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

Please contact your own unemployment fund or Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Based on unemployment, you are entitled either to unemployment allowance (earnings-related or basic) or to labour market support. Further information on unemployment benefits is available on Kela's website.

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

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.

The required period in paid employment will be temporarily shortened to 13 calendar weeks instead of the present 26 calendar weeks.

For non-owner family members of entrepreneurs the required period of employment will be temporarily shortened to 26 calendar weeks instead of the present 52 calendar weeks.

In the present situation, unemployment allowances paid on the grounds of layoffs will not be taken into account in calculating the maximum period of payment that applies to the unemployment allowance. This amendment will improve unemployment security should the unemployment be prolonged. 

The five-day waiting period before a person is eligible for unemployment security will be abolished. This concerns earning-related allowance, basic unemployment allowance and labour market support.

A person who by his or her own decision is staying in quarantine-like conditions, thus also following the Government’s recommendations, is as a rule not entitled to compensation. One cannot just decide to stay out of work, but the obligation to work based on an employment contract applies during a virus epidemic as well. The first thing to do in workplaces is to organise the work in new ways, also making use of remote work, or move persons to tasks where the risk is smaller.

A person is entitled to sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease when ordered to stay in quarantine-like conditions by a physician specialised in infectious diseases. Sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease is applied for from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela. Further details on the application and the conditions for the allowance are also available at Kela.

Temporary financial support due to the epidemic compensates for loss of earnings in a situation where a person stays away from work without pay to care for a child who is entitled to early childhood education and care or contact education during the epidemic. Compensation for loss of earnings is also payable in a situation where a person has been advised to stay in quarantine-like conditions after returning to Finland from abroad. Eligibility for the compensation is subject to the condition that the employee and employer have agreed on the unpaid absence from work. (Pressrelease: Temporary support for those absent from work with no pay due to the coronavirus epidemic)

Sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease and temporary financial support due to the epidemic are intended to compensate for loss of earnings. 

Temporary financial support due to the epidemic compensates for loss of income when the child does not participate in early childhood education or in contact teaching related to school education, and therefore the parent remains unpaid at home to care for the child during the epidemic, in accordance with the Finnish Government’s recommendations.

The support applies to parents whose children are in early childhood education and care, pre-primary education or in grades 1 to 3. Even parents of pupils in need of special support or pupils in extended compulsory education and preparatory education are entitled to the financial support. 

A parent or guardian in a contractual or public-service employment relationship in Finland has the right to the financial support, or a spouse living in the same household as the parent or guardian. 

The support is payable if the loss of earnings are not compensated under other legislation, such as the Communicable Diseases Act. Obtaining compensation requires an agreement between the employee and the employer on unpaid absence.

The amount of the support is the same as the minimum parental allowance, i.e. EUR 28.94 per weekday (EUR 723.50 per month). The support is available during the emergency conditions, as from 16 March. Parents of schoolchildren will receive support during school term.

The support can be applied retroactively from the Social Insurance Institution Kela. 

Temporary financial support due to the epidemic is available to persons arriving in Finland from abroad, who were placed in quarantine-like conditions and who are therefore away from work without pay.

A group of seasonal workers arriving in the country can also receive the temporary support if their employment relationship starts with two weeks' unpaid absence from work in quarantine-like conditions.

The condition for the compensation is that the person has a contractual or public-service employment relationship in force in Finland but is absent from work without pay. The support will be paid for a maximum period of 14 days from the date of arrival in Finland.

The support will be payable if the loss of earnings were not compensated under other legislation, such as the Communicable Diseases Act. Obtaining compensation requires an agreement between the employee and the employer on unpaid absence.

The support amount is EUR 28.94 per weekday (EUR 723.50 per month). It is available during the emergency conditions, as from 16 March. The support can be applied retroactively from the Social Insurance Institution Kela. 

Belonging to a risk group does not automatically entitle anyone to compensation. A person who, by his or her own decision, is staying in quarantine-like conditions, thus also following the Government’s recommendations, is as a rule not entitled to compensation.

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.

Processing of unemployment benefit applications is being accelerated starting 11 May 2020.

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs has issued instructions to the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) and municipalities on how to handle social assistance applications as smoothly as possible during the coronavirus epidemic. Due to the crisis, clients’ chances of influencing, for example, their own employment or changing housing are now limited, so some of the requirements imposed on the client have been temporarily waived. Such appendices and explanations are not required that are not necessary in this exceptional situation. This will also reduce the workload of Kela and the municipalities. 

As a rule, all available income and assets are taken into account when granting social assistance. Short-term support may be granted in exceptional circumstances without the need to realise assets. However, this does not apply to cash, which is reasonable to use first in order to secure the person’s own subsistence in exceptional circumstances.

Under exceptional circumstances, additional costs arising from home delivery of medicines may be considered as healthcare costs necessary for the client. The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela, may include such costs in a financial obligation given to a pharmacy if basic social assistance is granted to the client.

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.

The basic social assistance takes into account the actual amount of housing expenditure. In normal circumstances, it would be considered whether the housing costs are reasonable.  However, this requirement has been abandoned for new clients for the duration of this exceptional situation, and therefore the clients are not urged to change housing.

Decisions on basic social assistance must be made within 7 working days by law. As the authorities will probably receive lots of applications, the target period for application processing may be exceeded. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has recommended that people who have run out of money or have an urgent situation be given priority in the application processing.

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Due to the coronavirus outbreak, rehabilitative work taking place in groups is largely suspended. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has decided that municipalities may continue to organise rehabilitative work during the epidemic if the municipality is able to carry it out in a manner that minimises the risk of communicable diseases, and if the municipality agrees about the arrangements with the client. In this case, the client can be paid benefits and expense allowances related to the rehabilitative work.

The municipality may also suspend the rehabilitative work activities during the epidemic if the activities cannot be carried out in a way that minimises the risks. Before doing so, the municipality must notify the TE Office and inform the client. The clients will not lose their benefits and their social assistance will not be reduced while the activities are suspended, but they will not receive any expense allowance.

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.