Changes to the jobseeker service process will come into effect immediately at the beginning of the year. In the future, the service process will be developed to be more personalised and better adapted to the needs of the jobseeker.
From the beginning of the year onwards, people in part-time employment would also be required to apply for four jobs per month.
There will also be changes to the assessment of the need for services and the preparation of employment plans. Jobseekers will be required to apply for jobs indicated to them by the employment authority as soon as they become unemployed.
At the same time, the obligations for young people to seek education and the publication of job applicant profiles will be reformed.
Stricter mandatory waiting periods – text messages to help jobseekers
The rules regarding mandatory waiting periods for unemployment benefits, during which jobseekers are not eligible for unemployment benefits, are about to become stricter. In the future, jobseekers will lose their right to unemployment benefit already after their first failure to fulfil their obligations.
The stricter rules on mandatory waiting periods will come into effect on 1 March 2026.
The new system of sanctions will be two-tiered. A jobseeker's first failure to fulfil their obligations will result in them being suspended from receiving benefits for a mandatory waiting period of seven calendar days.
Repeated failures to fulfil obligations over a 12-month period will result in a six-week duty to work, whereby the jobseeker will be required to work or participate in other services or activities approved by the employment services for a period of six weeks in order to receive benefits.
In the future, it is very important that jobseekers attend all of their appointments, complete their job search obligations, respond to job offers and meet other deadlines on time.
To make the process easier, Job Market Finland will send jobseekers automatic text message reminders one day before any important deadlines, such as appointments, deadlines for applying for jobs indicated by the employment authority or deadlines for tasks agreed upon in the plan.
