Applying for an alternation allowance

To apply for an alternation allowance, you will need to submit a written application to your unemployment fund. Please note that you will need to sign an alternation leave agreement with your employer before you apply for an alternation allowance. Remember to also let the TE Office know about your alternation leave. See Agreeing to take alternation leave for more information.  

How do I apply for an alternation allowance?

You will find the alternation allowance application form under Forms. Fill in the application form and send it to the unemployment fund. You can submit your application and supporting documents via our eService under the Attachments. Alternatively, you can send your application and supporting documents to your unemployment fund by post. Please do not submit the alternation allowance application to your unemployment fund until you are about to go on alternation leave. A single application covers the allowance for the whole of your leave. We will start processing your application when your alternation leave begins. We will contact you if we need any further information. You will receive our decision on your alternation allowance in connection with your first payment. Please make sure to submit your alternation allowance application within the first three months of your alternation leave to avoid delays with your application. Please let us know as soon as possible of any changes in your situation during your alternation leave. Alternation allowances are paid in arrears for one calendar month at a time. The payment dates are listed under Alternation allowance payment dates.  

Documents to be submitted with your alternation allowance application

We need information about your earnings before your alternation leave in order to determine your alternation allowance.  We will obtain information about your salary from the Incomes Register. Sometimes, however, the information reported by your employer to the Incomes Register may not be sufficient. In this case, we will ask you or your employer for additional information regarding your salary.

Please enclose the following with your alternation allowance application

• Alternation leave agreement

Other supporting documents

• If you were paid a reduced salary in the 52 weeks preceding your alternation leave because of an illness, enclose a salary certificate with your application. The certificate should include a separate specification of the salary details for the periods in which your salary was reduced.
• If you took partial parental leave in the 13 months preceding your alternation leave, enclose an account of how the parental leave was implemented. We need details of the timing of the partial parental leave, as well as information on whether you had full days off work during the parental leave.
• Your latest confirmed tax assessment if you are a part-time entrepreneur or if you own a farm or a forest estate.
• If you received a performance-related bonus, enclose a certificate of the amount of the bonus and the period in which you earnt the bonus.
• Reliable evidence of all your employment relationships or similar periods that are not included in the Finnish Centre for Pensions’ pension records and without which you do not satisfy the employment history requirement.

Do I need to provide a tax card?

We receive your wage-based tax card information automatically from the Tax Administration. This means that you do not have to send us your tax card. Please note that when we use wage-based tax deduction card information, withholding tax on the benefit is always at least 25%, even if the percentage marked on your tax card is lower than that. If you wish, you can request a revised tax deduction card to account for your benefits from the Finnish Tax Administration. If we can base your allowance on a revised tax card, we can deduct tax based on the tax rate indicated on the card. You can request a revised tax deduction card from your local tax office or via the Finnish Tax Administration’s MyTax service. When you enter the Unemployment Fund Aria as the payer of the benefit, the Tax Administration will provide us with the information about your tax card electronically. For more information on the taxation of benefits and tax cards, see Taxation.