Do you have an unpaid winter holiday included in your employment? Here’s how to apply for daily allowance.
Sometimes, an employment contract may include unpaid leave periods during which you may be entitled to unemployment benefits. Read this article for instructions on how to apply for daily allowance during an unpaid winter holiday.
In an employment contract, there may be periods during which work and salary payments are temporarily suspended, for example, during school holidays. In unemployment benefits, these periods are referred to as periods comparable to a layoff. Full-time employees may also be entitled to daily allowance for such periods.
In order to receive unemployment benefits for unpaid periods, they must be specified in the employment contract and agreed upon at the start of the employment. If the employment contract or its annex does not mention unpaid periods, there is no entitlement to daily allowance for periods comparable to a layoff.
Please note that you must be registered as a jobseeker in order to be entitled to daily allowance. Therefore, remember to register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment authority no later than on the first day of your unpaid leave!
Is your employment part-time?
If you work part-time, you have likely been applying for adjusted daily allowance throughout your employment. Continue to apply for daily allowance as usual, even if the application period includes an unpaid leave period.
Please note that you will not receive the full daily allowance for the unpaid leave period. Instead, your part-time salary will be adjusted according to the usual method based on the payment date.
Ilona works part-time and has been applying for adjusted daily allowance throughout her employment. She applies for daily allowance on a monthly basis, and her salary is paid on the last banking day of the month.
Ilona has an unpaid winter break during week 8. She applies for daily allowance as usual for the entire month of February, meaning she submits an application for the period from 1st February 2025 to 28th February 2025.
Ilona will be paid her salary on 28th February 2025, which will affect the daily allowance amount for the entire application period. The adjusted daily allowance is 55.00€/day, so she will receive a total of 1100.00€ (20 * 55.00€) for February.
Is your employment full-time?
If your employment is full-time, the right to daily allowance can only arise for periods comparable to a layoff or during the actual layoff. In this case, submit the application only for the period of the unpaid winter break. However, remember to send the application for the entire calendar week (Monday-Sunday). For example, if your winter break is during week 8, you can submit the application starting Sunday, 23rd February 2025, for the period from 17th February 2025 to 23rd February 2025.
Along with the application, you must attach a copy/photo of your employment contract showing the period comparable to a layoff. Additionally, submit a weekly work hours report detailing the actual hours worked. The weekly hours report should cover either the entire duration of the employment or, if you have applied for daily allowance for a previous unpaid leave period (such as an unpaid Christmas break), provide the report for the period after the unpaid Christmas leave.
The weekly hours report can be either prepared by your employer or filled out by yourself. You can find the weekly hours report forms on our website under “Forms.” If you fill out the report yourself, please ensure it is accurate. The paid wages must match the reported hours.
Eemeli works full-time and has an unpaid leave period as part of his employment during week 10. He can submit his daily allowance application starting from 9th March 2025 for the period from 3rd March 2025 to 9th March 2025.
Since Eemeli does not have any additional part-time work or secondary business activity alongside his full-time job, he is entitled to receive the full daily allowance. Also, Eemeli’s work history requirement is not met when he applies for the daily allowance, meaning he is not subject to the waiting period.
Eemeli’s daily allowance is 75.00€/day, so for the week of his layoff, he will receive a total of 375.00€ (5 * 75.00€) in gross daily allowance for that period.
Applying and receiving the daily allowance
Daily allowance for a period comparable to a layoff can be paid either full or adjusted, depending on whether the employment is full-time or part-time. Please note that the allowance can also be paid adjusted if you have a part-time job alongside full-time employment.
If you are uncertain about your entitlement to the allowance, we recommend submitting an application so that we can investigate your right to the daily allowance. Please be aware that maintaining active job search status is a strict requirement for eligibility to receive unemployment benefits, even in a layoff-comparable situation, and job search status cannot be backdated!
Does filling out the application feel difficult?
If filling out the application feels difficult, take a look at our instructions on how to fill out the application. You can access the instructions by clicking the button below.
You can also find instructions for filling out the application and using Openetti in the Instructions for Openetti -section on our website.
