| | Useful links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment Cover for Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs may voluntarily join the entrepreneurs' unemployment fund (Suomen Yrittäjäin Työttömyyskassa SYT or the AYT Fund), if they wish to provide themselves with earnings-related unemployment benefits. Membership of the entrepreneurs' unemployment fund is open to permanent residents of Finland aged less than 65 years who hold a statutory pension insurance policy based on an annual income of at least 8,520 Euro (YEL, MYEL or TyEL). As far as unemployment cover is concerned, an entrepreneur refers to
Family members are considered to refer to the entrepreneur's spouse (including common-law partner) living in the same household, children and parents. Leading positions include the post of Managing Director, Chairman or Member of the Board, and similar positions. From an Employee to an EntrepreneurAny member of an employees' unemployment fund who joins the Entrepreneurs' Unemployment Fund within one month of starting operations as an entrepreneur receives a maximum of 6 months' allowance regarding the minimum term of employment. In this case, the precondition for a minimum term of employment may be fulfilled after no more than 12 months of membership (otherwise 18 months of membership). A person directly transferring from an employees' unemployment fund retains his/her existing right to a daily allowance if the maximum period of 500 days is not used up. Amount of Daily AllowanceEarnings-related daily allowance is calculated on the basis of the amount selected by the member of the Entrepreneurs' Unemployment Fund as his/her unemployment insurance amount for the previous 18 months. The amount may be increased by no more than 20 per cent at any one time.
More information about unemployment benefits for entrepreneurs is available from Suomen Yrittäjäin Työttömyyskassa SYT and the AYT Fund. When Can You Receive Daily Allowance?An entrepreneur is entitled to unemployment allowance after 7 deductible days during which he/she is entirely unemployed and fulfils the minimum term of employment precondition - that is, has been a paying member of the Entrepreneurs' Unemployment Fund (=insurance premiums paid) for at least 18 months. When an unemployed member of an employees' unemployment fund starts as an entrepreneur he/she is entitled to daily allowance in accordance with the regulations covering employees, if the entrepreneurial operations cease within the first 18 months. If a new entrepreneur was not unemployed when starting his/her business operations, he/she is entitled to daily allowance in accordance with the regulations covering employees, if the entrepreneurial operations cease within the first 14 months. Earnings-related daily allowance is paid for five working days per week for a maximum period of 500 days. Daily allowance is also paid if the business operations have been evidentially suspended for a continuous period of at least four months. If the entrepreneur has received sales gains on selling the business or its assets, the work income serving as a basis for the daily allowance is used for calculating the period of work income corresponding to the sales gains. In this case, daily allowance is postponed for this so-called periodising time. Membership FeeWhen joining the unemployment fund the member may select the level of his/her unemployment benefits. This may not exceed the work income defined for pension insurance but must be at least 8,520 Euro per year. The insurance premium is tax-deductible for the entrepreneur. The membership fee is 2,65 % (SYT) of the part of the selected work income in excess of 5,800 Euro. If the annual work income is more than 25,000 Euro, the fee for the part in excess of this amount is 2 %. Examples of membership fees (membership fee 2,65 %, SYT)
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
