Applying for a restructuring protection allowance

Members of unemployment funds apply for the allowance through their unemployment fund, and others apply for it from Kela. Your unemployment fund will pay your restructuring protection allowance as long as you were a member of the fund on the date on which your contract was terminated, even if you had not been a member for long enough to qualify for an earnings-related allowance.

Please note that before applying for a restructuring protection allowance, you must sign up as a job-seeker with the TE Office. Make sure to sign up with the TE Office no later than 60 days after your termination. The time of termination refers to the date on which you were given notice of your termination.

The TE Office examines whether you qualify for a restructuring protection package and issues a statement to your unemployment fund. Let the TE Office know, that you are Aaria Unemployment Fund’s member, so they will send their statement to the right unemployment fund.

How do I apply for a restructuring protection allowance?

To apply for a restructuring protection allowance, you will need to submit a written application to your unemployment fund. You can submit your application to us as soon as you have received notice of your termination. In other words, you do not have to wait until the end of your employment.

You can submit your application online via our eService. The online application can be filled, when the TE Office has given us it’s statement on your eligibility for a restructuring protection allowance. Alternatively, you can send your application by post. You will find the application form under Forms.

We will start processing your application within approximately two weeks of receiving it. If we need further information, we will contact you or your employer. You will receive a decision on your restructuring protection allowance once we have processed your application. We will pay your restructuring protection allowance into your account within a couple of business days of the decision.

Please note that you must apply for your allowance within three months of the end of your employment or you will lose your entitlement.

Documents to supply with your restructuring protection allowance application

In order to pay you a restructuring protection allowance, we need information about your earnings. You do not need to attach evidence of your wages to your application, as we can get the information from the Incomes Register. Sometimes, however, the information reported by your employer to the Incomes Register may not be sufficient. In such a case, we will ask you or your employer for additional information about your wages.

Do I need to provide a tax card?

The restructuring protection allowance counts as taxable income, which your unemployment fund taxes at source on behalf of the Finnish Tax Administration. The amount of the tax deduction depends on your tax card.

If you have been a member of Aaria since the beginning of the year, we get the details of your annual wage-based tax card from the Finnish Tax Administration automatically. You therefore do not have to send us your tax card. Please note that if we base our decision on your wage-based tax card, your restructuring protection allowance will be subject to withholding tax at the higher rate.

To avoid this, you can ask the Finnish Tax Administration to issue you a revised tax card based on your benefits. Once we receive the benefits-based tax card, we can withhold your taxes at the correct, lower rate.

You can request a revised tax card from your local tax office or via the Finnish Tax Administration’s MyTax service. If you ask for your revised tax card to be sent directly to your unemployment fund, the information will be automatically updated in our system within one or two business days. We will use the information in your revised tax card from the day we get it.