I became unemployed – what to do first?

First, you must register as an unemployed jobseeker with the employment authorities. Registration can be done through the E-services on the JobMarket Finland website(you move to another service). Maintaining an active job search is a prerequisite for receiving the earnings-related daily allowance, so be sure to register as unemployed no later than your first day of unemployment. Job seeking cannot be activated retroactively!

Next, we recommend reviewing the summer instructions available on our website. You can access them via the button below. On the summer page, we provide guidance on, for example, when you can submit your first application, what attachments are usually needed, how holiday compensation may affect your daily allowance, and how the daily allowance is taxed.

Once you have read the instructions, you will already know what to do next. You can submit your first application after you have been unemployed for two full calendar weeks. Meanwhile, you can start gathering the necessary attachments.

Submitting the first application – When?

You can submit your first application no earlier than after two full calendar weeks (Mon–Sun) of unemployment. For example, if your first day of unemployment is 1 June 2025, you can submit your application no earlier than 15 June 2025.

In some cases, we recommend submitting an application covering a longer period at once. If you have part-time income, run a business, or if holiday compensation from your previous full-time job will be paid no earlier than 30 June 2025, we recommend submitting an application covering the entire month of June at once — that is, from 1 June to 30 June 2025, no earlier than 30 June 2025.

However, remember: You must apply for the daily allowance within three months from the date you want the payment to start.

Have I submitted all the required information?

All necessary attachments will only be clarified during the processing of your application, as the need for attachments often becomes apparent as the processing progresses. However, the most commonly required documents are:

• Employment contract from the ended employment relationship, if the information is not available in the income register (e.g., duration of employment, full-time/part-time status, fixed-term or permanent contract, agreed weekly working hours, job duties)
• Weekly hours report if working hours vary (e.g., hourly-paid part-time teacher). The form can be found on our website under Forms
• Proof of home care allowance if your spouse receives the support (the form can be found on our website under Forms)
• For entrepreneurs: the most recent tax decision (if the 2024 tax decision has not yet been confirmed, provide the 2023 tax decision. You can submit the 2024 decision later when confirmed)
• The most recent payslip and the one showing the amount of holiday compensation

Has my application arrived and what is its status?

You can check in Openetti whether your electronically submitted application has arrived at the fund. You can find this information in Openetti under Application Monitoring → Application Processing Status. There, you can see the submission date and the current status of your application (arrived, in queue, processing, waiting for more information).

📞 Please note that we cannot provide an exact processing date by phone, nor can the processing be expedited by calling the telephone service.

Submitting the follow-up application – When?

After the first application, the rhythm for applying for the earnings-related daily allowance is either every four calendar weeks or monthly. The timing for your follow-up application will become clear after your first application has been processed. Once your application has been processed, you will receive a message in Openetti with information and instructions for the next steps. Please be patient and wait until your initial application has been processed.

Have I fulfilled the employment condition?

Many of our members are concerned about meeting the employment condition now that its length has changed to 12 calendar months. However, we can only confirm whether the employment condition has been met during the processing of the application.

Please note that if you have already fulfilled the employment condition earlier, it is usually not necessary to fulfill it again now, provided there are still payment days left from the previous unemployment benefit period. Below is an example of this situation.

Membership fees up to date?

• re you a member through a union (e.g., OAJ)? → Please contact your union’s member services. Unfortunately, the fund cannot assist with membership fee matters in this case, as the fund’s membership fee is included in the union’s membership fee.

• Are you an individual member of our fund? → Contact us via message in Openetti if you have not received your membership fee invoice or if there are any issues with your payments.

Does holiday compensation affect the daily allowance?

Holiday compensation paid for full-time work is allocated over a period, and daily allowance is not paid during this allocation period. The allocation usually starts from the end of the employment relationship. The length of the allocation period is calculated by dividing the holiday compensation by the calculated daily wage. Only weekdays (Monday to Friday) count towards the allocation period.

The exact allocation period can only be determined during the processing of the application. Please note that holiday compensation is different from holiday bonus. Holiday bonus paid for full-time work does not affect the daily allowance.

If holiday compensation is paid for part-time work, it is adjusted like other part-time earnings. In this case, the holiday compensation is not allocated over time. Holiday bonus paid for part-time work is also adjusted in the same way as holiday compensation.

Why was my salary adjusted after the job ended?

Salary is adjusted primarily based on the payment date — not on the time when the work was performed. This applies to:

• part-time work (up to 80% working hours)
• full-time work lasting up to 2 weeks

So, if the salary payment date falls within the adjustment period, it will reduce the amount of daily allowance, even if the part-time work or the full-time work of up to two weeks has already ended.

The adjustment period is always four calendar weeks or a month.

Can I ask for help via message?

You can always contact us if you cannot find the answer to your question. You can send us a message via the Openetti messaging service. We respond to messages within three working days. We are happy to help!