Eligibility for unemployment benefits tightened

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Government changes mean people will need a longer work history to qualify for some unemployment benefits.

That office. — Kela said the changes would make it easier for people working part-time to get unemployment benefits, but people with shorter work histories could lose out. Image credit: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle

After the working time requirement was extended from six months to twelve months, unemployed people will have to meet stricter requirements in the future to receive unemployment benefits.

Social insurance agency Kela will implement the new regulations from September 2, when the new law comes into force.

The work requirement is a prerequisite for applicants to receive earnings-related unemployment benefit or the basic unemployment daily allowance paid by Kela.

Under the new rules, claimants must have worked for at least 12 months in the past 28 months.

In the future, only wages will be taken into account when calculating work requirements, rather than working hours. Kela describes this as “converting work requirements into euros.”

To meet the work requirement, applicants must earn at least €465 per month.

“The new work requirement is fairer to those who have some kind of irregular part-time job at work. The reform has little impact on the right to unemployment benefits for full-time employees or people with regular part-time jobs,” said attorney Kela Alexi Ristimeki.

If the work requirements are not met, applicants can receive labour market subsidies instead of unemployment benefits.

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