Questions about part-time work and entrepreneurship

I found short-term work for a few days. Do I need to report something?

All employment relationships, including short-term gigs, must be reported to the unemployment fund. Report any work you do, even if the pay is below the exempt amount.  Please note that the exempt amount of earned income has been removed on 1 April 2024. For more information, see the section Exempt amount.

Report any work you do in your application for earnings-related daily allowance. In the application, write down the employer’s name and the days and hours worked in the daily columns. Include the employment contract with your application.

Earnings you earn from the work will be adjusted for the application period during which the earnings are paid. We receive information about your wages from part-time work from the Incomes Register, but there are sometimes details missing. If necessary, we will ask you or your employer for additional information regarding your wages. To speed up processing, you can include your payslip with your application.

For more information about adjusted earnings-related daily allowance, see the section What is an adjusted allowance?

I was offered part-time work. Approximately how much adjusted allowance could I receive?

From 1 April 2024 half of the earnings before taxes paid during the application period for earnings-related unemployment allowance would reduce the amount of allowance. For example, if a person earns €500 doing gig work, the full earnings-related unemployment allowance paid for the whole month is reduced by half of this amount (€250). The abolition of the exempt amount applies to application periods starting on or after 1 April 2024.

Calculation formula after the exempt amount is abolished with a one-month adjustment period:

Full daily allowance – (0.5 x earnings  / 21.5) = 1 day of adjusted daily earnings-related allowance

Until 31 March 2024 all earnings in excess of the exempt amount affects the amount of your adjusted allowance. From your full daily allowance, we deduct 50% of your earnings during the adjustment period that exceed the exempt amount. The exempt amount is 300 euros per month or 279 per every four weeks. Earnings below the exempt amount will not reduce your daily allowance.

Calculation formula with a one-month adjustment period:

Full daily allowance – (0.5 x [earnings – 300] / 21.5) = 1 day of adjusted daily earnings-related allowance

The above formula applies in most cases when calculating adjusted allowance. You can also estimate your adjusted allowance using the daily allowance calculator.

Does my gig-work during the elections affect my earnings-related allowance?

Some tasks related to elections are performed under an employment or public servant, while others are based on a position of responsibility. If you carry out your work in an employment or official capacity, your income will affect your earnings-related allowance, as it will be adjusted accordingly. For example, income earned from counting votes is adjustable. On the other hand, if you are performing a position of responsibility, such as being a member of the electoral committee, this income will not be adjusted.

Work performed in an employment or public servant may also satisfy your employment requirement. However, a position of responsibility cannot be counted towards the employment requirement.

I run a business. How does business income affect my earnings-related daily allowance?

You can receive earnings-related daily allowance if you are a part-time entrepreneur or have just started your business. Report your business activities to the TE Office. The TE Office investigates whether your business is full-time or part-time.

If your business is considered full-time, you are not entitled to earnings-related daily allowance. However, if you started your business while unemployed on or after 1 January 2018, you can receive earnings-related daily allowance while running your business full time for the first four months after starting the business. Any business income you receive are taken into account in the adjustment and will reduce your amount of allowance.

The exempt amount of earned income has been removed as of 1 April 2024. In the future, half of the earnings before taxes paid during the application period for earnings-related unemployment allowance would reduce the amount of allowance. The abolition of the exempt amount applies to application periods starting on or after 1 April 2024. For more information, see the section Exempt amount.

In your application, include your latest confirmed tax decision, including the breakdown of income and taxes. If your business is just starting out or your business income has changed significantly since the latest confirmed tax decision, include an account of the changed business income in your application.