Basic eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible for an earnings-related allowance, you must satisfy the following conditions:

• You must be between 18 and 64 years old. An earnings-related allowance can also be paid to persons aged between 65 to 68 years and to persons who have reached the age of 17 years in some circumstances. For more information, see Right to earnings-related allowance on our site.
• You must have signed up as a jobseeker with your local TE Office and be actively looking for full-time employment.
• You must have been a member of your unemployment fund for a period of at least 26 weeks.
• You must have met the employment condition while being a member of the unemployment fund.

How to proceed

1. Sign up as an unemployed jobseeker with your local TE Office no later than on your first day of unemployment or layoff..
2. Find out ahead of time what supporting documents you need to enclose with your earnings-related allowance application.
3. Leave at least two full calendar weeks (Mon–Sun) between the start of your unemployment and your first earnings-related allowance application. The easiest way to submit your application is through Openetti. Fill in the application form carefully and enclose all the necessary supporting documents.
4. You can track the general progress of your application on the front page of our site. If, based on the processing status shown on the front page of our site, we should already be processing your application, you can track its progress in more detail in Openetti. Please note that any letters that we send you requesting further information will not appear in Openetti until the day after they were sent. If the status of your application is shown as ‘Awaiting further information’ and you cannot see a request explaining what is required in your inbox in Openetti, wait until the following day and then check again..

Attachments

Every claimant’s situation is unique, and the documents that you need to enclose with your application depend on your circumstances. The following supporting documents are required in most cases:

• Employment contract or appointment letter (in the case of public-sector employees), showing the most important terms of the employment relationship (weekly working hours, number of lessons to be taught or total working hours, pay scale, length of the employment relationship)
• Notice of termination/layoff or other evidence of a loss of working hours
• Decision awarding a concurrent pension or other benefit and a statement showing the current amount of the benefit
• a form of clarification of the child home care allowance paid to the spouse
• Most recently filed self-assessment tax statement and itemisation, if you are self-employed on a part-time basis. You must also informally notify the TE Office about the fact that you are running a business.
• Reports showing your weekly working hours, if you have met the employment condition through classroom teaching on a part-time basis and your wages have been paid at an hourly rate based on the number of lessons taught. Please enclose a separate form of weekly working hours for each employer.

You can read more about eligibility for an earnings-related allowance and applying for the allowance via the links below.