Työssäolo- ja jäsenyysehto
You are entitled to an earnings-related allowance if you fulfil the 12-month employment and membership requirements. The membership requirement accrues from full months, but the fulfilment of the employment requirement is counted in calendar months. Unlike the membership requirement, an entire calendar month can count towards the employment requirement, irrespective of which day in the month the member joined or their wages or salary were paid.
Accruing time towards the employment requirement
You accrue one month towards the employment requirement when you earn a gross wage or salary of at least €930 in a calendar month. If your wage or salary is less than €930 but at least €465, you accrue half a month towards the employment requirement. The payday determines which month is counted towards the employment requirement.
Income of €930 or more in a calendar month = 1 month towards the employment requirement
Income of €465–€929 in a calendar month = 0.5 months towards the employment requirement
The employment requirement does not need to be accrued in one period. The employment requirement must be met within a period of 28 months. Under the Unemployment Security Act, the 28-month period may be extended for acceptable reasons by up to seven years. Valid reasons include full-time studies, illness, and care for a child up to 3 years old. The employment requirement does not include periods when you received a partial sickness allowance, reduced income for a period of illness (such as 2/3 of the wage or salary) or a parental allowance.
Your pay must comply with the collective agreement
If there is no collective agreement, your pay for full-time work must be at least the minimum wage of €1,399 per month (in 2024). Your daily wages, calculated proportionally to your working hours, must be at least €61.91. This is calculated by dividing the minimum monthly pay by the average number of workdays (1399 / 21.5). Please note that for the wages to count towards the employment requirement, deductions such as unemployment insurance premiums must have been made from the wages.
If you do not fulfil the employment or membership requirements, you may still be entitled to a basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy from Kela. In this case, you need to contact Kela directly.
Vince registers as an unemployed jobseeker and applies for a daily allowance from 1 October 2024. His work ended on 30 September 2024. He was paid a salary of €2,000 for September on 30 September 2024. The salary meets the income threshold for the employment requirement.
One month is accrued towards the employment requirement in September.
You joined the unemployment fund on 21 September 2024 and have been in full-time employment since 2023, earning a monthly salary of €2,000. Your full-time work ends on 20 September 2025.
The 12-month membership requirement is fulfilled on 20 September 2025, and every month of your membership fulfilled the employment requirement.
Vince worked from 1 October 2024 to 31 October 2024, and his monthly salary of €1,500 was paid on the payday, 15 November 2024.
One month is counted towards the employment requirement for the period from 1 November 2024 to 30 November 2024 because the payday is in November. The employment requirement does not accrue for the period from 1 October 2024 to 31 October 2024 because there was no payday in that period.
Vince’s membership began on 12 December 2024. His full-time employment ended on 30 November 2025. The salary was always paid on the last day of the month. His employment requirement was fulfilled for the period from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, as he accrued time towards the employment requirement in every calendar month of his membership. However, Vince will only fulfil the membership requirement on 11 December 2025. Vince must apply to Kela for a basic unemployment allowance for 1–11 December 2025. The fund will pay the daily allowance from 12 December 2025 when the membership requirement is fulfilled.
Vince is employed from 1 April 2024 to 31 August 2024. Wages are always paid on the last day of the month, and every month fulfils the employment requirement.
Vince is paid his last supplements (€500) when the employment ends in September. No wages are paid on the September payday. Vince accrues half a calendar month towards the employment requirement in September because he was paid at least €465.
Tilly registers as an unemployed jobseeker and applies for a daily allowance from 1 February 2025. She was on parental leave from 2 September 2024 to 31 January 2025. Up to 1 September 2024, Tilly worked at least 26 calendar weeks while she was a member of the fund.
Tilly is covered by the old law because she was on parental leave from 2 September 2024 to 31 January 2025, which is a valid reason to be out of the labour market. Tilly fulfilled the 26-week employment requirement by 1 September 2024.
Losing the right to earnings-related allowance
If you do not meet the employment requirement or membership requirement, you may still be entitled to basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy from Kela. In this case, you need to be in touch with Kela directly.
KELA
| You will lose the employment requirement and your right to earnings-related allowance if |
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You are out of the labour market for more than six months without an acceptable reason listed in the Unemployment Security Act |
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You have been self-employed full-time for 18 months |
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You have switched unemployment funds with a break of one month in membership in any fund |
In these situations, you can receive earnings-related unemployment allowance only after you have fully met the employment condition again
Accruing time towards the employment requirement from pay subsidy work and during an employment obligation (palkkatukityö ja työllistämisvelvoite)
Pay subsidy work does not count towards the employment requirement if the work begins on or after 2 September 2024 unless you are at least 60 years old or the subsidy is granted to hire a person with reduced working capacity. People who are 60 or more years old and those with reduced working capacity begin accruing time towards the employment requirement once the subsidy has been paid for 10 months. From the 11th month, 75% of the working hours count towards the employment requirement. In practice, a person aged 60 or over or a person with reduced working capacity will need to work in a job with subsidised pay for 26 months to fulfil the employment requirement.