The payment of mobility allowance is based on Chapter 8 of the Unemployment Security Act (1290/2002).

Preconditions for receiving mobility allowance

Mobility allowance can be granted to a person

• who is entitled to earnings-related daily allowance at the start of employment,
• whose employment will last a minimum of two months or who participates in work-related training that lasts a minimum of 2 months
• when the travelling time to and from work will exceed three hours per day for full-time work and two hours per day for part-time work

Right to earnings-related daily allowance

Your unemployment fund will assess your right to earnings-related allowance based on your earnings-related allowance application. If you have not received earnings-related allowance before the start of your new employment or work-related training, please send us your earnings-related allowance application and your mobility allowance application. See Applying for earnings-related allowance.(opens in new window)

Claiming earnings-related allowance requires that your job search for full-time work is valid at the TE Office.

You can receive mobility allowance if you are paid earnings-related daily allowance immediately before the start of employment or training entitling you to the allowance. If you start employment on Monday, it is sufficient if earnings-related allowance is paid to you for the preceding Friday.

You are also entitled to mobility allowance if the payment of earnings-related allowance is prevented immediately before the start of employment or training due to

• a suspension period set by the Employment and Economic Development Office during which you are not entitled to unemployment benefit,
• an obligation to work set by the Employment and Economic Development Office, or
• a waiting period set at the beginning of a maximum payment period of earnings-related allowance, or
• a restriction related to vocational education and training for people under 25.

If the payment of daily allowance is prevented immediately before the start of employment for any other reason, then you are not entitled to mobility allowance.

Receiving earnings-related daily allowance during the term of employment is not a precondition for granting mobility allowance.

Employment lasting a minimum of two months

You can receive mobility allowance if the employment or public service relationship will last a minimum of two months.

The duration of mobility allowance is determined by the term of employment known at the start of employment. The duration of the allowance period is fixed.

Mobility allowance can only be paid on the basis of one employment relationship or work-related training ar a time.

Work-related training

Mobility allowance can also be paid for training that is related to employment, if

• the training is related to an employment relationship that will last at least 2 months
• the travelling time to and from training is at least 3 hours per day when employment starting after training is full-time work, or at least 2 hours per day when employment starting after training is part-time work.

Training may be organised by the employer or acquired from elsewhere. The training must be related to employment that starts after the training for you to receive mobility allowance on the basis of the training. Independent study and self-directed acquisition of qualifications do not entitle you to mobility allowance.

Mobility allowance can only be paid on the basis of one employment relationship or work-related training ar a time.

Travelling time to and from work

The precondition for receiving mobility allowance is that when the employment or work-related training starts, the daily travel is longer than

• an average of 3 hours for full-time work/training related to full-time work
• an average of 2 hours for part-time work/training related to part-time work

You will retain your right to mobility allowance even if the travelling time changes during the term of employment or training.

Travelling time is calculated from your home address to your place of work or training. It also takes into account any waiting times when changing means of transport. Deviating from the fastest route due, for example, to taking a child to day care is not taken into consideration. The travelling time is calculated using the fastest possible public transport connection. If you have a car at your disposal, the travelling time is calculated based on the use of the car if commuting by car is faster than commuting by public transport.

If you move to another locality after employment or work-related training, the travelling time is calculated based on your actual residence before your move.

Amount of mobility allowance

The amount of mobility payment is EUR 37.21 per day (year 2024) and is considered taxable income. See Amount of earnings-related allownce(opens in new window) -> Taxation of benefits.

A child increase may be added to the mobility allowance until March 31, 2024. A child increase is paid for children in your care that are under the age of 18 years. Child increase is EUR 5.84 per day for one child, EUR 8.57 for two children and EUR 11.05 for three or more children (year 2024). Child increase is determined by how many children you have in your care at the start of the mobility allowance period. The amount of child increase does not change during the allowance period.

As of 1.4.2024, a legislative amendment entered into force, according to which child increase are no longer paid.

Mobility allowance is paid with an increase if the place of work or training is located over 200 kilometres away from your place of residence. If you have moved due to work or training, the allowance is paid with an increase if the distance is over 200 kilometres from your place of residence before your move.

Duration of mobility allowance

The duration of the mobility allowance period depends on the duration of the employment relationship. The allowance period is

• 30 days, if employment lasts at least 2 months
• 45 days, if employment lasts at least 3 months
• 60 days, if employment lasts at least 4 months.

Example: Employment lasts 2.5 months and stars on 1 March 2019, which makes the duration of the allowance period 30 days. The allowance period is 1–30 March 2019.

The allowance is paid for a maximum of 5 days per week from the start of employment to the end of the allowance period. The number of days changes depending on the month and the first day of employment. For example, during a 30-day allowance period mobility allowance is paid for 22–24 days. For part-time employment, mobility allowance is only paid for the days when you are actually working.

Mobility allowance is only simultaneously paid for one employment relationship and training related to it.

The duration of mobility allowance is determined by the term of employment known at the start of employment. If the term changes after the start of employment, mobility allowance will not be extended. If the term of employment is initially intended as indefinite, the allowance period is 60 days.

Mobility allowance is not paid after the end of employment. If the term of employment is shortened from what was initially agreed, the payment of mobility allowance will end at the latest at the termination of employment. If the term of employment is shortened so that it falls below two months, your right to mobility allowance is terminated from the start of employment, and recovery of paid allowance is decided on the basis of the reason for termination.

Mobility allowance periods are fixed. The allowance is not extended, for example, if the payment of mobility allowance is prevented due to a reason provided by the Act on Unemployment Security.

Mobility allowance is not paid for days on which

• working and salary earning are interrupted for full days due to a temporary lay-off or a reason comparable to being laid off,
• working and salary earnings are interrupted due to a reason attributable to you,
• you receive a benefit, such as sickness allowance, due to incapacity for work, or
• you receive another benefit that would prevent you from receiving earnings-related daily allowance

Applying for mobility allowance

Mobility allowance is applied for in writing from the unemployment fund. The allowance must be applied for within 3 months of the start of employment or work-related training. Mobility allowance is applied for with one application, there are no follow-up applications.

We recommend that you use our Openetti service for applying for mobility allowance. If you want to print out a form, go to the Forms(opens in new window) section of our website.

If you have not received earnings-related allowance before the start of your employment or work-related training, please send your unemployment fund your earnings-related allowance application and your mobility allowance application. See Applying for earnings-related allowance.(opens in new window)

Attach a copy of your employment contract, or similar account of the terms of your employment, to the mobility allowance application. If you are applying for the allowance on the basis of training that is related to your employment, please send us an account of this as an attachment to your application.