One choice can double your unemployment benefit during a lay-off

Topics

• Income security
• Membership

Kimmo has worked on construction sites for many years. But now the difficulties in the construction industry extended to Kimmo’s everyday life; the construction of apartment buildings that was about to start was halted and layoffs forced workers to take unemployment for several months.

It was only now that Kimmo realised why it would have been worth joining the unemployment fund: his colleagues who belong to the fund receive more than twice as much unemployment benefit as he does during a lay-off.

Kimmo receives a basic daily allowance of only around 800 €/month. Most of his colleagues receive the earnings-related daily allowance, which at Kimmo’s monthly salary of 2,800 € means around 1,650 € per month – that’s around 850 € more!

Kimmo’s story is a fictional example, but these situations happen very often in real life: the importance of unemployment fund membership is often not thought about until unemployment or a lay-off occurs and you miss out on a much higher earnings-related daily allowance than the basic daily allowance.

In early 2025, unemployment was particularly high in the construction, repair and manufacturing occupational group. This group includes construction workers, fitters, mechanics, food, clothing and woodworkers.

Unfortunately, not all of them have joined the unemployment fund in time.

Without being a member of the unemployment fund, you will only receive around 800 € per month

If you are not a member of an unemployment fund, you will only receive the basic Kela daily allowance if you become unemployed or are laid off, which is the same for everyone, regardless of education or salary. That is around 800 € per month.
 
If you have joined the unemployment fund in good time, you will receive a daily allowance calculated in proportion to your salary.

What does the membership cost?

Membership of the YTK Unemployment Fund, which is open to all, costs 102 € per year, or just 8,50 € per month.

Compared to the earnings protection you get with your membership fee, this is a very reasonable amount.

If unemployment or a lay-off ever occurs, the 10 years of contributions to the fund are often already offset by the difference between one month’s earnings-related daily allowance and the basic allowance.

In addition to the daily allowance, membership of the YTK also guarantees you the comprehensive employment support services of the YTK Spark, such as coaching and tools for preparing CVs and job applications.

For an additional fee of only 29 €, YTK Worklife also provides you with legal advice on employment issues, accident insurance for leisure time, thousands of online training courses and discounts on partner services.