Sickness or pension may affect your earnings-related daily allowance

Sickness during unemployment

If you get sick while receiving earnings-related daily allowance based on full-time unemployment or adjusted daily allowance based on part-time employment, the duration of your sick leave affects your right to earnings-related daily allowance. Sick leave lasting only a few days does not affect the payment of earnings-related daily allowance and you can apply for earnings-related daily allowance or adjusted daily allowance as normal for the period of sick leave. However, you should notify the unemployment fund about your sick leave in your application for earnings-related daily allowance.

If your sick leave lasts for longer than 10 days, report your sick days in your application for earnings-related daily allowance and apply for sickness allowance from Kela. A waiting period is applied to sickness allowance granted by Kela. The waiting period consists of the first day of illness and the following nine working days. You can receive earnings-related daily allowance for the duration of the waiting period for Kela’s sickness allowance if you were paid earnings-related daily allowance for the day immediately preceding the start of the sickness allowance waiting period.

Earnings-related daily allowance cannot be paid for the duration of your sick leave, even if you do not receive sickness allowance, if you have been found to be incapable of work as referred to in the Health Insurance Act. 

Sickness during lay-off

If you receive earnings-related allowance on the basis of a lay-off and fall ill, the duration of sick leave also affects your right to earnings-related daily allowance. Sick leave lasting only a few days does not affect the payment of earnings-related daily allowance for the period of lay-off. If the sick leave lasts longer than the waiting period for sickness allowance granted by Kela you can apply for sickness allowance from Kela for the sick days included in your period of lay-off. During the waiting period for Kela’s sickness allowance, earnings-related daily allowance can be paid for days of lay-off only if your employer has not paid you wages and you were paid earnings-related daily allowance for the day immediately preceding the start of the sickness allowance waiting period. For example, if you fall ill on Tuesday and your sick leave lasts for two weeks, we can pay you earnings-related daily allowance for days of lay-off that fall on the period of sick leave, if you have been paid earnings-related daily allowance for Monday, i.e. the day immediately preceding the day on which you fell ill.

Payment of earnings-related daily allowance after the maximum period of sickness allowance

Earnings-related daily allowance is generally not paid for periods of incapacity for work. However, you can apply for earnings-related daily allowance if you have received sickness allowance for the maximum period (approximately 300 days) and your unemployment continues.  In order to receive earnings-related allowance, you must register as an unemployed jobseeker with the TE Office as soon as the payment of your sickness allowance ends. You must also apply for rehabilitation allowance or disability pension once the payment of your sickness allowance ends.

If you have a valid employment relationship, in order to receive earnings-related daily allowance you will need a written statement from your employer stating that your employer cannot offer you work that is suitable for you due to your incapacity for work. This statement is for the unemployment fund only.

If your pension application is rejected and you remain on sick leave, you can continue to apply for earnings-related allowance even if you appeal the decision. If your pension application is approved, the payment of earnings-related daily allowance stops, and you transfer to rehabilitation allowance or disability pension. If you do not wish to apply for earnings-related daily allowance for the duration of the processing of your pension application, you should still register with the TE Office no later than upon receiving a pension rejection decision to retain your right to earnings-related allowance.

Partial sickness allowance

Earnings-related daily allowance cannot be paid for the same period as partial sickness allowance granted by Kela, even if you are in part-time employment. The period of partial sickness allowance does not count towards the 26-week working condition. However, the period of partial sickness allowance extends the 28-month review period within which the 26 working weeks would normally need to be accumulated.  

Partial disability pension

In the event of unemployment or lay-off, you may be entitled to earnings-related daily allowance while on partial disability pension. The pension is deducted from the earnings-related daily allowance in full. This means that if your pension is EUR 1,000 per month, you will receive EUR 1,000 less in earnings-related daily allowance. While on the pension, you accumulate days towards the maximum period of earnings-related daily allowance in the same way you would when fully unemployed, i.e. each day for which the benefit is paid counts towards the maximum period. 

Partial early old-age pension

It is possible to start partial early old-age pension at the age of 61. If you receive partial early old-age pension, it will not be deducted from your earnings-related daily allowance and you will receive your earnings-related daily allowance in full.

If you have started working part-time due to partial early old-age pension and you become unemployed or laid off, the rate of your earnings-related daily allowance is calculated based on your part-time pay. Periods of partial early old-age pension cannot be skipped over when calculating the rate of earnings-related daily allowance. It is also worth noting that if you have been working less than 18 hours per week for more than six months before becoming unemployed or laid off, you have completely lost you right to earnings-related daily allowance. This is because you must be on the labour market to retain your right to earnings-related daily allowance. Working at least 18 hours per weeks is considered being on the labour market.

Old-age pension and supplementary pension 

You cannot receive earnings-related daily allowance if you receive old-age pension based on full years of service. You are not entitled to earnings-related daily allowance even if you have continued to work while on old-age pension and you become laid off. Old-age pension is a benefit that prevents the payment of earnings-related daily allowance (as well as basic unemployment allowance and labour market subsidy). 

Please note that a retirement pension paid abroad may also prevent the payment of a daily allowance. For example, an old-age pension paid from Sweden is a preventive benefit if it is paid at 100%.

Supplementary pension financed by you or your employer

Supplementary pension financed by your employer is deducted in full from your earnings-related daily allowance. This means that while on the pension you accumulate days towards the maximum period of daily allowance in the same way you would when fully unemployed, i.e. each day for which the benefit is paid counts towards the maximum period.

If you have financed your supplementary pension yourself, the pension does not affect your earnings-related daily allowance in any way, even if you receive the pension during unemployment.

If you want to know how earnings-related unemployment allowance affects the accrual of pension or how much pension you will receive, contact your pension company as the unemployment fund does not have this information.  

Effect of other social benefits on earnings-related unemployment allowance

Social benefits can affect earnings-related unemployment allowance in three different ways: They can be deducted from the allowance in full, prevent the allowance from being paid in full (see obstacles to the granting of earnings-related unemployment allowance) or have no effect on the amount of earnings-related unemployment allowance.

Benefits that are not deducted from earnings-related unemployment allowance are child benefits, survivors’ pension, housing allowance, income support, disability allowance, care allowance for national pension recipients, disability allowance paid in accordance with the Employment Accidents Insurance Act, amount corresponding to the base rate of life annuity, conscript’s allowance and life annuity or supplementary annuity or compensation for special costs paid in accordance with the Military Injuries Act.

Disability benefits paid by a foreign state are deducted from earnings-related unemployment allowance.

Home care allowance

Home care allowance is a family-specific benefit. If you receive home care allowance, the amount is deducted from your earnings-related unemployment allowance. Similarly, home care allowance paid to your spouse is deducted from your earnings-related unemployment allowance unless your spouse is caring for a child at home and is absent from the labour market for this reason. Flexible care allowance and partial care allowance are also deducted from earnings-related unemployment allowance.