Exempt amount of unemployment benefit to be raised and conditions for commuting and relocation allowance to be amended temporarily

The exempt amount of the unemployment benefit will be temporarily raised. Eligibility for commuting and relocation allowance for full-time work will be temporarily amended by decreasing the distance required for daily commuting.

The Act on Temporary Derogations from the Unemployment Security Act due to the Coronavirus Epidemic will be amended.

The aim is to improve the financial security of unemployed persons when they take part-time work or other short-term work in a situation where full-time work is not yet available. 

Another aim is to help people find full-time work or seasonal work critical for agriculture.

Increase in the exempt amount of unemployment security

The exempt amount of the unemployment benefit will be temporarily raised. 

The aim is provide financial support to help people find part-time work or other short-term work in agriculture and horticulture enterprises or elsewhere. Moreover, the raised exempt amount will also apply to income from self-employment and unemployed jobseekers who already receive adjusted unemployment benefit. 

The exempt amount means the amount unemployed jobseekers can earn without an effect on their unemployment benefit.

The exempt amount will be temporarily raised from the current EUR 300 to EUR 500 per month (i.e., from EUR 279 to EUR 465 per four calendar weeks). 

Shorter daily commuting distance for commuting and relocation allowance

The commuting and relocation allowance will be temporarily available to persons who work full-time and whose daily commute at the start of employment takes at least two hours instead of the three hours currently required. The allowance can also be paid to persons who move because of a job a distance comparable to the daily commuting requirement. 

The aim is to increase regional mobility to help people find full-time work. The amendment applies to both seasonal work in agricultural and horticultural enterprises and other full-time work. 

The legislative amendments will be in force from 12 June to 31 October 2020. The raised exempt amount of the unemployment security will be applied when paying unemployment benefit for the application period starting on or after 1 June 2020.

Inquiries:

Marjaana Maisonlahti, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 163 288