Who can receive a restructuring protection allowance?

The employment authority examines whether you qualify for a restructuring protection package and issues a statement to your unemployment fund.

You are eligible for restructuring protection if

• your contract is terminated on financial or production-related grounds on or after 1 January 2023,
• you have reached the age of 55 before your termination,
• you have been employed by the same employer for at least five years before your termination, and
• you sign up as a job-seeker with the employment authority no later than 60 days after your termination.

Please note that the time of termination refers to the date on which you were given notice of your termination. If your notice period is long, you may have to sign up with the employment authority before your unemployment starts.

The required five-year employment relationship can include both fixed-term and open-ended contracts. The employment contracts do not have to be continuous, but there can be no more than 30 days of interruptions in the previous five years. The most recent employment contract must be of indefinite duration or a fixed-term contract that can be terminated on financial or production-related grounds.

You do not have to be unemployed to qualify for a restructuring protection allowance. You can be paid a restructuring protection allowance even if you find work with a new employer straight away.

Restrictions to the restructuring protection allowance

You are not entitled to a restructuring protection allowance if you agree with your employer on the termination of your employment relationship or if you resign from your job yourself. In addition, you are not entitled to a restructuring protection allowance if your employment relationship ends for a reason other than financial or production-related grounds, such as due to liquidation or corporate restructuring.

If circumstances change during your notice period and you end up staying with the same employer, you will not be eligible for an allowance. This may be the case, for example, if your employer reverses the termination decision. This restriction does not apply to those who, after the end of the employment relationship, return to the service of the same employer on the basis of a readmission obligation. In addition, finding work with a new employer immediately after the end of your previous employment relationship does not prevent you from receiving a restructuring protection allowance.

If the employment relationship ends during the notice period for reasons related to the employee’s person, a restructuring protection allowance cannot be paid. This may be the case, for example, if the employment relationship is terminated in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act for a particularly weighty reason, such as a serious failure by the employee to comply with their obligations.

The restructuring protection allowance is not an unemployment benefit but a separate form of compensation. Claiming a restructuring protection allowance does not prevent you from also receiving an earnings-related unemployment allowance, nor does it reduce the amount of your earnings-related allowance.