Legislative amendments at the turn of the year
Several legislative amendments affecting unemployment benefits entered into force on 1 January 2024. The amendments apply to all recipients of earnings-related allowance. The amendments concern the waiting period, the effect of holiday compensation on the unemployment benefit, and the freezing of the index increase. In addition, child increases will be reduced.
Waiting period to be extended to seven days
The waiting period is set when the unemployment benefit is paid for the first time or when the employment requirement is met again. No earnings-related allowance is paid for the waiting period. The waiting period is seven weekdays of unemployment and must be fulfilled within eight consecutive calendar weeks. Currently, the waiting period is five weekdays, or one week of unemployment. In the future, the waiting period will correspond to seven weekdays of unemployment, i.e. approximately 1.5 weeks. The waiting period accumulates more slowly if the waiting period contains working days. For example, if you work 50% working hours, your waiting period will accrue in about three weeks.
At the average unemployment benefit level of Super Unemployment Fund members, the impact of the cut is approximately EUR 113 per person.
Holiday compensation for full-time work will affect the unemployment benefit
Holiday compensation for full-time work lasting more than two weeks will affect the payment of the unemployment benefit. This means that if the person has unused holidays at the end of the employment relationship, the holiday compensation paid for these will postpone the start of the entitlement to earnings-related allowance. Holiday compensation equal to one month's salary or wages postpones the start of the entitlement to earnings-related allowance by about one month. The waiting period begins after the period corresponding to the days of unused holiday. If all holidays have been taken during the employment relationship, no holiday compensation is paid and therefore, the unemployment benefit is not affected.
Holiday compensation will affect the unemployment benefit if it is paid on the basis of an employment relationship that ended on or after 1 January 2024.
National pensions index has been frozen
With some exceptions, unemployment benefits do not increase with rising consumer prices. Freezing the national pensions index will affect the level of earnings-related allowance for all recipients.
Temporary increases to child benefits have been removed
In addition, the fixed-term, non-index-based additional 20% increase on the child increase for 2023 was discontinued on 31 December 2023. Therefore, child increases will decrease by EUR 25–48 per month for all recipients starting from 1 January 2024. On 1 April 2024, child increases will be completely discontinued as a result of the legislative amendment.