Conditions when you have compensation from the unemployment insurance fund

When you have compensation from the unemployment insurance fund (a-kassan), among other things, you must actively be applying for suitable jobs and submit a monthly activity report (aktivitetsrapport) to us. Read here about what you must do to avoid getting a warning or having your compensation suspended for one or more days.

What you need to do

So that you are not at risk of mismanaging your job search and going without compensation for one or more days, you must actively apply for jobs and follow the plan we developed together.

That means you must:

  • apply for at least 6 suitable jobs per month (unless stated otherwise in your action plan, found on My pages (Mina sidor)): job listings, jobs we have suggested to you or urged you to apply for, and spontaneous applications, for example, submitting your CV to employers
  • apply for jobs we have urged (directed) you to apply to
  • submit your activity report to us between the 1st and 14th of each month, in which you list all jobs you have applied for and other activities you have completed
  • develop an action plan together with us for how you will get a job
  • participate in meetings with us and our suppliers
  • answer the phone when we have agreed to call you
  • contact us and our suppliers at the scheduled times.

To not prolong your unemployment and risk your compensation for several days, you must also accept:

  • jobs you are offered
  • job interviews, and do your best to get the job
  • extra support through programmes we offer you.

You may also risk having your compensation suspended for several days if you cause your unemployment by:

  • choosing to leave a programme or job without a valid reason
  • engaging in conduct that results in us ending your programme
  • causing your employer to end your employment.

Jobs in which you have experience or training/education are suitable for you to apply to. Other jobs where your skills would apply are also suitable. Applying for jobs in several different professions will increase your opportunities to get a job. Remember that these must be jobs that you have a realistic chance of getting. Jobs that require particular training, a certain education level, certification or authorisation that you do not have are not suitable.

If for medical reasons you cannot apply for or accept certain types of jobs, you must certify that with a medical certificate.

If an employer wants to hire you and thinks you have the right skills, the job is suitable. Contact your unemployment insurance fund if you are offered a job and are unsure of whether it is a suitable job, for example in terms of work environment or hiring conditions. In that case, you will find out if this might affect your compensation if you turn down the job.

Your action plan may have what is called a “search interval”, such as 6-20. This describes how many suitable jobs you should apply for in order to have the best chance of getting a job as quickly as possible.

The lowest number in the search interval also refers to how many suitable jobs you should apply for at a minimum each month in order for us to consider you to be actively searching for work.

If we assess that you do not have good possibilities to find work within daily commuting distance, then you should also apply for suitable jobs in other parts of the country. Daily commuting distance ordinarily means that you can commute to your job, work, and commute home again within 12 hours. If we assess that you do not have good possibilities to find work in your current professional field, then you should also apply for suitable jobs in other professions. You can find what applies for you in your action plan.

Even if you do not have an action plan or if your action plan has no search interval, you need to be actively applying for jobs. That ordinarily means that you should apply for at least 6 suitable jobs per month in order for us to consider you to be actively searching for work. If you are working part time or if for some other reason you are not unemployed full time, you might not need to apply for as many jobs.

If you have applied for fewer suitable jobs than described above, we will notify your unemployment insurance fund. If in their opinion you have not actively applied for suitable jobs, they will decide on a warning, or deny you compensation for one or more days.

Be sure to enter every job you have applied for in your activity report (aktivitetsrapport): job listings, spontaneous applications, or jobs we have suggested or urged you to apply for. Your activity report is an important document for us to be able to assess whether you have actively been searching for suitable jobs.

Jobs you should apply for

When you become unemployed, we assess whether you have a good chance of finding a job in your professional field and within daily commuting distance. If not, you will have to apply for jobs in other occupations and in other parts of the country.

Jobs you should apply for – broaden your professional and geographical horizons

We occasionally check to see if you have applied for the jobs you have reported in your activity report. It is therefore important that you save documents for at least three months that demonstrate that you have applied for these jobs.

If you are chosen for a check, we will send you a letter. The letter will state which jobs we want you to show that you applied for. We will also discuss how and when you will respond to us at the latest.

You can show that you have applied for a job by sending, for example:

  • your application or your CV
  • a response from the employer showing that you applied for the job, or some other document showing that the employer received your application
  • a screenshot of a confirmation that you applied for the job.

Save documents showing that you applied for a job for at least three months. If you do not answer in time or if you cannot show that you applied for enough jobs, you may receive a warning or have your compensation suspended for one or more days

What happens if you do not do what you should

The Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) notifies your unemployment insurance fund if we have a reason to suspect that you are mismanaging your job search, or prolonging or causing your unemployment. If your unemployment insurance fund begins an investigation, we will contact you and you will have a chance to describe what has happened before we decide on your compensation.

Your unemployment insurance fund may decide to give you a warning or to suspend your compensation for one or more days. They may also decide that your compensation will not be affected, for example if they determine that you have an acceptable reason.

  • First time: you are issued a warning.
  • Second time: One day without compensation.
  • Third time: Five days without compensation.
  • Fourth time: Ten days without compensation.
  • Fifth time: the entitlement to compensation is suspended until you have fulfilled a new working condition.

  • First time: Five days without compensation.
  • Second time: Ten days without compensation.
  • Third time: 45 days without compensation.
  • Fourth time: 45 days without compensation.
  • Fifth time: the entitlement to compensation is suspended until you have fulfilled a new working condition.

  • First time: 45 days without compensation.
  • Second time: 45 days without compensation.
  • Third time: the entitlement to compensation is suspended until you have fulfilled a new working condition.

When we notify your unemployment insurance fund

If we are made aware of something that could prevent you from searching for and accepting a job, we must notify your unemployment insurance fund. This could include, for example, if you are studying, sick, caring for a sick child, have a company, or are abroad. If your unemployment insurance fund begins an investigation, they will contact you before they decide whether this affects your right to compensation.

We will also notify your unemployment insurance fund when you have notified us that you have started working and are no longer unemployed or if for some other reason you are no longer looking for a job. If you want to look for a job after that and to have compensation again, you must call us on your first day of unemployment. If you are no longer registered with the Public Employment Service, you must register again.

Frequently asked questions

The main rule is that you may not study and receive compensation from the unemployment insurance fund at the same time. There are exceptions, and whether you can keep your compensation while studying is always up to the unemployment insurance fund. It is therefore important to contact your unemployment insurance fund before you begin a class or study programme. This is the case regardless of the type of studies, how much time you spend on your studies, and whether the studies are held in the daytime, evenings, or weekends. If the Public Employment Service finds out that you are studying, and we have no evidence that the unemployment insurance fund has approved the studies, then we must notify your unemployment insurance fund that you are studying.

If you have been approved to study while receiving compensation from the unemployment insurance fund, the studies must not impact your job search. You must also be prepared to stop studying if you get a new job.

As long as you are unemployed and want compensation from the unemployment insurance fund, you must continue to actively apply for jobs. That is one of the conditions of your unemployment insurance. In this case, you can apply for temporary work.

If you have a contract for a new job that you will begin soon, that may be an acceptable reason to turn down another job or to not apply to a job that we suggested you apply for. Contact your unemployment insurance fund for information about what applies in your case. Remember to continue to apply for jobs on your own.

You should also notify the Public Employment Service that you have a new job.