Terveydenhuoltoalan työttömyyskassa is a unemployment fund for employees. You must be working as a salaried employee to join the fund and receive benefits from the fund.

If you are applying for membership of Terveydenhuoltoalan työttömyyskassa while you already are a full-time entrepreneur, we cannot accept you as a member of our fund. If you have joined the fund when you were an employee, you can continue to be a member of your fund when you become an entrepreneur.

If you do part-time business when you are in paid employment, your business activities do not prevent membership of the fund and the receipt of benefits. Dispite the part-time business, your unemployment insurance will be based only on your salary income. Nevertheless, income from your part-time business will be taken into account as a daily income-reducing, adjustable income if the business continues during unemployment. Read more about adjusted unemployment allowance.

A person who starts a full-time business retains the right to employees unemployment benefits for a maximum of 18 months for the beginning of the entrepreneurship. If you are starting a full-time business, we recommend that you join an unemployment fund ment for entrepeneurs as soon as you start your business activities. There is only one fund ment for entrepeneurs in Finland; Yrittäjäkassa.

Who is an entrepreneur?

In unemployment security a person who is insured under the pension law YEL or MYEL, is considered to be an entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur (part-owner of a company) is also considered to be a person insured under other pension laws (eg TYEL) who:

  • works without a leadership position (as an employee) in a company, where he/she owns by himself/herself or together with his/hers family at least 50% of the company 
  • works in a leadership position in a company, where he/she owns at least 15 % of the company OR
  • works in a leadership position in a company, where he/she together with his/hers family owns at least 30% of the company.

Indirect holding through another company can be added to a persons share of ownership if he/she and his/hers family together own at least 50 % of the intermediate holding company.

Definitions

In the context of unemployment security, family members include a spouse or cohabiting partner, children, and grandchildren as well as parents and grandparents living in the same household.

A person is considered to work in a leadership position, if he/she is

  • a managing director,
  • a chairperson,
  • a ordinary board member OR
  • in a similar position in a limited company or other company / entity.