If your lay-off lasts no more than 7 working days, in many cases you do not need to submit an unemployment benefit application to the unemployment fund immediately. This is because, before unemployment allowance can be paid, a waiting period of 7 working days is applied, during which no benefit is paid. Working days refer to the days you would normally have worked but are unemployed due to the layoff. A maximum of 5 working days per week can be counted toward the waiting period.

Always remember to register as an unemployed jobseeker

You must register as an unemployed jobseeker in the employment authority´s service no later than your first day of lay-off. When registering, indicate that you are available for full-time work, even if you are returning to your current job as soon as the lay-off ends. This ensures that the waiting period can be counted from your lay-off days.

Is your lay-off no longer than 7 working days?

If your layoff lasts no more than 7 working days and you have never been laid off or unemployed before, you do not need to send a benefit application to the unemployment fund. A 7-day waiting period is applied at the start of the lay-off, during which no unemployment allowance is paid. Sending an application to the fund would therefore not benefit you.
The waiting period is always applied when the employment condition is met. So, even if you meet the employment condition again after your previous unemployment period, applying for benefits for a period of no more than 7 days is still not beneficial. The length of the employment condition is 12 months.

The 7-day waiting period does not expire, so you can include the days of your first short lay-off in a later application if your lay-off continues or if you are laid off again. Note, however, that even though the 7 -day waiting period does not expire, unemployment benefits can only be paid retroactively for up to three months.

The waiting period must be completed within 8 calendar weeks

The waiting period must be completed within 8 calendar weeks (Monday to Sunday). Your lay-off must therefore amount to at least 7 working days in total within 8 calendar weeks, in order to avoid a new 7-day waiting period being set for a later lay-off or unemployment period.

Example 1:
Lay-off from September 22 to September 28, 2025 (5 working days) and from November 10 to November 16, 2025 (5 working days). Both lay-off periods fall within 8 calendar weeks, so the 7-day waiting period is fulfilled, and unemployment allowance can be paid for 3 days.

Example 2:
Lay-off from September 22 to September 28, 2025 (5 working days) and from November 17 to November 23, 2025 (5 working days). The lay-off periods do not fall within 8 calendar weeks, so the 7-day waiting period cannot be fully met. Only 5 days from November 17 to 23 can be counted toward the waiting period. If the lay-off continues for at least 2 more days from November 24, 2025 to January 11, 2026, the 7-day waiting period will be fulfilled.

When should you submit an application immediately?

You should submit your application right after your first lay-off period if:

• you have been unemployed or laid off within the past year, or
• it is clear that your employment condition is not fulfilled again after your previous unemployment period, or
• your lay-off will last longer than 7 working days.

In these cases, it is possible that the waiting period will not be applied at the start of the layoff, or that benefits will be paid after the 7-day waiting period. In such cases, please refer to our general application instructions.

If you are unsure

You can always ask for advice by sending a message through eService or by calling us. If you prefer, you may also submit an application to the fund just in case.

Read more about the conditions for unemployment allowance
Learn more about applying for allowance during a lay-off
Use our calculator to estimate your daily allowance amount