Frequently asked about adjusted daily allowance

If you work at an 80 % part-time job (at most) then you can apply for  adjusted earnings-related daily allowance, as long as you keep your job seeker status with the TE Office active. Also, inform the TE Office that you have started a part-time job so that they are aware of your situation.

Apply for daily allowance according to your normal application period. If necessary, we can change your application period to correspond with the period your wage is paid. We will inform you if it is necessary to change your application period once we receive your employment contract and the first application that includes working hours is being processed.

  • If the pay period for wages from your part-time work is a calendar month (for instance your wages for the current month are paid in the middle of the following month), apply for daily allowance monthly.
  • If the pay period for wages from your part-time work is 2 calendar weeks (Mon-Sun), apply for daily allowance every 4 calendar weeks (Mon-Sun) in such a way that every application period includes two pay periods.

Mark “unemployed” on the days of your application during which you have not worked. The days you have worked, inform the daily working hours according to how you will be paid. You can update your application’s day-to-day information by reporting that you have worked part-time during the application period in addition to being unemployed in the “In addition, I have been” section of the application.  

Attach your employment contract regarding your part-time work to the first application you send with working hours marked. It is also good to attach a copy of your pay slip if you have been paid during the application period. 

We primarily use the information available in the Incomes Register when processing applications. However, the sufficiency of the information available varies, because employers can choose to submit payment details using either extensive or limited payment information. In addition, employers can submit voluntary information. The more extensive the information submitted to the Incomes Register is, the more likely it is that we will not need separate pay slips. If the information in the Incomes Register is not sufficient to process your application, we will send you a request to submit your pay slips during the processing of your application.

You can find more information about adjusted daily allowance here.

Because your full-time job did not last longer than 2 weeks, you can fill in your application for your normal application period. When filling in the form, check off that you have been employed in addition to being unemployed. Check off which days you have worked and fill in the daily working hours based on how many hours of work you will be paid for the corresponding day. If you will be paid wages from a full-time job that lasts for 2 weeks at most, your application will be processed as an  adjusted daily allowance application. This means that wages paid during the application period will affect the amount of daily allowance from the same period. If you are paid your wages during your next application period, the wages will in turn affect the daily allowance from that period.

Send the Fund a copy of your employment contract and any pay slips with payment dates during the application period as attachments to your application. If your wages have not been paid yet, write down an estimate of your future payment date, and send the pay slip once you receive it. 

If your job was occasional, then there is no need to change your application period. However, if you will be working in the future as well, it would be good to change your application period to correspond with the period your wage is paid, if the periods do not correspond already.

When it is clear that the new job is going to last longer than 2 weeks, you may send your application for your last week of unemployment on the last day you are unemployed. In this case, you do not need to wait until the entire 4-week period has passed. You can send the application by editing the application period to your last week of unemployment and by reporting that you will be starting a full-time job that lasts longer than 2 weeks when the form asks you why you are applying for a period shorter than your usual application period. 

Please also inform the TE Office that you are starting a full-time job that lasts longer than 2 weeks so that they can update their statement. If your job is fixed-term, remember to activate your job seeker status with the TE Office again after your employment.

Income from part-time work or full-time work that lasts 2 weeks at most affects your adjusted daily allowance on a so-called payment basis. With payment-based adjusted daily allowance, the income affects the application period during which the income has been paid. The period from which the income has been earned is not relevant.

If you are on paid annual holiday during your application period, report the days you are on paid annual holiday on your application. It would also be good to send the Fund a copy of any pay slips concerning the pay during your paid annual holiday in case the holiday period is not specified in the Incomes Register.

What effect holiday bonuses and holiday compensation have on your daily allowance depends on whether the holiday bonus/compensation has been paid based on part-time or full-time work:

  • If your paid annual holiday is based on income from full-time work, we cannot pay you earnings-related daily allowance during your paid annual holiday. Full-time work is any work where the working time is more than 80 % of the maximum working time applied to the field in question. Holiday bonus earned from full-time work does not affect your daily allowance.
  • If your paid annual holiday is based on income from part-time work, you can be paid adjusted daily allowance during your paid annual holiday. The holiday bonus and holiday compensation paid based on part-time work will affect the amount of your adjusted daily allowance during the application period they were paid.

Inform the TE Office of your entrepreneurship. The TE Office will determine if your entrepreneurship will be deemed full-time or part-time and they will give the Fund a labor policy statement regarding the matter.

  • If the TE Office states that your entrepreneurship is part-time entrepreneurship, we can continue to pay you earnings-related daily allowance. If you receive income from your entrepreneurship, the income will affect the amount of your daily allowance during the application period the income is paid. The additional information about your entrepreneurship earnings that is necessary to process your application depends on what kind of entrepreneur you are: For example, private entrepreneurs (self-employed persons, private traders, sole proprietorship) need to inform their revenue and tax-deductible expenses each application period. Entrepreneurs working through invoicing service companies need to send a copy of their pay slip. Do not report the daily working hours from entrepreneurship on your application.
  • If the TE Office states that your entrepreneurship is full-time entrepreneurship, the payment of earnings-related daily allowance will cease on the date stated on the TE Office’s statement. Entrepreneurship lasting over 2 weeks and that began while unemployed is not evaluated as full-time or part-time until 4 months after starting the entrepreneurship. To continue payment of earnings-related daily allowance during this time you must inform the TE Office that you have started work as an entrepreneur and you must keep your job seeker status active. Inform the Fund of any income from your entrepreneurship as this income will affect the amount of your daily allowance according to the rules set for adjusted daily allowance.

Especially when full-time entrepreneurship lasts for a longer time, it is good to remember that as a full-time entrepreneur you can remain a member of a wage earner fund for only 18 months at most. In cases like this, we advise you to consider transferring to the Entrepreneur Fund as soon as possible after starting work as an entrepreneur. More information on the Entrepreneur Fund’s website.