Instructions and Support / Information bank / Unemployment / I became unemployed, what should I do?
First you need to register at the TE Office as a job-seeker. That should be done on the first day of unemployment at the latest, because the daily allowance will only be paid starting from registering as a job-seeker.
The easiest way to register is on the TE Office website.
When the unemployment has lasted for two weeks, you can send the first application for earnings-related daily allowance to us. If the duration of the unemployment is shorter than that, you can send your application as soon as the unemployment ends. The easiest way to send the application is by using our online service OmaYTK.
After the first application, the daily allowance will be applied for in periods of at least four weeks, one month or one calendar month. If your unemployment starts in the middle of the week, fill in the first application up to the Sunday two weeks from the start date. It will then be easier for you to apply for daily allowance later on.
Please remember that we can only pay daily allowance retroactively for a period of three months. So you should send your application to us within three months from the date from which on you wish to apply for daily allowance. The same three-month period also applies to all subsequent applications.