How to apply for daily allowance and what documents you need to attach

There are several changes to the Unemployment Insurance Act for autumn 2024. The changes will have little impact on the application for daily allowance. The biggest change is that 12 months of salary data will be required, whereas previously six months were sufficient.

In this article, we have summarized the things you need to bear in mind when applying for the daily allowance. By filling in your application carefully and providing all the necessary supporting documents, you will ensure that the fund can process your application as quickly as possible.

Here's what to do

Make sure that you are registered as an unemployed jobseeker with the Public Employment Service and that your jobseeker status is uninterrupted. Unemployment benefit can only be paid for a period for which the fund has received a favorable statement from the employment authority.
Apply for unemployment benefit conveniently via our online service WebKassa, which you can access from the top right-hand corner of the cashier's website. You can apply for daily allowance in four-week or one-month periods. You can also submit a first application for a shorter period, but at least two full calendar weeks.
In your application, please indicate all the days and hours worked during the period covered by your application and any paid and unpaid absences, such as holidays or sick leave.
Although the unemployment fund no longer needs the data on hours worked to monitor the working condition, the data are still needed, for example, to check the working time limit for the adjusted daily allowance and to calculate the 7-day waiting period. The unemployment fund also needs information on paid and unpaid absences to determine your eligibility for unemployment benefit. For example, a day of unpaid absence taken at your own request is not entitled to daily allowance.
Attach the necessary documents to your application. Submit them to the unemployment fund:

Pay slips for your most recent employment. If you are applying for the first time or if there is a long break in your application, you will need at least 12 months of pay slips.
The Unemployment Fund receives your salary data directly from the Income Register, but in many cases the information in the Income Register is not sufficient to process your daily allowance application. For example, the Income Register does not always provide information on the period during which your salary has been earned, which is particularly important in the transition phase, i.e. when your working period is partly before and partly after 2 September 2024. In addition, it is not always clear from the data in the Incomes Register whether your salary includes items that cannot be taken into account in the calculation of the working condition. For example, “other paid bonuses” (muu maksettu lisä) are a type of salary item for which the fund always needs more detailed information.
A statement of weekly working time for work done before 2 September 2024, if you have not worked at least 18 hours every week and your working time has varied from week to week.
An employment contract if you continue to work or start a new job during unemployment.
A certificate of employment or a certificate of appointment if your employment has ended completely.
Notice of dismissal, if your employment has ended with notice or your working time has been reduced.
Notice of lay-off, if you have been laid off
Termination of employment agreement, if there is a separate agreement on the termination of your employment and/or the conditions of termination.
Your most recent personal tax return, if you or a family member has a business or income from agriculture or forestry during your period of unemployment.
Tax card, if necessary. The fund receives tax information directly from the tax authorities. Please note, however, that benefits are taxed differently from wages. We recommend that you obtain a revised tax card for social security benefits.
Any other attachments that the fund asks you to provide. We only ask for the information necessary to process your application.

Please submit the attachments with your application via our e-service in WebKassa.

Processing of the application

We process applications in the order in which they are received. You can follow the status of your application in WebKassa. If we need more information, we will contact you.

How to apply for daily allowance and what documents you need to attach

Here's what to do

Processing of the application

Read more about applying for a daily allowance and attachments