Family members of entrepreneurs will be entitled to unemployment benefits like other employees since July 1.
Until now, the persons working in a family business may have been considered entrepreneurs by law, even if they did not own or control the company. As a result, they did not enjoy the right to unemployment benefits as other employees did.
But this about to change in a few days. According to a press release published by the Finnish Social Security Institution (Kela), a legal amendment will enter into force on July 1 that will allow entrepreneur's family members to gain also the right to unemployment benefits.
This means that, for now on, the entrepreneur's family members will be in the same position as employees before the administration if they remain unemployed. But for that they will have to prove that they are precisely that, employees:
In its statement, Kela remarks that this change will affect only those individuals "who work in a family business but who do not own or control the company". This means that the entrepreneur's family member can not have owned or had been in control of the company during the last twelve months.
In other words, this change is not for the benefit of the entrepreneurs, but for their relatives employed.
Work requirement
According to Kela, these employees may be entitled to get the basic unemployment allowance if they meet the work requirement. The condition for the family members are: they must have worked 52 weeks, the working hours must be at least 18 hours per week and and the salary perceived has to be in accordance with the collective agreement.
There is still another important rule. If someone works in a family business and at the same time has also another external job, s/he will not be entitled to combine the benefits of both jobs at the time of unemployment.
According to Kela, "if an entrepreneur's family member becomes unemployed and fulfills the work requirement with both jobs, s/he must choose for which job wants the unemployment benefit to be paid".
Other unemployment benefits
An entrepreneur's family member is also entitled to an adjusted unemployment benefit to combine wage earnings and unemployment insurance, as is the case with the employees. You can read more HERE
If a family member of an entrepreneur does not have the right to the basic unemployment benefit, he/she may still apply for the labour market subsidy. Read how to do it HERE
