There have been several amendments to the Unemployment Security Act in 2024, and more changes will follow.
The job alternation leave system has been terminated on the first day of August. Before, the leave allowed workers to take up to six months off work.
From the beginning of September, many of the terms for receiving earnings-related unemployment allowance will also become stricter. A full year's work history will be required to qualify for the allowance, instead of the previous six months.
Similarly, the amount of earnings-related unemployment allowance will decrease as the duration of unemployment increases. Previously, the level of unemployment benefit has been constant throughout the period of receiving earnings-related unemployment allowance. From the beginning of August, the allowance will decrease to 80% of the initial level after eight weeks of unemployment and to 75% of the initial level after 34 weeks of unemployment.
Most of the age-related exceptions to the Unemployment Security Act will also be abolished.
KOKO, the Unemployment fund for highly educated, has compiled a summary of the amendments to the Unemployment Security Act coming this autumn. You can read more about the changes here.
KOKO is the second largest unemployment fund in Finland. There are around 270,000 highly educated members, who are working as senior officers or in a similar position. The vast majority of the members of Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK belong to KOKO.
The benefits paid by the unemployment fund are financed by the state, unemployment insurance premiums, employers’ qualification period payments and fund membership fees.