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There are many ways to use your unemployment or layoff time for studying. You can read more about these opportunities in our knowledge bank. In this section, we focus on how the employment authority assesses the impact of your studies on your eligibility to earnings-related daily allowance.
The main rule is that if you are a full-time student, you are not eligible to earnings-related daily allowance.
The assessment of studies from the point of view of eligibility to unemployment benefit is the task of the employment authorities. If you need any further advice in these matters, do no hesitate to contact the TE Services.
Full-time studies
If you are studying, you must report it to the employment service. The employment authority will ask you for details concerning your studies. The employment authority will assess the extent of your studies based on the information you provide. The assessment is made by taking into account the degree objectives and the scope of the studies.
Full-time studies include
studies aimed at obtaining a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences
studies aimed at obtaining a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree at a university
studies in accordance with the Act on Vocational Education and Training aimed at completing a vocational upper secondary qualification or part thereof, or preparatory education and training for work and independent living
general upper secondary school studies with a total scope of at least 150 ECTS credits according to the syllabus; however, general upper secondary school studies in a boarding school are always considered full-time;
studies aimed at completing the education referred to in the Act on Preparatory Education for Education and Training to Complete a Qualification
studies in basic education for persons other than those of compulsory school age referred to in the Basic Education Act, the scope of which is at least 22 courses per school year
studies completed at the Open University and the Open University of Applied Sciences, the total duration of which according to the study plan is more than three months without interruption or in phases and the extent of which is at least five ECTS credits per one month of study on average
studies aimed at completing a postgraduate degree at a university, the scope of which according to the study plan is at least five ECTS credits per one month of study on average
studies in accordance with the Act on Vocational Education and Training aimed at completing a further vocational qualification or a specialist vocational qualification or part thereof, the scope of which according to the personal competence development plan is at least 4.5 credits per one month of study on average
education provided at a folk high school or sports training centre referred to in the Act on Liberal Adult Education, the scope of which according to the curriculum is at least 5 credits per one month of study or 25 teaching hours per week on average
full-time studies providing vocational skills other than those mentioned under items 1 –10 that are provided at least four days per calendar week on average
Exceptions to full-time status
The employment authority will not consider your studies as full-time if it can be established on the basis of at least six months’ regular employment or business activity during your studies that your studies do not prevent you from accepting full-time employment.
Your studies will not be considered full-time if you have already started your studies during your employment relationship and the unemployment is due to a lay-off or dismissal on financial or production-related grounds.
Studies are also not considered full-time
between periods, if the studies are arranged periodically and the studies concerned are
short-term studies
studies arranged as labour market training;
jobseekers’ independent studies supported by an unemployment benefit;
self-motivated studies referred to in the Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration;
to the extent that you participate in training organised or acquired by your employer pursuant to chapter 7, section 13 of the Employment Contracts Act or chapter 8, section 11 of the Maritime Labour Contracts Act
when participating in transition security training;
when the studies are part of a service promoting employment.
Short-term studies
Full-time studies do not affect your right to earnings-related daily allowance if:
you have turned 25 before the start of your studies
the duration of the study module or the remaining duration of the studies does not exceed six months, either continuously or in phases, and
The studies provide you with professional skills or support your business activities
The employment authority may only apply this to studies you have started earlier if at least one year has passed since the demonstrable interruption of your previous studies. This restriction does not apply to you if you have started your studies during the period of employment or accrual of financial benefits. The restriction also does not apply to studies pursued as labour market training.
You can use the possibility of short-term studies with earnings-related unemployment allowance only once per a cycle of employment requirement. If you have studied for a short period with earnings-related daily allowance, you can use the option again only after a new cycle of employment requirement after the short-term studies.
End of full-time studies
When you study full-time, you are a full-time student until your studies end.
Unless there are grounds for another assessment, your studies are considered completed if:
you have graduated from studies
you have resigned from an educational institution or given up your right to study at a university
you have lost your right to study or it has been cancelled
you have completed a vocational partial qualification and you will not continue your studies
your labour market training has ended and you will not continue your studies
Your preparatory education for the competence-based examination has ended. or
your studies have been interrupted for at least a year
If you complete the entire syllabus of upper secondary school or basic education, you are a full-time student until the end of the academic term.
You are also a full-time student until the end of the term if you have not completed the matriculation examination and you participate in at least two examinations included in the matriculation examination during the term following completion of the upper secondary school syllabus or vocational upper secondary qualification or the term thereafter.
