Unemployment benefit from Erko

Salaried members of our member organisations will receive their unemployment benefit through the Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees Erko.

If you are in paid employment, you should also become a member of the Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees Erko. Membership in the unemployment fund is included in your membership fee and, as a member of the fund, you have the opportunity to receive earnings-related unemployment benefits. A student who is not in paid employment at the time of joining the union can join the unemployment fund as soon as their next employment relationship begins. If they wish to do so, self-employed persons can apply for membership of the Entrepreneur Fund.
The benefits paid by the fund are proportionate to earnings and they constitute taxable income for the beneficiary.

The Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees Erko is a full-service unemployment fund established by Akava Special Branches in 1982. Our members are Erko’s largest group of members.

If you become unemployed, here’s what to do

1. Register as a full-time unemployed job seeker at the Employment and Economic Development Office on your first day of unemployment at the latest. If you are laid off, you need to bring with you a certificate concerning the layoff. Tell the Employment and Economic Development Office the name of your fund, the Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees Erko.
2. Notify Akava Special Branches of your unemployment or layoff. Make sure now, at the latest, that you have paid your membership fees. The fund will check your membership information with the union before making a decision on the unemployment allowance.
3. Claim earnings-related unemployment allowance from the fund within three months of registering at the Employment and Economic Development Office. Please note! Claims for unemployment allowances are mailed to Erko, not the union. More detailed instructions on claiming unemployment allowance are provided on Erko’s website. You can also find an application for earnings-related unemployment allowance on Erko’s website.

More detailed information on unemployment security: www.erko.fi/en