A few words about unemployment fund membership and accruing earnings-related unemployment benefit

Joining an unemployment fund is worth it, as earnings-related unemployment benefit is considerably larger than the basic unemployment benefit paid by Kela. So, have you remembered to join an unemployment fund?

As a member of TAKU, you can join the Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees ERKO. Membership of the unemployment fund is part of your membership subscription, meaning membership does not incur any additional costs for you. Members who are in salaried employment should indeed join ERKO as soon as they join TAKU. If you need to, you can update your application and join ERKO by filling out this form.

Students can join ERKO and have their membership automatically begin as soon as they start earning a salary.

You can estimate how much unemployment benefit you would be entitled to using this calculator.

Am I entitled to earnings-linked unemployment benefit? How is earnings-linked unemployment benefit accumulated?

You can receive earnings-linked unemployment benefit from an unemployment fund if

• you are fully or partially unemployed (e.g. in part-time work or laid off);
• you are looking for full-time work or have registered as an unemployed jobseeker with TE Services;
• you are a member of an unemployment fund: and
• you have been in work for 26 weeks (around 6 months) while you were a member of the unemployment fund.

To get earnings-linked unemployment benefit, you must have been in work for 26 weeks. Thus, the soonest you can receive earnings-linked unemployment benefit is after 6 months of working. Calendar weeks in which you worked for at least 18 hours are included. Earnings-linked unemployment benefit is accumulated from salary paid under your employment contract. This is the salary from which the statutory social security, pension, unemployment insurance and income tax are deducted. If there is no collective bargaining agreement in your sector, the total salary must be at least € 1 399 /month (in 2024).

The weeks you work do not need to be consecutive. That is why you should start accumulating working months while you study.The weeks you worked from the previous 2 years 4 months can be counted. If you have been studying, ill, doing national service, on sabbatical, being supported by a grant or caring for a child under three, for example, that period is longer. At most, the weeks worked from the previous 9 years 4 months can be counted. Working periods can also be accepted as long as the work is done in another EU country.

For teachers, calendar weeks when working time has been at least half of the lowest weekly hours of a full-time hourly paid teacher in the subject or sector in question are counted. For example, in comprehensive school and upper secondary school, 8 hours a week is the minimum for the week to be counted. In a teaching field in which there are now full-time hourly paid teachers, the required teaching time is 8 hours a week.

Earnings-linked unemployment benefit is paid to unemployed people aged 17 to 64. If you are laid off, however, you can receive the benefit until the end of the month of your 68th birthday.