. Therefore, leave can also be granted later than the official summer holiday period based on mutual agreement.
The general rule is that leave is granted as a continuous period. A possible part-time layoff does not affect the granting of annual leave. Thus, the person is on leave during the period designated by the employer and receives holiday pay for this period.
From the perspective of the Annual Holidays Act, layoffs affect the accrual of leave. Generally, unpaid time is not considered in the calculation of leave accrual. If a person is fully laid off, the first 30 days of the layoff are considered equivalent to working days in terms of leave accrual. If a part-time layoff is implemented by reducing the workweek or a similar arrangement, the first six months of the layoff period are considered equivalent to working days.
During annual leave, leave continues to accrue even if the leave is taken during a layoff that started before the annual leave.
Typically, during a layoff, a person has the right to terminate their employment without a notice period. However, this right does not apply seven days before a known end date of the layoff. If an employer terminates an employment contract during a layoff, the employee is entitled to receive their notice period salary. If the layoff has lasted continuously for over 200 days, the same right applies when the employee terminates their employment. This point also notes that the right to end employment without a notice period does not apply seven days before work resumes.