Earnings-related allowance
Amount of earnings-related daily allowance
The amount of earnings-related daily allowance is calculated based on your salary before unemployment. Wages are taken into consideration for at least 12 months. The gross value of your salary is considered, i.e. before tax is deducted.
The calculation of earnings-related daily allowance takes into account, among other things:
- basic salary paid for the work
- annual holiday pay
- various supplements, such as evening work and shift work supplements
- taxable fringe benefits and reimbursements of expenses
- salary paid for the notice period (note: compensation paid instead of a notice period is not taken into account)
The calculation does not take into account income that is not based on employment, capital income or income that cannot be regarded as established. Such income includes:
- holiday bonus and holiday compensation
- financial benefits paid by the employer, such as a so-called “golden handshake”
The salary on which the daily allowance is based does not fully correspond to the gross salary you have received, as a deduction is made corresponding to the employee’s occupational pension and unemployment insurance contributions and the daily allowance contribution of the health insurance scheme. In 2026, the deduction is 3.83%. The allowance calculator takes this deduction into account, so you can enter your actual monthly salary.
The amount of the daily allowance is calculated from the earnings received during the months that accrue entitlement to earnings-related unemployment security. More information about the conditions for receiving earnings-related daily allowance: Eligibility for earnings-related allowance
Graduated reduction
The earnings-related daily allowance is subject to a graduated reduction. This means that the amount of the allowance decreases after it has been paid for a certain period of time.
The allowance is reduced to:
- 80% of the original amount after it has been paid for 40 days (approximately two months), and
- 75% of the original amount after it has been paid for 170 days (approximately eight months).
You can estimate the amount of your allowance after the graduated reduction using the allowance calculator.
The earnings-related daily allowance consists of a basic component and an earnings-related component
The basic component of the earnings-related daily allowance is €37.21 per day. This part of the allowance does not depend on your salary before unemployment, and the full allowance is always at least equal to the basic component.
An earnings-related component is added to the basic component. Its amount depends on your salary. The earnings-related component is 45% of the difference between your daily wage and the basic component. If your monthly salary exceeds €3,534.95, the earnings-related component is 20% of the amount exceeding that threshold.
Minimum and maximum amounts
The full earnings-related daily allowance can be at most 90% of the daily wage on which the allowance is based.
However, the earnings-related daily allowance is always at least equal to the basic component.
Effect of social benefits on the daily allowance
If you receive other social benefits in addition to earnings-related daily allowance, they may affect your allowance. Some benefits prevent payment of earnings-related daily allowance, some reduce the amount payable in full, and others have no effect on benefits paid by the unemployment fund.
The following benefits, among others, do not affect earnings-related daily allowance:
- housing allowance
- child benefit
- social assistance
The following benefits, among others, reduce earnings-related daily allowance:
- home care allowance
- part-time pension
The following benefits, among others, prevent payment of earnings-related daily allowance:
- maternity, paternity or parental allowance
- full old-age pension