Studying

As with employment-promoting services, you may be entitled to earnings-related allowance during part-time or short-term studies. If you begin studies during unemployment, always inform the TE Office before the start of your studies. The TE office will assess the impact of the studies on your unemployment benefits.

Part-time studies are considered to be studies that are of minimal scope or duration. The TE Office assesses whether the studies are part-time. You are entitled to unemployment allowance for the duration of self-employed studies interpreted as a part-time. For the duration of part-time studies, no increased earnings-related allowance or expense allowance is paid.

Read more about studying part-time with unemployment benefit on the website of the TE Office.

Short-term studies refer to studies that last for a maximum of 6 months. The TE Office may grant the right to short-term study while receiving earnings-related allowance if the studies meet the set criteria, the applicant is at least 25 years old, and is unemployed and registered as a job seeker. You cannot be entitled to an increased earnings part for the duration of the studies.

Read more about short-term studies with unemployment benefits on the website of the TE Office.

Short-term or part-time studying does not affect your unemployment benefits if you are ready to start a full-time job during your studies. The studies undertaken during a period of receiving unemployment benefit must meet the requirements set by the TE Office, support professional skills and prospects for employment.

Always contact the TE Office before starting the studies. You can find out about the different possibilities of studying while unemployed on the website of Job Market.

During full-time studies, you are entitled to earnings-related allowance only if the studies have been agreed upon with the TE Office. You can apply for these studies if the TE Office has assessed that they meet the specified criteria contribute to your employment prospects. In addition, you be at least 25 years old and meet the general conditions for receiving earnings-related allowance.

The decision from the TE Office regarding the support of self-motivated studies with unemployment benefits usually needs to be made before the commencement of the studies. The TE office provides the necessary information to the Unemployment Fund with a labour policy statement.

Earnings-related daily allowance can be paid for a maximum of 24 months during full-time studies. If the studies continue for more than two years, the remaining period of the studies must be completed, for example, with the support of a study grant.

If the maximum period of earnings-related allowance is reached while self-motivated studies are still in progress, the payment of the unemployment benefit will be transferred to Kela's labour market subsidy. The maximum period of earnings-related allowance can only restart after the completion of the studies, even if the work requirement is met earlier.

Read more about self-motivated studies with unemployment benefit from Job Market.

The increased earnings-related component can only be paid during periods of employment-promoting services. During part-time or short-term studies, you cannot be entitled to an increased earnings part. The increased earnings part is paid for a maximum of 200 days.

The amount of the increased earnings-related component depends on the level of your daily allowances. The increased earnings-related component is 55 % of the difference between your daily wage and the basic component (37,21 € from 1 January 2023). If your monthly wage exceeds a pivot point of 3534,95 euros, the earnings-related component is 25 % of the excess amount.  

You can read more about Self-motivated studies with unemployment benefit from Job Market.