The new coronavirus has shaken the roots of the global economy, resulting in companies laying off their personnel permanently or temporarily. How to avoid financial problems in difficult times in the absence of paid work? We have prepared a checklist that you can use to ensure that you have taken everything into account after a layoff or dismissal.
- Find out if your bank offers a repayment pause on your mortgage. Many banks are offering additional payment holidays as a result of the coronavirus situation.
- Analyse your other fixed expenses – do you have expenses you could cut or postpone?
- Make a table of your expenses and costs. This will give you a concrete view of your expenses. You can see your past expenses easily in your online bank.
- Be honest with yourself to stay on your budget.
- If you cannot pay all your invoices, contact the service provider to agree on what to do.
- If you receive a collection letter, contact the debt collection agency immediately to avoid additional costs.
- Debt collection agencies can make you a payment schedule, allowing you to pay your due invoice in several instalments. It is important to contact the agency before the due date on the collection letter.
Don’t forget the following:
- Register as an unemployed jobseeker with the TE Services.
- Apply for earnings-related daily allowance, following the instructions of your unemployment fund.
- If you are not a member of an unemployment fund or if you do not meet the work requirement, apply for the unemployment benefit from Kela.
Please note that as of 16 March, the work requirement has been reduced from 26 to 13 weeks due to the coronavirus epidemic. This applies to persons with at least one week that counts towards the work requirement starting from 1 March 2020. Find out if you are entitled to earnings-related allowance from your unemployment fund on the basis of the reduced work requirement.
Source: https://www.kela.fi/web/en/unemployment-benefit-corona