Consultation round on amending unemployment security sanctions begins

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will organise a consultation round on amending the unemployment security sanctions from 9 May to 19 June 2025. The aim is to clarify and simplify the sanctions and to make the job search of jobseekers and their participation in employment-promoting services more efficient. Another objective is to prevent prolonged unemployment and to shorten periods of unemployment.

In practice, the rules would be changed so that they resemble the provisions in force before the legislative amendments of May 2022. However, the proposed rules on the duty to work and the periods when unemployment benefits would not be paid would still be considerably more lenient than prior to May 2022.

Two-stage system would clarify unemployment security sanctions

In order to receive unemployment benefits, jobseekers must actively seek work and participate in services that promote employment. Jobseekers who do not apply for work or participate in employment services as agreed may be subject to unemployment security sanctions, that is, periods when unemployment benefits would not be paid. Jobseekers could lose their right to unemployment benefits for a fixed period or until further notice (duty to work).

The sanctions for failing to seek employment or to participate in employment services would be staggered. Under the proposal now circulated for comments, the rules would be changed so that jobseekers would lose their right to unemployment benefit already after their first failure related to job search or participation in services. In these situations, the right to benefits would be lost for seven calendar days. The change would emphasise the jobseeker’s own responsibility to actively seek employment and participate in the available services.

The current sanctions system of four stages would be replaced with a two-stage system. For the second failure to apply for work or participate in employment services, jobseekers would be imposed a duty to work for six calendar weeks. In practice, this would mean that jobseekers who continue to act in a manner considered reprehensible in terms of labour market policy would lose their right to unemployment benefits more quickly than now.

At the same time, however, the jobseekers who have lost their right to benefits would be able to reclaim the right more easily than now, as the duration of the duty to work would be reduced by half (from 12 calendar weeks to 6 calendar weeks).

Government plans to submit the proposal in September

The Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government emphasises the obligations of persons receiving unemployment benefits. The ministerial working group on employment and entrepreneurship decided to begin the preparation to amend the unemployment security sanctions on 20 March 2025. Subsequently, the proposed set of amendments was discussed on a tripartite basis.

The consultation round will end on 19 June 2025, after which the preparatory work by public officials will continue. The Government intends to submit the proposal to Parliament in September 2025. The amendments are set to enter into force at the beginning of 2026.

If implemented, the planned amendments would also apply to the recipients of the general social security benefit.

Inquiries:
Teresa Salminen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Employment, tel. +358 295 047 318
Timo Meling, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 049 084 (unavailable on 9 May)
Kimmo Ruth, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 048 073 (questions on 9 May)