Entrepreneur’s social security
Entrepreneur’s unemployment benefit
An entrepreneur is also entitled to unemployment benefit. An entrepreneur is unemployed when they have ended their business activities or sold their share of the company. Entrepreneurship can end in selling or dissolving the company, in bankruptcy, liquidation, or because of a divorce. An entrepreneur is also considered unemployed if business operations have been suspended for at least four months.
If you need to close down your business, you should immediately register yourself as unemployed in the TE Office online service. You are entitled to unemployment benefit starting from the day you registered your unemployment at the TE Office.
Earnings-related unemployment allowance (ansiopäiväraha)
If you want to be entitled to earnings-related unemployment allowance, you must join the unemployment fund for entrepreneurs (yrittäjien työttömyyskassa). If your business operations end, you may then apply for earnings-related daily allowance (ansiosidonnainen päiväraha) from the unemployment fund.
To receive earnings-related daily allowance from the unemployment fund, you must have been an entrepreneur and a member of the fund for a required time period before becoming unemployed. Earnings-related unemployment allowance is larger than basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy. Its size depends on the amount of earned income you have registered in the entrepreneur’s retirement pension insurance.
Basic unemployment allowance
Kela can pay basic unemployment allowance (peruspäiväraha) to an unemployed entrepreneur who is not a member of an unemployment fund. You may receive basic unemployment allowance, if you meet an entrepreneur’s condition regarding previous employment and are covered by Finnish social security. The Kela website includes a calculator that can be used to estimate if you meet an entrepreneur’s condition regarding previous employment.
Labour market subsidy
If you are not eligible to receive basic unemployment allowance, but are covered by Finnish social security you can apply for labour market subsidy. Labour market subsidy is a means-tested benefit, meaning that any other income and your overall situation will influence the amount of labour market subsidy you receive.
Entrepreneur’s occupational health care (työterveyshuolto)
An entrepreneur and other persons working for themselves can organise occupational health care for themselves if they like. An entrepreneur is not obliged to arrange occupational health care for themselves. However, an entrepreneur must organise occupational health care for their employees. This can be arranged at the local health centre (terveyskeskus) or, for example, a private clinic. Read more on the InfoFinland page Occupational health and illness.
When an entrepreneur falls ill
If you fall ill, Kela may pay you sickness allowance (sairauspäiväraha) which compensates for the loss of earnings due to incapacity for work if this incapacity continues for less than a year. Payments of daily allowance begin after the qualifying period for benefit (omavastuuaika). An entrepreneur’s qualifying period for benefit is usually the first day of illness plus the following three weekdays.
Financial counselling
Enterprise Finland provides a free phone service that provides expert counselling if a company is facing financial difficulties. Counselling is available in Finnish and Swedish.
Financial Aid counselling service
- in Finnish, Tel. 029 502 4880
- in Swedish, Tel. 029 502 4881
The service is available from Monday to Friday 9:00–16:00.