In this article, we briefly present Government Programme’s entries on unemployment security.

• The employment condition will be extended to 12 months (52 weeks). Now the employment condition is 26 weeks.
• The employment condition no longer accrues from wage-subsidised work. Now wage-subsidised work accumulates 75% of the employment condition.
• The level of earnings-related unemployment security will be staggered. After eight weeks, the earnings-related unemployment security drops to 80% of the original daily allowance. The allowance will decrease to 75% of the original daily allowance after 34 weeks.
• The accrual of holiday compensation will be restored. Holiday compensation was accrued until 2012, after which this was abandoned. The accrual of holiday compensation means that holiday compensation prevents the payment of daily allowance for the days that the holiday compensation corresponds to as wages.

Untaken holidays postpone the start of entitlement to earnings-related daily allowance.

• The waiting period increases to 7 days. Now the waiting period is 5 days.
• Child increases will be abolished. Now the child increase is paid for a maximum of 3 children.
• The standard entitlement of earnings-related daily allowance will be abolished. Currently, the standard entitlement of the daily allowance is EUR 300.00 for a one-month application period and EUR 279.00 for a 4-week period. The standard entitlement means that only income exceeding the standard entitlement will reduce your daily alowance.
• The age-related exemption regulations for unemployment security will be abolished. Age affects several different areas of unemployment security, such as the maximum payment period of the daily allowance (500 days) and the protection of the level of daily allowance for people over 58 years of age. The government programme does not specify precisely whether the entry applies to all age-related exemption regulations.
• The employment condition will be linked to euros earned instead of hours worked. This means that the employment condition would accrue according to wages. Now the employment condition accrues according to working hours.
• Job alternation leave will be abolished. Now, a person with a long working career can take job alternation leave. The maximum duration of job alternation leave is now 180 days.
• The recipient of adjusted daily allowance may be required to apply for full-time employment or participate in TE-services.

Other changes in the government programme include changes to labour market subsidy, an investigation on combined insurance and a report on the development of earnings-related security. The programme also states that unemployment funds will be able to offer their members support for finding employment in the future.

The proposed changes are not yet in effect. The legislative drafting work has begun, and we will regularly inform our members of the progress of the issues.