How do fringe benefits affect earnings-related daily allowance?

In employment, examples of fringe benefits include company housing, access to electricity or a garage, meals, full board, company car and telephone.

In terms of unemployment security, such taxable fringe benefits are considered income. The income you receive when you are unemployed or laid off may affect the amount of earnings-related daily allowance you are paid. However, this requires that adjustment is applied in your case. You can read more about this in the section on part-time work.

The Unemployment Security Act carefully defines the situations in which we will calculate the effect of your income on the daily allowance. Because of these regulations, sometimes in unemployment or lay-off situations, we will count the fringe benefits and sometimes we will not count them. It depends on whether adjustment is applied in your case or not. That, in turn, depends on the way you are laid off or if you receive income from part-time work, full-term work lasting less than two weeks or from working part-time as an entrepreneur.

• If you become completely unemployed or are laid off full-time, adjustment is not applied. Even if you keep your fringe benefit after becoming unemployed or being laid off, it will not affect the amount of your earnings-related daily allowance.
• If your lay off means you work a shorter working week, adjustment is not applied. Even if you keep your fringe benefit when you are laid off, it will not affect the amount of your earnings-related daily allowance.
• If your lay off means you work a shorter working day, adjustment is applied. It means that we will consider the taxable value of your fringe benefit when we calculate the amount of your earnings-related daily allowance. In other words, the fringe benefit means that you will be paid less in your earnings-related daily allowance.
• If you are laid off full-time or if your lay off means you work a shorter working week, but you work part-time for your employer or another employer, adjustment is applied. We will consider the taxable value of your fringe benefit when we calculate the amount of your earnings-related daily allowance. In other words, the fringe benefit means that you will be paid less in your earnings-related daily allowance.
• If you receive income from part-time work, full-time work lasting less than two weeks or from working part-time as entrepreneur, adjustment is applied. It means that we will consider the taxable value of your fringe benefit when we calculate the amount of your earnings-related daily allowance. In other words, the fringe benefit means that you will be paid less in your earnings-related daily allowance.