Legislative amendments to employment services in early 2026

Changes to the job seeker’s service process

Initial interview

As of January 1, 2026, the initial interview will be arranged without undue delay and at latest within 10 days of the start of the job search.

Supplementary job-seeking discussions

As of January 1, 2026, supplementary job-seeking discussions will be arranged based on the need for services. They will thus no longer be automatically arranged at specific intervals.

Assessing the need for services

Assessments of the need for services will be expanded. Your need for services will have a greater impact on your service process going forward.

Job seeking will end after the first failure

From the beginning of March 2026, a significant legal rule will enter into force, on the basis of which your job seeking will end immediately if you do not carry out your responsibilities with the employment office within the time limit and in the manner required. Your job search will end immediately if you do not come to the initial interview, job-seeking discussion or supplementary job-seeking discussion. This also applies to situations where the meeting is arranged as a phone or video call. Previously, the law required that the failure was repeated. As such, job seekers will now be required to be more careful about carrying out their responsibilities so that their job search does not end.

As of January 1, 2026, job seekers will no longer be sent the employment office’s written reminders from the employment services’ national customer-information system explaining the impacts of job seekers’ conduct on their employment and their right to receive unemployment benefits. Written reminders have been sent to job seekers in situations where, for example, the job seeker has not met with the employment office within the given time limit and in the manner required. The reminder has been official advice to the job seeker, not a sanction. Going forward, the employment office will, in an appropriate manner, inform job seekers of matters such as the progression of the service process, job seeking and the related obligations both at the start of and during the job seeking process.

The contents of the employment plan will be specified

As before, you have the right to an employment plan, but also an obligation to comply with it. Your right to unemployment benefits depends on your compliance with the plan. Going forward, the following will always be recorded in the employment plan:

• the job-search obligation and any basis for it being reduced or waived
• other actions relating to your job search or the development of your business activities that aim for your quick employment on the open labor market
• the deadline by which you must report on the implementation of your plan

If necessary, the plan can include:

• the number and dates of supplementary job-seeking discussions
• public employment services based on the job seeker’s need for services
• other services that increase the skills, labor market readiness, work ability and functional capacity of the job seeker
• actions related to assessing the job seeker’s work ability and functional capacity or state of health that impacts job seeking or the development of business activities and employment
• the required reports on the implementation of the plan
• exceptions to the job seeker’s obligation to create and publish a job search profile (this section of the law does not enter into force until September 1, 2026)

Changes to job seeking

Mandatory nature of jobs indicated by the employment office

As of January 1, 2026, the employment office may choose and indicate to you a job to apply for immediately after the start of your unemployment. You are obliged to apply for this job opportunity, even if you have already fulfilled the job-search obligation recorded in your employment plan. Until now, job offers have been mandatory only six (6) months after the initial interview.

Job-search obligation of part-time workers

As of the beginning of 2026, persons working part-time will, as a rule, be required to fulfill the normal job-search obligation, that is, the obligation to apply for four (4) job opportunities per month. Until now, part-time workers have been obliged to apply for one job opportunity over three months. If the conditions laid down in the law are met, the job-search obligation can be reduced. According to the legislator, it is not intended that part-time workers should be forced to seek, for example, another part-time job that they cannot in reality reconcile with their existing part-time job. The job-search obligation may be waived if, for example, the job seeker works part-time and cannot take on other work at the same time due to their work ability (illness, disability).

Regulations pertaining to the job-search obligation will be clarified

The law will define the following in more detail going forward:

• When the job-search obligation is imposed
• When an exception can be made to its start
• When the obligation can be reduced
• When the obligation is not imposed at all

Change to the training application obligation of young people who lack training

The training application obligation of young people will be expanded as of January 1, 2026. The primary option for young people is still to apply for vocational training leading to a qualification and professional competence. Young people can now also fulfill this obligation through full-time studies organized at adult education colleges and sports institutes.

It is also possible to agree on applying for training other than qualification-oriented training in the employment plan. The aim is for the young person to choose studies that support both employment and later study opportunities.

Changes to the unemployment security sanction system as of March 1, 2026

The unemployment security sanction system will change as of March 1, 2026, into a two-tier system instead of the previous four-tier sanction system. Going forward, sanctions will be imposed as follows:

1. First failure: a seven-day period (mandatory waiting period) during which the unemployment benefit will not be paid. The waiting period may be imposed if you fail to come to a meeting, do not apply for an indicated job or do not comply with your employment plan, for example.
2. Second (or more frequent) failure within the period of a year: obligation to work. The obligation to work can be fulfilled by working for six (6) weeks or participating in services approved by the Employment Services. Fulfilling the obligation to work is quicker than before, as the obligation was previously 12 weeks.

If a waiting period or obligation to work has been imposed on the job seeker in accordance with the current tiered sanction system, this will be taken into account as of March 1, 2026, when assessing the recurrent nature of the conduct.

As before, if your income is not sufficient for covering your necessary expenses during the waiting period, you can apply for social assistance from KELA.

Changes to the Act on Social Assistance as of February 1, 2026

You can read about the upcoming changes to social assistance (GP 116/2025) on KELA's website.

Changes to social assistance: new requirements and stricter criteria as of February (Kela.fi)