The Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK is opposed to the proposal put forward by Petteri Orpo’s (NCP) government to lower the amount of earnings-related daily allowance, or the so-called staggering of earnings-related daily allowance.
According to the government’s proposal, the amount of earnings-related daily allowance would be staggered so that the amount would be gradually reduced if unemployment is prolonged. The amount of earnings-related daily allowance would be reduced for the first time already when daily unemployment allowance has been paid for 40 days of unemployment and for the second time when it has been paid for 170 days of unemployment.
“The first reduction would occur already at about two months of unemployment. For highly educated professionals, this is far too soon, because recruitment processes almost always last for more than two months. In practice, highly educated professionals have little influence over the time it takes to find a job, despite being active,” says TEK’s Labour Market Director Teemu Hankamäki.
In their comment submitted to the Social Affairs and Health Committee, TEK representatives argue that, instead of staggering the level of unemployment security to increase the incentive to work, a better option is that the maximum duration would depend more on the unemployed person's length of employment history.
If the government is not ready to give up the staggering of the earnings-related daily allowance entirely, TEK proposes that at least the first step is postponed from the 40th day of unemployment to the 80th day of unemployment.