Unemployment fund
Sometimes, working life offers unpleasant surprises, and you may find yourself permanently or temporarily laid off. Through the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland, you can be a member of an unemployment fund and to secure your income in changing life situations. You are entitled to the allowance when you meet the requirements related to unemployment fund membership and the employment condition.
The Union supports you in working life and with employment-related matters, and the unemployment fund provides financial security in case of unemployment — together they give you comprehensive protection in different life situations.
The Union membership fee does not automatically include unemployment fund membership – you must join the unemployment fund separately. If you are in paid employment and a member of the Engineers’ Union, you can easily join the KOKO Unemployment Fund through the e-services on the Member pages.
Effect of salary on unemployment benefit
As an unemployed jobseeker, you can receive earnings-related daily allowance, basic daily allowance or labor market support. Kela’s basic unemployment allowance in 2026 is €37.21 per day, and it is paid for five days per week. Kela’s basic unemployment allowance or labour market subsidy are usually considerably lower than the earnings-related allowance. You can estimate the amount of your allowance using the KOKO Unemployment Fund’s daily allowance calculator.
Entitlement to daily allowance
To receive earnings-related allowance from an unemployment fund, both the fund membership requirement and the employment condition must be met.
The employment condition that entitles you to earnings-related allowance only accrues for the months during which you are a member of an unemployment fund and have earned at least €465 in wages per month (half a month). Accruing a full employment condition month requires earnings of at least €929 in wages for that month.
Unemployment fund for highly educated KOKO
A majority of the members of the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland are already members of the KOKO unemployment fund or may join it through the Union. You can check whether you are a member of the KOKO unemployment fund through the Union by logging in to the Member pages and checking the information about your current memberships.
KOKO fund and becoming a member
KOKO fund membership fee
The membership fee of the unemployment fund for highly educated KOKO is EUR 69 per year in 2026.
The unemployment fund membership fee is charged to engineer members in connection with the Union’s membership fee if the membership is active through Union. For student members, the unemployment fund membership fee is invoiced as a one-time payment.
The unemployment fund’s fees , like all trade union membership fees, are tax-deductible in Finland. The Union of Professional Engineers in Finland reports membership fee information directly to the Tax Administration.
Interested in joining the unemployment fund?
We recommend becoming a member of the unemployment fund as soon as you have paid employment. It also provides security immediately after graduation, as long as you meet the conditions for receiving the allowance.
Read more
Read more about the conditions for earnings-related daily allowance, how to apply, and try the daily allowance calculator on the KOKO fund’s website.
Are you unemployed?
You can also reach the Union’s employment counseling through the Customer Service. If you are unemployed or face the risk of being laid off, we recommend you take advantage of the Union’s diverse career services and training.
Entrepreneur Fund
As members of the Entrepreneur Fund, entrepreneurs can secure their livelihood against unemployment. Read more about the Entrepreneur Fund website.