Avoid the pitfalls of unemployment benefits – read Emilia’s story and essential tips

Topics

• Income security
• Lay-off
• Unemployment

We recently read in the media about Emilia from Espoo, who was facing challenges in accessing unemployment benefits due to reforms in the public employment services. We contacted Emilia and asked if she would like to share her story. We also put together some tips to avoid many of the pitfalls of unemployment benefits during the application process.

Emilia Sundström is a qualified domestic seafarer and works as a waterbus supervisor. Due to her seasonal work, Sundström has been on temporary lay-off for several years and has been receiving earnings-related daily allowance.

Public employment services were transferred to the municipalities at the turn of the year, when the TE Offices were abolished. The municipalities have set up employment areas to carry out this task.

The deadlines are important!

The first difficulties Sundström encountered were when she tried to register as an unemployed jobseeker through the Job Market Centre in early November. The system did not work and the form could not be sent.

“When I tried to find out, I was instructed to send my unemployment application using a pdf form. I was also instructed to go to the Employment Services office to prove my identity. However, there was a deadline, which I only found out about later.”

The deadline for Sundström to visit the office had passed. To her surprise, a few weeks later he received a letter informing her that she could not be paid the earnings-related daily allowance because she had failed to prove her identity within the deadline and had not registered as an unemployed jobseeker.

“I made a claim for redress and sent it to the email address of the employment services mentioned in the letter. When I did not hear anything within a few weeks, I went to the office. Then I managed to register as an unemployed jobseeker from that day and they started to sort out my case.”

It turned out that the e-mail address to which the complaint had been sent was no longer active after the turn of the year.

Ask for advice and be active

Sundström’s appeal has now been upheld and she has been granted the retroactive payment of the daily allowances to which she is entitled.

“It’s been worrying, stressful from the start. I’ve been laid off for several years and in the past I’ve managed to do things easily and painlessly online. In hindsight, of course, it’s easy to say what should have been done. In the moment, you do what you think is best.”

Sundström feels that she has received advice if she has been able to ask for it. However, there are some things that you don’t know how to or don’t know what to ask for. It is therefore important to get all the advice and guidance you need from the experts.

“The public employment services are in a tough situation right now, it’s not easy for them. My best advice to others in the same situation is not to wait, but to act now. Processing times can be long and you may not hear about your case until it is being processed. Call and ask.”

Sundström also advises asking for information and advice in writing. On the phone, you may not remember everything that was said.

Here’s what to do if you become unemployed or are laid off

If you become unemployed or are laid off, register as a jobseeker immediately. You can register as a jobseeker even before your unemployment or lay-off starts. However, you must register at the latest on the first day of unemployment or lay-off. We can only pay you unemployment benefit for as long as you are registered as seeking work.

To register as a jobseeker, go to the Job Market’s E-services section. You can log in with your bank details.

The Job Market is a national platform for public employment services. If you log in and only create the first job search profile in the menu, you may fail to register as a jobseeker. A job search profile is different from registering as a jobseeker. So be careful. There is also a link in the service to E-services, where you can register as a jobseeker.

Once your job search is in order and you have been unemployed or laid off for two weeks, you can make your first application for daily allowance. However, you must apply within three months of the start of your unemployment or lay-off.

How do I know if my registration as a jobseeker has been received?

Once you have registered as a jobseeker in the Job Market’s E-services section, the service will tell you which employment area is responsible for your service. You can also see whether your job application is valid or not.

What do I do if I’m not sure?

If you are not sure, contact the customer service in your employment area immediately. You can find contact details on the regional pages of the Job Market. There you will find the contact details for your employment area based on your municipality.

What should I do if I cannot start looking for a job because of a technical issue or error situation?

If you are unable to register as a jobseeker due to a technical issue or error situation, contact the customer service centre in your employment area in the first instance. Issues not dealt with due to a technical issue or error situation can typically be rectified afterwards. You can find the contact details you need on the Job Market website.

When can I apply for daily allowance?

After two weeks of unemployment or lay-off, you can send us your first application. If the period of unemployment or lay-off is shorter than this, you can send us your application as soon as the unemployment or lay-off ends.

The most convenient way to make an application is to do it on our online service OmaYTK. The daily allowance is always applied for retroactively, so you cannot submit your application in advance before the end of the application period.

How do I know that my application for daily allowance has been received by the YTK?

Once you have submitted your application in the OmaYTK, you will immediately receive a notification that your application has been sent. The application will then be displayed on the OmaYTK homepage.

How do I know when my application will be processed and I will receive my money?

On our website, you will find a payment forecast with an estimate of the processing status of your application and the date on which applications received are currently being processed.