20.10.2022
The Government is proposing improvements to the opportunities for unemployed people to study
The Government has submitted a proposal to Parliament for greater opportunities for jobseekers to study as of 1 January 2023. In the future, jobseekers will be able to study more without losing their unemployment benefits.
Please note that these legislative amendments are not yet in force. We will provide more information on the matter as we receive new information on the progress of the proposed amendments.
Greater opportunities for jobseekers to study
Full-time students are not entitled to unemployment benefits. However, jobseekers who study part-time may receive unemployment benefits. Jobseekers in this position have several obligations, including applying for – and being prepared to accept – full-time work. The Government proposes that in the future, jobseekers will be able to study more without losing their unemployment benefits.
The amendment would give jobseekers the freedom to pursue other studies than just the ones specifically listed and defined as full-time in the law without losing their unemployment benefits. Examples of such forms of study could include shorter courses and training programmes, education towards a qualification, and further education. It is already possible to complete some of these types of studies without forfeiting unemployment benefits. In the future, the impact of such studies on the entitlement to unemployment benefits will no longer be assessed. There will also be no suspension of benefits during the assessment period.
In the future, open university studies lasting no longer than three months will also not affect the entitlement to unemployment benefits.
Full-time studies could be shown to be part-time in the future
Studies towards a degree will still be full-time, and such students will not be entitled to unemployment benefits while studying. However, it will still be possible to show that any form of studying is part-time if the jobseeker had a previously established routine of employment or working as an entrepreneur for at least six months while studying. In such cases, studying is not considered an obstacle to accepting a full-time job, and the jobseeker may receive unemployment benefits.
In the future, if a person began studying while in employment, it would not prevent them from receiving unemployment benefits if they became unemployed due to a lay-off or dismissal on financial or production-related grounds. Studies completed as part of an employment-promoting service will also not affect the unemployment benefit.
Changes to the obligation to work for people studying on their own initiative
Some unemployed jobseekers begin studying on their own initiative with the support of unemployment benefits. Currently, students who study on their own initiative for more than one month should, in principle, apply for three job opportunities in a three-month period. In the future, they should, in principle, apply for four job opportunities a month in order to receive unemployment benefits.
In other words, people studying on their own initiative with the support of unemployment benefits will have the same obligation to seek employment as unemployed jobseekers in general.
The change in the obligation to seek employment will not apply to jobseekers who have not completed education towards a qualification or degree that provides them with vocational skills after having completed compulsory education or upper secondary education. It will also not apply to jobseekers in full-time literacy studies with the support of unemployment benefits.
More information
More information on the Government’s proposal can be found in Finnish on the
website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
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