Maximum payment period will not accumulate

The coronavirus is not your fault, and that’s why your maximum payment period will not accumulate.

A temporary amendment was passed in the spring according to which the maximum payment period of those laid off due to the coronavirus crisis shall not accumulate even though earnings-related daily allowance is paid. At the beginning of the summer the rule was extended so that the maximum payment period of the unemployed, entrepreneurs or those in part-time employment shall not accumulate, either.

Thus earnings-related daily allowance paid for the period from 1 July 2020 – 31 December 2020 shall not accumulate anybody’s maximum payment period. That applies to all recipients of daily allowance, regardless of the cause or start date of unemployment. Earnings-related daily allowance will again accumulate the maximum payment period from 1 January 2021 on.

The earlier amendment only concerned those laid off persons whose lay-off had started on or after 16 March 2020. For those persons the earnings-related daily allowance paid from 16 March 2020 – 30 June 2020 did not accumulate the maximum payment period. The exception did not apply to absence from work due to a reason comparable to lay-off or an obstacle due to weather.

Normally earnings-related daily allowance can be paid for a maximum of either 300, 400 or 500 days. Those counters have now been stopped. That is visible e.g. in OmaYTK in such a way that the figure showing the remaining maximum payment period will not change even if you have received daily allowance.

Amendments to law and amendments to amendments

The coronavirus epidemic resulted in 22 amendments that affect the unemployment security. The amendments were made for a fixed term and later the fixed terms were extended.

The continuously changing conditions have caused confusing situations to our customers. We nevertheless always give advice according to the laws valid at any given time. In early spring, for example, we informed that the temporary amendments will expire during the summer. As the fixed terms were extended, the advice we gave earlier was no longer valid.

You will find up-to-date information on the fixed-term amendments on our website.