Customer information concerning the coronavirus situation

Please contact Elo’s Customer Services as soon as possible if you are having difficulties paying your YEL or TyEL invoices as a result of the corona situation. Elo’s collection service can also assist you with payment agreement matters, if necessary. At Elo, we endeavour to help you in the best possible way.

How to proceed: Add a payment extension to your invoice in Elo’s Online Service. If this is not possible, please contact Elo’s Customer Services at (weekdays 8 a.m.–5 p.m.), tel. +358 (0)20 694 730.

The reduction of 2.6 percentage points was automatically taken into consideration in the TyEL contributions. This reduction concerned all insurance contributions linked to wages paid during the period of 1 May–31 December 2020. The reduction only applied to the employer’s share of the contribution, which means that it had no effect on the employee’s share of the contribution.

Due to the reduction, the TyEL basic contribution rate for 2020 was 25.3 percent from January 1 to April 30, 2020 and 22.70 percent from May 1 to December 31, 2020. The effect of the reduction will be offset by a temporary increase in the employer's part of the TyEL contribution in 2022-2025.

Laying off refers to a situation in which the employer may suspend work and payment of salaries temporarily, but the employment relationship is not terminated. Lay-offs can be implemented on a full-time or part-time basis. A full-time lay-off refers to a lay-off that covers all the working hours for an entire calendar week. A part-time lay-off is implemented as a shortened work week, which means reduced weekly or daily working hours.

If an employee is laid off on a full-time basis, the lay-off is reported to the Incomes Register as an unpaid absence. The reason for the unpaid absence is given as “Lay-off” (code 16).

For example: The employee is fully laid off as of 1 April and, at the time of reporting, it is known that the lay-off will continue until 15 May.

Absences:
Start date for the time period for reporting absences: 1 April 2020
End date for the time period for reporting absences: 15 May 2020

Unpaid absence:
Start date: 1 April 2020
End date: 15 May 2020

Reason for absence: Lay-off (code 16)

If an employee is laid off on a part-time basis, the employer shall give Lay-off (code 16) as the reason for the unpaid absence only if the employee is laid off for entire days. If the employee works shorter days, no absence is reported. If the employee works shorter weeks, the employer shall report only those days that the employee is absent for an entire day.

If a laid-off employee is dismissed or gives his/her notice, that employee has the right, according to the Employment Contracts Act, to receive pay for the period of notice (Employment Contracts Act, Chapter 5, Section 7). The pay, however, is not viewed as compensation for work done, as wages or salary are. In terms of earnings-related pension legislation, this payment is viewed as similar to an indemnity and is not included in the earnings that serve as the basis for the employee's pension.

The Incomes Register has compiled information regarding the reporting of lay-offs, quarantine and other current situations related to coronavirus. All those who handle payroll matters and reporting to the Incomes Register should read through this information.

The deadlines for reporting have not changed due to the coronavirus situation and, for example, one requirement for the tax payment arrangement is that all necessary reports have been submitted to the Incomes Register. It is important that the reports to the Incomes Register are submitted on time and correctly to ensure the smooth processing of claims for benefits.

Check out the FAQs on the Incomes Register website >

The amount of your sickness allowance and sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease are calculated on the basis of your YEL income. The YEL income also directly affects the amount of many other benefits, such as the parental allowance, survivors’ pension, unemployment security, disability pension, old-age pension and partial early old-age pension.

In terms of the social security of self-employed persons, it is important to ensure that the YEL income is always up to date. The amount of the YEL income should correspond to the value of your work input.

How to proceed: You can change your YEL income amount easily and quickly in Elo’s Online Service >

In problematic situations, call to Elo’s Customer Services at tel. +358 (0)20 694 730. We are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

When your business is doing well, you can earn yourself better pension by paying a higher YEL contribution, and correspondingly, in less profitable years, you can temporarily reduce your YEL contribution. This flexibility is known as the YEL flex pay system. The system allows you to temporarily lower or raise your YEL contribution for one calendar year at a time. Accordingly, your YEL income for the year in question will be lower or higher, and it will return to the normal level for the next year.

You are entitled to utilise the flex pay system for YEL contributions when
• your YEL insurance policy is valid throughout the year in the same pension company
• there are no outstanding payments for your policy
• you are not yet receiving earnings-related pension in Finland
• you are not receiving a discount granted for first-time entrepreneurs.

You can choose to pay additional contributions every year if you wish, whereas you can reduce your contributions for a maximum of three years during a period of seven consecutive years. When opting to use the flex pay system, the amount of the YEL income must not fall below the minimum limit determined for YEL insurance, which is 7,958.99 euro in 2020. Correspondingly, the amount of the contribution must be within the set limits.

The YEL flex pay system only affects your pension accrual, and it has no impact on other social benefits (such as sickness allowance) that are based on the confirmed YEL income.

How to proceed: If you meet the conditions for the YEL flex pay system, you can submit the relevant application via Elo’s Online Service, where you will also see how the flexibility will affect the amount of your contribution.
Go to Elo’s Online Service >

For additional information on the YEL flex pay system, please contact Elo’s Customer Services by phone at +358 (0)20 694 730 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Self-employed persons are entitled to a sickness allowance. The amount of the allowance is determined on the basis of your YEL income. The sickness allowance compensates for approximately 60 percent of the income that would have been earned during the period of sickness. The amount of the sickness allowance is calculated on the basis of the YEL income for the 12 calendar months prior to the month preceding the month in which the eligibility to the benefit begins. For YEL policyholders, the waiting period to qualify for the sickness allowance is one day (the first day of illness).

How to proceed: Acquire the relevant medical certificate and apply for the sickness allowance from Kela. Further information about the sickness allowance is available from Kela’s website >

Advice concerning financial difficulties is available to self-employed persons from the Talousapu service of the ELY centre. Ultimately, you should contact Kela to apply for the basic social assistance. 

How to proceed: Don’t try to deal with your financial difficulties on your own! You can contact the free Talousapu service of the ELY Centre at +358 295 024 880 (weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

For the time you receive an earnings-related unemployment allowance, your pension will accrue at the rate of 1.5%. When the amount of your pension is being calculated, 75% of the earnings that serve as the basis of the benefit will be taken into account. In contrast, the unemployment benefits provided by Kela will not accrue your pension, but they will be taken into account in the calculation of the projected pension component of the disability pension in a similar manner as the earnings-related unemployment allowances.

If the authorities have placed your employee(s) in quarantine and they are not able to work, employers are not legally required to pay wages or salaries for the period of quarantine. Employees can apply to Kela for a sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease. This allowance provides full compensation for the loss of income suffered during a period of quarantine. If, however, the employer continues paying the employee wages or salaries during the period of quarantine, Kela will pay the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease to the employer.

How to proceed: Advise any employee(s) who have been placed in quarantine to apply to Kela for the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease.

If the authorities have placed a self-employed person in quarantine, that person has the right to a sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease. The amount of the allowance is determined by your currently valid YEL income and provides full compensation for the loss of income suffered during a period of quarantine. There is no waiting period to qualify for the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease. This applies to both self-employed persons and employees.

How to proceed: If you have been placed in quarantine, apply to Kela for the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease. Payment of the allowance requires you to present Kela with a decision issued by the physician in charge of infectious disease response for the municipality or hospital district that indicates that you have been barred from work or placed in isolation or quarantine.

The message sent to all residents returning from abroad does not entitle you to receive the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease. Payment of the allowance requires you to present Kela with a decision issued by the physician in charge of infectious disease response for the municipality or hospital district that indicates that you have been barred from work or placed in isolation or quarantine.

Further information about the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease is available from Kela’s website >

This type of sickness allowance will only be paid to those who have been placed in quarantine by the authorities. Payment of the allowance requires you to present Kela with a decision issued by the physician in charge of infectious disease response for the municipality or hospital district that indicates that you have been barred from work or placed in isolation or quarantine.

Self-employed customers! Think twice before terminating your YEL insurance.

If the coronavirus situation has resulted in changes in your entrepreneurial activities or your work has diminished, you can adjust your YEL income accordingly, or you can terminate your YEL insurance policy if your entrepreneurial activities have ended completely.

Many of the social benefits available to self-employed persons, such as the sickness allowance and sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease, are determined on the basis of your YEL insurance.

Self-employed persons are temporarily eligible for a labour market subsidy in response to a sudden and unexpected weakening of demand caused by the coronavirus epidemic. This temporary measure concerns all self-employed persons regardless of the form of their entrepreneurial activities. For more information on temporary changes in unemployment insurance, contact Kela.

Please note that in order to receive the labour market subsidy, the self-employed person must first register with the TE Office as an unemployed jobseeker and the TE Office will submit to Kela a labour policy statement establishing the individual’s right to the labour market subsidy.

If necessary, the YEL insurance policy can also be terminated retroactively if, as a result of the corona situation, the exceptional conditions in the entrepreneurial activities continue for a long period of time and it is not possible to continue the activities. You can now also request a payment extension for your contribution invoices, thereby allowing you to put off, until later, the final decision regarding the continuation of your entrepreneurial activities and, correspondingly, your YEL insurance policy.

Comprehensive instructions on the termination of entrepreneurial activities are available from the website of the Finnish Tax Administration >

The Finnish Centre for Pensions has compiled a lot of information about current issues related to the topic of insuring work done abroad. The main themes include posted workers and the A1 certificate.

Read more about insurance while working abroad from the website of the Finnish Centre for Pensions (only in Finnish) >

You do not need to worry about your pension. All pensions are financed by pension funds and insurance contribution payments. Pensions will continue to be paid normally.

Here’s how to proceed when it’s time to apply for a pension: Apply for pension when your time to retire is approaching. Elo will make the pension decision quickly and you won’t need to worry about any interruptions in your livelihood.

You can get a pension estimate from our Online Pension Service.

How to proceed: Log in to Elo’s Online Pension Service > To check the amount of your future pension, go to the Pension record and pension estimate tab. The pension record shows the amount of pension you have accrued based on your employment information.

You can apply for pension through our Online Pension Service.

How to proceed: Log in to Elo’s Online Pension Service >  Apply for pension under the Pension applications tab.

The partial early old-age pension is not based on whether or not you are working. If you wish, you can withdraw part of your accrued pension as partial early old-age pension at the age of 61 or any time afterward up until you reach your highest pensionable age. You can apply for the payment of 25% or 50% of the pension accrued by the end of the previous year. Please note that the partial early old-age pension will always reduce your final old-age pension amount in comparison to that which you would receive if you continued to work full-time until you retired on old-age pension.

How to proceed: 
• Check the estimate of your partial early old-age pension and the amount of the subsequent old-age pension online at www.elo.fi/pensionservice. In the Online Pension Service, you can also get an estimate of your future old-age pension with the assumption that you would continue to work without taking partial early old-age pension.

• You can also check with the tax authorities to see how partial early old-age pension and earnings are taxed.

• Apply for pension under the Pension applications tab in the Online Pension Service.

• If you are a self-employed person and your entrepreneurial activities will continue after you begin receiving your partial early old-age pension, your YEL insurance policy must remain valid. An employee’s employment relationship must also be insured normally alongside partial early old-age pension.

While receiving old-age pension, you can still work freely without any earnings limitations. The obligation to ensure under YEL ends when you begin to receive old-age pension.

How to proceed: Apply for old-age pension at www.elo.fi/pensionservice. Your YEL insurance policy will be terminated automatically in connection with the processing of your application.

You can handle all pension-related issues through our Online Pension Service.

How to proceed: Log in to Elo’s Online Pension Service > Under the Payment information tab in the Service, you can, for example, review your pension payment information, print out a pension certificate or increase your tax rate.

As long as the Emergency Powers Act was valid, an employer could oblige you to work, but only to the extent to which the Emergency Powers Act allowed for exceptions to be made to the provisions of the Annual Holidays Act, Working Hours Act and Employment Contracts Act. For this reason, any income you earned from this type of obliged work may have exceeded the earnings limit for work done alongside disability pension. Any earnings received as a result of the work order issued by your employer on the basis of the Emergency Powers Act, however, have had no effect on the payment of your disability pension, even though you may have exceeded the earnings limit.

The exceptional conditions as stipulated by the Emergency Powers Act have now ended and, thus, all recipients of disability pension, partial disability pension, a rehabilitation subsidy or a partial rehabilitation subsidy are again subject to normal earnings monitoring as of 1 July 2020. All earnings paid after this date will not affect the payment of your pension as long as they do not exceed the earnings limit for work done alongside disability pension.

If you are laid off or become unemployed, you can apply for unemployment benefits from Kela or your own unemployment fund.

How to proceed: Register as an unemployed jobseeker with your local TE office and apply for unemployment benefits from your own unemployment fund or Kela. Unemployment benefits do not affect your right to partial disability pension. However, the partial disability pension will be taken into consideration in the calculation of the amount of your unemployment benefit.

If you become ill with a coronavirus infection and you are forced to a take a longer sick leave, you are entitled to receive a sickness allowance. The employer can also claim the sickness allowance as reimbursement for salary/wages paid to you. The sickness allowance will not affect your right to partial disability pension. However, the partial disability pension will be taken into consideration in the calculation of the amount of your sickness allowance.

In August, the progress of the studies will be assessed and taken into consideration flexibly if the progress was hampered during the spring as a result of the coronavirus situation.

How to proceed:
• Try to continue with your studies through distance learning if nothing else is possible.

• If your internship or practical training will be cancelled due to the coronavirus situation, further your studies in other ways. The overall progress of your studies will be assessed and considered in August.

• If the completion of your studies is delayed due to the coronavirus situation, we can continue to pay the rehabilitation allowance on that basis.

• If your studies have not yet begun and it is known that they will not begin any time soon in this situation, no rehabilitation allowance will be paid.

If you are unable to go to work due to the corona-related instructions issued by your employer, your rehabilitation allowance will continue to be paid for the extent of a brief interruption. One condition for the payment is that the work trial will continue following the interruption.

If your work trial has already begun, you can be absent for a maximum of one month for a corona-related reason. The reason can be your falling ill or notification from the employer that you cannot come to work. We do not pay the rehabilitation allowance if it is your own decision to interrupt the work trial. If your absence takes longer than one month, the payment of the rehabilitation allowance will be discontinued. We can continue to pay the rehabilitation allowance from the date of the interruption until the end of the following month. If you are unable to participate in a work trial due to being placed in quarantine, we will continue to pay the rehabilitation allowance for the first month. If the quarantine lasts longer than one month, we will discontinue the payment of the rehabilitation allowance and you will be eligible to apply to Kela for the sickness allowance on account of an infectious disease.

If the work trial has not yet begun, no rehabilitation allowance will be paid.

How to proceed: Notify Elo if you are unable to participate in a work trial for a period of more than two weeks for circumstances beyond your control resulting from the coronavirus situation. Also notify Elo if your work trial has not yet begun and cannot be realised. You can notify us about rehabilitation-related matters by logging in to Elo’s Online Pension Service and sending us a message under the Documents and messages tab.

You can also reach us to discuss rehabilitation matters by phone at +358 (0)20 020 694 723 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Anyone belonging to a risk group is requested to contact us if their rehabilitation is discontinued.

Compensation for travel and accommodation costs related to vocational rehabilitation and accrued after 1 March 2020 can, as a result of the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus, only be applied retroactively for travels and accommodation that have already been realised. 

How to proceed: Apply for travel compensation retroactively for already realised trips at www.elo.fi/pensionservice > rehabilitation > travel compensation. At the same time, you can also apply for the possible compensation of accommodation costs by listing these costs on the travel compensation application and submitting a receipt as an attachment to your application in the Pension Online Service. The information about the compensation will also be saved in the Online Pension Service under “Cost reimbursements” in the Payment information tab. The information can be accessed immediately upon the approval of the compensation application. 

If your apprenticeship training is interrupted, we can continue to pay you the rehabilitation allowance from the date of the interruption until the end of the following month. As a rehabilitee, you should, however, clarify whether there is a possibility to continue the apprenticeship training in the form of distance learning, whereby the payment of the rehabilitation allowance will continue as normal