Political strikes and the earnings-related allowance

Some trade unions have announced work stoppages in protest against the government plans.

The unemployment funds will not pay a strike pay during the political work stoppages. The stoppages are also not a valid basis for an earnings-related allowance. If you have any questions about strike pay, please contact your trade union.

The work stoppages will not affect the entitlement to earnings-related allowance of persons who are completely unemployed or laid off.

Work stoppages in part-time work

If an unpaid work stoppage lasts for the entire working day, it is considered an unpaid absence in unemployment security, and you are not entitled to an earnings-related allowance for that absence. For that reason, we cannot pay you earnings-related allowance for the work stoppage days that happen on your working days if you work part-time or apply for an adjusted allowance.

Please remember to report the work stoppage days in your earnings-related allowance application.

Example:

You work part-time and apply for adjusted allowance from the fund for the period of 1–30 November 2023. You participate in a work stoppage that last the entirety of your work day on 7 November 2023. When you fill out the daily reports of the application, write down “työnseisaus” (work stoppage) for this day.

We cannot pay you an earnings-related allowance for the work stoppage of 7 November 2023. We will process your earnings-related allowance application normally for the periods of 1–6 November 2023 and 8–30 November 2023.

Impact of a work stoppage on job alternation leave

Please note that unpaid work stoppage days may affect your ability to take job alternation leave.

To take a job alternation leave, your employment relationship with the same employer must have lasted continuously for at least 13 months before the start of the job alternation leave. This 13-month period may include a maximum of 30 days of unpaid absences.

The work stoppage will not affect your job alternation allowance if you are already on alternation leave.