The earnings-related daily allowance protects you from the twists and turns of your working life

Topics

• Income security
• Membership
• YTK

Working life throws up challenges – sometimes positive, sometimes negative. It’s good to prepare for both in advance; changing jobs or even changing fields altogether, taking a break between jobs, moving up the career ladder or becoming involuntarily unemployed.

Few of us think about unemployment until it hits us. However, membership of an unemployment fund can be a crucial factor in maintaining financial security in the event of a sudden job loss.

People often think that I won’t be unemployed, when in reality we are all at risk, regardless of our sector or work experience. And it’s part of working life!

Unemployment does not have to mean financial hardship when you are entitled to a earnings-related daily allowance. It provides support during a period of unemployment.

As a member of the Fund, you can make bolder choices in your working life, knowing that the Fund will protect you if the unexpected happens.

With the income support, I don’t have to compromise on essential expenses.

YTK Unemployment Fund member

Members of the unemployment fund receive earnings-related daily allowance based on their earnings. The earnings-related daily allowance can be as high as 50-60% of the salary, which means that the monthly income during unemployment is considerably higher than the basic daily allowance of around 800 € paid by Kela.

If you are used to receiving a monthly salary of 4 000 €, for example, which is enough to cover your housing, food, hobbies and daily expenses in addition to your bills, falling on Kela’s basic daily allowance can cause a financial crisis.

As a member of the unemployment fund, for example, with a monthly salary of 4 000 €, the earnings-related daily allowance is considerably higher, up to more than 2 000 €/month.

Every month, a couple of hundred daily allowance claimants miss out on income support because they joined the unemployment fund too late.

Jyri Sundin, Unemployment benefit expert at the YTK

The Unemployment Fund’s earnings-related daily allowance, which is proportional to your salary, is much more generous than Kela’s basic daily allowance, which is the same for everyone.

See the table above to see how much you would save by joining the unemployment fund, or use the daily allowance calculator to get a more accurate estimate.

Financial protection alone is not always enough

The legal assistance saved me so much! In practice, the service added a thousands of euros of value to me.

YTK Worklife member

Membership of the unemployment fund will therefore protect your income during unemployment, but there may be situations in working life when financial security alone is not enough. As a member of the YTK Unemployment Fund, you can get more support from YTK Worklife.

Have you been in a situation where you think your employment contract was terminated for the wrong reasons, or do you want to make sure that your salary is paid correctly? When a controversial issue arises, you need legal advice, which is often expensive. A combined membership of the YTK Unemployment Fund and YTK Worklife costs just under 11 €/month.

In addition to income support, this gives you a comprehensive package of services from YTK Worklife, which provides legal advice on work-related problems such as wages and interpretation of employment contracts, as well as help in case of disputes. You also get training and tools to help you develop your career and promote your well-being, both at work and during your time off.

Too many people miss out on the full help of the lawyers in employment problems because they have joined the YTK Worklife too late and the six-month membership requirement is not met.

Taija Numminen, YTK Worklife Senior lawyer

Economic uncertainty is one of the biggest causes of stress

When you know that your finances are covered by income support during unemployment, you can focus on finding a new job or training without constant worries about your income. Employment support ensures that you stay on top of the changing world and provides help with employment challenges when things get complicated. For a similar amount of money, there is simply no one package that is as good for your working life and its twists and turns.