Inability to work and earnings-related allowance

If you get sick while receiving the allowance

As a general rule, earnings-related allowance is not paid during periods of sick leave. If you are on sick leave, you need to apply for sickness allowance from Kela. The sickness allowance from Kela has a waiting period. If you have received earnings-related allowance from the unemployment fund immediately before your sick leave, the fund can continue to pay you the allowance during Kela’s waiting period. If you are sick for a few days. Report the sick days in your application for earnings-related allowance and send us a copy of your medical certificate for the period you are unable to work.

In your application for earnings-related allowance, write in ‘sick’ for the days you were sick. If you were on paid sick leave, in the application, enter your hours for the days which your employer pays you a sick pay.

If your sick leave continues for longer than the maximum days of sickness allowance from Kela

As a general rule, earnings-related allowance is not paid during periods of sick leave. If you are still unable to work after reaching the maximum period of Kela's sickness allowance, you can apply for earnings-related daily allowance in certain situations.

Conditions:

you have reached the maximum time period of 300 days of sickness allowance from Kela
you have registered as unemployed and seeking full-time work at the TE Office after reaching the maximum period
If your sick leave continues and you have applied for a disability pension, with the application pending, or if you have received a decision for a partial disability pension, or if your pension application has been rejected and your employment contract is no longer valid.
if you are currently employed, your employer cannot offer you work that matches your work ability
you also meet the other conditions for earnings-related allowance

If the pension institution grants you full disability pension or rehabilitation allowance, you are not entitled to earnings-related allowance for the same time period. After receiving a decision on your pension application, you need to immediately notify the unemployment fund about the decision. If you receive partial disability pension or rehabilitation allowance, this is deducted from your earnings-related allowance.

If you have agreed with your employer on reducing your work hours due to sickness, you are not entitled to earnings-related allowance.

When applying for earnings-related allowance during an extended sick leave, include the following documents:

your application for earnings-related allowance, initially for a period of at least two weeks after your entitlement to sickness allowance has ended
a payslip written by your payroll administrator for the last 26 weeks that fulfil the employment requirement and for which you received full pay. The 26 weeks do not need to be continuous but cannot include days during which you received partial sick pay. The payslip must also specify any holiday bonuses, holiday compensation and days of unpaid leave.
a copy of the decision stating that you have reached the maximum days of sickness allowance from Kela
a copy of a valid medical certificate for your sick leave
a notice that your disability pension application is pending or a copy of the pension decision
- the fund cannot assess your loss of working capacity based only on a medical certificate. The fund’s decision must be based on a decision by Kela or a pension company concerning the loss of working capacity. An assessment of working capacity can be considered valid from the date when the pension company’s decision takes legal effect.
- if you are denied a pension and you are not considered incapacitated, you are not entitled to an earnings-related allowance if you have a valid employment relationship
a written statement from your employer confirming that the employer cannot offer you work that matches your work ability