1. Find out if job alternation leave is possible for you

Access to job alternation leave requires, for example, that:

• you are working permanently full-time and that your working hours are at least 75% of the full-time employee’s working time

• you have worked for the same employer for at least 13 months before taking job alternation leave
• unpaid absence does not exceed 30 calendar days in the previous 13 months

The TE-Office examines the fulfilment of the above employment conditions. The TE-Office also examines other labour market policy requirements, such as the upper age limit, the duration of job alternation leave, the requirements for the substitute and your possible business activities. You can get more information about these requirements from the TE-Office.

In addition, a prerequisite for job alternation leave is that you have at least 20 years of work history.

The unemployment fund examines whether the 20-year work history requirement is met. You can check the sufficiency of the work history in advance from the fund. Send a written request to Openetti for a review of your work history, and mention the planned start date of the job alternation leave and a valid home address in the message.

2. Agree on job alternation leave with your employer

Job alternation leave is primarily a contractual matter between you and your employer. Agree on the leave in writing with the employer by filling out a job alternation agreement. You can find the form on the TE-Office’s JobMarket -website(opens in new window, you move to another service).

3. Contact the TE Office

Contact the TE Office well in advance about job alternation leave. The TE Office will examine your right to job alternation leave and issue a statement to the fund. Make sure which attachments must be submitted to the TE Office in order to issue a statement. Also make sure that all the necessary attachments are at the TE Office a couple of days before the start of the job alternation leave.

Please remember to notify the TE Office if you or your family member are engaged in business activities. In its statement, the TE Office must comment on business operations.

4. Submit an application for job alternation compensation to the fund

An application for job alternation compensation can be submitted to the fund even before the job alternation leave starts. However, submit the application within three months. The fastest way to submit an application is in Openetti.

The application must be accompanied by a job alternation agreement. If you or your family are engaging in business activities, please also attach your most recent confirmed personal tax decision.

As a rule, it is not necessary to submit a payslip to the fund, because we receive income data from the Incomes Register. In some cases, it may be necessary to submit payslips if the Incomes Register does not reveal all the necessary information. You can read in this article(opens in new window) published on our website what are the most common situations when incomes register data is not enough.

5. Wait for a decision

An application for job alternation compensation will be processed at the earliest when the job alternation leave has lasted for two calendar weeks. The decision on the job alternation compensation will be issued in connection with the handling of the application. A decision on job alternation compensation cannot be given in advance.

If there are any changes in your situation during the job alternation leave, notify the fund without delay, for example by sending a message or a job alternation application change request Openetti.

You can read more about job alternation compensation via the link below

The link below takes you to the allowance calculator where you can estimate the amount of job alternation compensation. Remember to select job alternation compensation as the allowance category.