A Kela Question

[crunchy]

I am currently working as AuPair, with a fine salary (€400/kk), in Porvoo.
I heard that there is a minimum salary rate for getting listed in Kela services. Do I reach that with mine already?
I will work in this job for app. 1.5 years, planning on moving to Helsinki afterwards and working there. As my Finnish will still need some years to really be good enough, I will probably have to start with jobs in cleaning/food services there, if I can not find me something better within the next months already. (I quite got some vitamin b, so I got some "chances" for other jobs, too. Just wanna be sure.)
What I was wondering now - in case I won't find a job in time, that pays for my rent and living (which I actually think I will, but one never knows), would Kela grant me financial benefits until I do so? Or will I be left on my own, even though I have worked here quite a long time before already?
(I worked as AuPair already for one year, but wasn't listed in Kela then, as my host-family didn't find that reasonable, so I guess that doesn't count at all now.)

Thanks for any help!

[Pursuivant]

salary for full-time work has to be over 900/month and regular hours.. was it over 18/week... so you better go ask in Kela whether you fill the criteria of working or not.

[blaugrau]

The situation of au-pairs is a bit difficult. Kela doesn't normally insure them, because they are regarded as "temporarily resident" in Finland. If you meet certain minimum requirements, however, there might be a chance for you to get insured: if your work lasts at least 4 months, you have minimum 18 contract hours per week and your salary is above a certain minimum level.

I think the minimum full-time of 961 Euro that you have to be paid can be understood as "pro rata" (that's my assumption, but please do check it with Kela), so if your employment is 18hours a week, the minimum wage condition would be correspondingly lower (you can calculate that yourself or best is to go and ask Kela).

Here's the text from the Kela webpages:

Under certain circumstances, you may be covered by the Finnish social security system if your employment in Finland lasts more than 4 months. Trainees and au pairs are generally not covered by the Finnish social security system. This is also the case with other short-term or low-pay workers whose employment relationship does not meet a condition regarding the terms of employment.

Condition regarding the terms of employment

The condition regarding the terms of employment is satisfied if you work at least 18 hours a week and your pay is consistent with the terms of the relevant collective agreement. Where no collective agreement exists, monthly pay must be at least 961 euros a month.

[Source: http://www.kela.fi/in/internet/english. ... enDocument ]

HOWEVER:
If you think you meet the requirements, be careful that additional issues will come up:
- you must be registered with the maistraatti as au-pair if you're working in Finland for at least 6 months
- you'll have to pay tax

EDIT TO ADD:
Do you still qualify for insurance from Germany? I think to have heard from some German au-pairs/students that they could claim back medical costs in Finland from their German insurance while living in Finland. You could also ask the question again on the German-language-Finlandforum (www.saksalaiset.fi), a few of the regulars there are (ex)aupairs and might be able to give you more specific advice.

[crunchy]

Thanks guys!

Well, we haven't yet managed to get me fully registered. It's been a couple of busy weeks.. but tomorrow I'll be registered at the police and also at the maistraatti. After that I was thinking about Kela.. . I have a European insurance from Germany still, though.

Mhm €900 is that pre or post paying taxes? I think that my host-family does pay the taxes for me, sure they do. But I doubt they can be sooo much regarding my salary?!

I am planning on staying in Finland forever. I don't wanna go back to Germany. I don't consider that as my home country (anymore). And if I have to I will work as a cleaning girl for the rest of my life, to be able to stay. (Just to make my point clear.)

How many months does one have to have worked in Finland fully, for Kela to grant their unemployment benefits etc.?

[Pursuivant]

to get on KELA sickness insurance you need to have a job that is permanent (or atleast for 2 years). to get unemployment you need to work for 10 months and belong to an unemployment fund...

[blaugrau]

Thanks guys!

Well, we haven't yet managed to get me fully registered. It's been a couple of busy weeks.. but tomorrow I'll be registered at the police and also at the maistraatti. After that I was thinking about Kela.. . I have a European insurance from Germany still, though.

Mhm €900 is that pre or post paying taxes? I think that my host-family does pay the taxes for me, sure they do. But I doubt they can be sooo much regarding my salary?!

I am planning on staying in Finland forever. I don't wanna go back to Germany. I don't consider that as my home country (anymore). And if I have to I will work as a cleaning girl for the rest of my life, to be able to stay. (Just to make my point clear.)

How many months does one have to have worked in Finland fully, for Kela to grant their unemployment benefits etc.?

As I said above, I think the 961 Euro /month requirement is meant to mean "pro rata", thus, that's the sum that corresponds to full-time work, but if you work only part-time (but still meet the 18hrs/week condition), the minimum wage requirement is correspondingly lower. You can calculate that yourself if you work out the hourly wage that corresponds to the 961 Euro/month full-time (don't know what full-time means exactly, 40 hrs or 37.5hrs/week?). But your safest bet is of course to ask Kela.

About unemployment money: you need to be registered as permanently resident in order to be eligible (the basic one from Kela, which is not wage-related). That might be a bit of a tricky situation, since au-pairs are more often than not seen as temporarily resident. If you have a permanent contract with your family and if you fulfil the conditions above (in terms of hours worked and wage), they *might* accept you as permanent resident after you've worked here at least 6 months. It's hard to predict though, as Kela leaves itself a certain degree of flexibility in these issues, at least that's my impression. However, the time will count only from the time you've been registered with the police and the maistraatti, thus if you're not registered yet but have lived in Finland already some time, this time will not count at all.

If I remember correctly, there's another German ex-aupair who managed successfully after some hiccups to be fully insured by Kela and also got study support etc. after her au-pair work ended and she started studying in Finland. I think her username was *Nordlicht, you could try find her via the search engine, she might be able to give you the best advice in this specific issue.

[interleukin]

It is not KELA who pays the unemployment money, so it is not important what KELA thinks about that. You get unemployment money if you have been working and paying into an unemployment fund (for the last ca. year). If you are starving and unemployed and not getting unemployment money, then it goes back to KELA to consider if you get support.

[Blondie]

In my personal experience, don´t put so many expectations to receive money from KELA. I´ve been working as a babysitter (full time job,contract,KELA stuff,all papers arranged) for almost a year. I´ve checked everything and I had the right to ask for economy benefit from KELA until I start my new job contract (a period of 4 months). I´ve been asking to KELA this money for 5 months, and after that period, finally they gave me an amount of money. But as I was studying finnish for one month during the period, I just received money for 3 months. And not that much, not enough to pay rent + food. How I managed to stay in Finland?Saving money beforehand.
It´s not enough that you said you want to stay here forever. You need to prove it. In my case, they said there is no reason why I can stay in Finland as I´m not married with a Finn or I have children...
I´ve been in KELA offices like 15 times before I received anything. I had to send a lot of papers and prove loads of stuff.So, be patient and good luck!

[Rosamunda]

HOWEVER:
If you think you meet the requirements, be careful that additional issues will come up:
- you must be registered with the maistraatti as au-pair if you're working in Finland for at least 6 months
- you'll have to pay tax

And your tax takes into account your lodgings and food since they are considered to be taxable benefits. So be very careful if you go down that road because you may end up with less cash...

The most important thing is healthcare. Make sure you are covered. For the rest, just try to learn Finnish so you can eventually get a job.


@ crunchy PS: I think I might know your host family.... is your employer South African by any chance???

[blaugrau]

It is not KELA who pays the unemployment money, so it is not important what KELA thinks about that. You get unemployment money if you have been working and paying into an unemployment fund (for the last ca. year). If you are starving and unemployed and not getting unemployment money, then it goes back to KELA to consider if you get support.

It actually IS Kela who pays the unemployment money -- they pay it to the unemployment office to be paid to you (at least that's how the unemployment office explained it to me). The unemployment office can't do anything if you're not registered with Kela and regarded as permanently resident by maistraatti and Kela. The thing with the unemployment fund concerns wage-related unemployment money rather than the basic Kela-unemployment money -- maybe the service workers union would actually accept au-pairs, but I'd think that in the end the basic unemployment money will be rather close to au-pair's wages anyway (if not even more).

In principle, if you qualify for unemployment money, there's a chance you can get housing support from Kela. What is difficult, however, is to be regarded as permanently resident when you're an au-pair.

[Pursuivant]

In principle, if you qualify for unemployment money, there's a chance you can get housing support from Kela. What is difficult, however, is to be regarded as permanently resident when you're an au-pair.

that is the KELA-22

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.