Individuals' and families' financial benefits and allowances during the coronavirus situation

Sickness allowance based on an infectious disease is intended to compensate for loss of income if the physician responsible for infectious disease control in the municipality or hospital district has ordered the person to stay away from work or placed the person in quarantine or isolation in order to prevent the spread of an infectious disease.

The amount of the allowance is equal to the amount of lost income.

Foreign workers employed in Finland are also entitled to sickness allowance based on an infectious disease. For example, foreigners who are temporarily working (shipyards, construction sites etc.) in the country and who have not moved here permanently are entitled to sickness allowance.

For more information, please see the website of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela):

• Sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease
   
• Kela’s press release on the right of foreign workers employed in Finland to receive communicable disease allowance

You can apply for support at your own unemployment fund or Kela. Unemployment funds and Kela are responsible for all matters relating to the applications and their processing.

Follow Kela's website about unemployment benefits in the coronavirus situation.

Persons who choose to stay in quarantine-like conditions are not, as a rule, entitled to compensation even though they observe the Government’s recommendations. People cannot just decide to stay away from work but the obligation to work based on an employment contract also applies during a virus epidemic. The first thing to do in workplaces is to organize the work in new ways, if possible, for example by making use of remote work or transferring people to tasks where the risk is smaller.

A person is entitled to communicable disease allowance when placed in quarantine or isolation by a physician specialized in infectious diseases. Communicable disease allowance is applied for from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). For more information on the application and the conditions for receiving allowance, please contact Kela.

Communicable disease allowance is intended to compensate for loss of income. Pensioners who do not work while on pension are not entitled to this allowance.

Children have the right to attend early childhood education and care or contact teaching in primary school grades 1 to 3 despite the epidemic. If there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in an individual school or daycare centre, children can be placed in quarantine. In such cases, those who have custody of the children are entitled to communicable disease allowance. 

If a child falls ill, the provisions of the Employment Contracts Act and collective agreements concerning temporary absence from work are observed. A person with custody of the child is not therefore entitled to compensation during their absence from work. 

If people decide to self-isolate as recommended by the Government but this is not based on a decision made by a physician specialised in infectious diseases, they are not entitled to compensation. As a rule, they should agree with their employer on work arrangements or ask, for example, if they could take some of their annual leave days. 

Belonging to a risk group does not automatically entitle anyone to compensation. Persons who choose to stay in quarantine-like conditions are not, as a rule, entitled to compensation, although they are following the Government’s recommendations.

In cases where employees belonging to risk groups are working in positions in which remote work is not possible and where the risk of being exposed to infection is high, the employer must try to make arrangements so that these persons can transfer to positions where the risk of being exposed to infection is lower. Remote work is currently advised for all employees whose tasks can be carried out from home.

As a rule, all available income and assets are taken into account when granting social assistance. You are not required to sell off your home or any tools you need. You can get social assistance on a short-term basis without having to realise your immovable property. However, if you have any assets that are easy to realise, such as shares or fund units, you must use them to secure your subsistence before you can become eligible for social assistance. 

The Social Insurance Institution (Kela) can grant you a financial commitment for necessary medical expenses as part of basic social assistance. As a rule, any additional costs for home delivery of medicines are not covered by the financial commitment. In some special situations, you might get a financial commitment that covers home delivery costs if a healthcare professional deems home delivery necessary.

Food is covered by basic social assistance, and any additional costs associated with buying food can be covered by supplementary social assistance. If Kela has made a decision on granting basic social assistance, supplementary social assistance can be applied for at the municipal social administration. Municipalities have introduced even other local arrangements for grocery purchasing. You can ask about the arrangements directly from your municipality of residence.

Basic social assistance takes into account the actual amount of housing costs, unless they can be considered to be excessive. If your housing costs exceed the amount considered reasonable by your municipality, the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) will advise you to apply for a cheaper flat. While Kela cannot force you to move, in some cases it may take into account your housing costs only to the amount considered reasonable. 

Decisions on basic social assistance must be made within 7 working days by law. The Social Insurance Institution has been able to process the applications for basic social assistance quickly, and there are no exceptional backlogs in sight. 

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The responsibility for arranging temporary accommodation rests with the social services of your municipality. The authorities placing a person under quarantine must contact the municipal social services if it becomes clear that the person does not have a residence.