Unemployment insurance

As an employer, you are usually obligated to take out insurance for your employees and pay social security contributions, for example a earnings-related pension insurance contribution.

The unemployment insurance contribution is paid to the Employment Fund and consists of the employer’s and the employee’s unemployment insurance contribution. 

Insurance obligation and data to be reported to the Incomes Register

Check the following instruction to see when you, as an employer, are obligated to take out insurance for your employees and what information about contributions must be reported to the Incomes Register.

Unemployment insurance

The unemployment insurance contribution must be paid if the employee is aged 18–64 years. The insurance obligation ends when the employee turns 68 years of age.

Employee's unemployment insurance contribution

• Withhold the contribution from an employee’s wages and report it to the Incomes Register under the income type 414 Employee's unemployment insurance contribution on the earnings payment report.

Employer's unemployment insurance contribution

• Not reported to the Incomes Register.
• Pay the total amount to the Employment Fund, i.e. the employer’s and the employee’s shares of the unemployment insurance contribution. The Employment Fund calculates the contribution amount based on the information reported to the Incomes Register.
• If total wages paid to all employees during the calendar year is less than EUR 1,500, you do not need to pay unemployment insurance contributions to the Employment Fund.

Age limit and lower limit for unemployment insurance contribution 

Age limit for unemployment insurance	Lower limit for unemployment insurance contribution per year	Year
18–64 years of age	EUR 1,500	2024–2026
18–64 years of age	EUR 1,400	2023
18–64 years of age (valid from 1.8.2022) 17–64 years of age (valid till 31.7.2022)	EUR 1,300	2022
17–64 years of age	EUR 1,300	2019–2021

Read more about unemployment insurance

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Report the unemployment insurance contribution collected from an employee’s wages to the Incomes Register

Report the unemployment insurance contribution collected from an employee’s wages under the income type Employee's unemployment insurance contribution (414).

The employer must withhold the employee’s unemployment insurance contribution from an employee’s wages if the employee is obligated to pay it.

If the total amount of wages paid by the employer is less than the annual lower limit, no unemployment insurance contribution needs to be paid to the Employment Fund. In such a case, the employer keeps the unemployment insurance contribution collected from the employee but the employee can deduct the contribution for tax purposes.

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The employee's unemployment insurance contribution is collected from the wages of employees of 18 to 64 years

No unemployment insurance contribution is collected from an employee’s wages if the employee is

• under 18 or over 64, or
• a self-employed person with YEL or MYEL insurance.

The obligation to pay unemployment insurance contributions is reviewed separately for each employment or public-service employment relationship. If a self-employed person or farmer works in the service of another employer as a salaried employee in addition to their own business activities, the obligation to pay an unemployment insurance contribution applies to wages received from this employment. 

If no unemployment insurance contribution needs to be collected from an employee’s wages, select the type of exception to insurance No obligation to provide insurance (unemployment insurance) on the earnings payment report. At the same time, check whether any other insurance needs to be taken out for the employee. For example, age limits are different for different social insurance contributions.

Partial owner

Report additional Partial owner information about an income earner on the earnings payment report if the income earner is a partial owner as defined in the unemployment security act (työttömyysturvalaki 1290/2002). Partial owners of a company pay a lower employee’s unemployment insurance premium than employees.

Whether a person is a partial owner or an employee is affected by the ownership share, voting power and other control of the person and their family members, as well as the person’s position in the company or organisation.

If the income earner works for the company or organisation but is not in a leadership position, the income earner is a partial owner when one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

• the income earner holds at least 50% of the share capital, votes or other means of control of the company or organisation in question, or
• the income earner, together with their family members, holds at least 50% of the share capital, votes or other means of control of the company or organisation in question.

If the income earner works for the company or organisation in a leadership position but is not an entrepreneur, the income earner may be a partial owner when either of the following conditions is fulfilled:

• the income earner holds at least 15% of the share capital, votes or other means of control, or
• the income earner, together with their family members, holds at least 30% of the share capital, votes or other means of control.

Self-employed persons are not obligated to pay any unemployment insurance contribution. A self-employed person with YEL or MYEL insurance is therefore not regarded as a partial owner.

Read more about partial ownership from the Employment Fund’s website