All about… Unemployment
benefits
All Member States of the EU have made provisions for social insurance
legislation guaranteeing unemployment benefits, although national schemes
differ for economic, historical and practical reasons. As the existence of
different national schemes can cause problems when two or more countries
are involved, Community social security legislation co-ordinates these national
schemes to ensure that the application of different national legislations
does not adversely affect persons who move within the European Union and
the European Economic Area. Co-ordination means that Member States are free
to decide the details of the benefits, such as the conditions to be fulfilled,
the calculation and the amount of unemployment benefits, but must simultaneously
observe the common rules and principles established by Community legislation.
You might become unemployed in a Member State to which you have moved. If the national legislation in this Member State requires that a certain waiting period be fulfilled - which means that you are entitled to receive unemployment benefits only after having been insured or employed in this State for a certain time - , you might not qualify for such benefits as you have neither been insured nor worked there long enough. In this case, the institution in the country in which you claim the benefit must take account of periods of insurance or employment which you have completed under the legislation of any other Member State.
However, this principle only applies if you have paid at least one contribution in the country where you apply for benefits, and this must have been paid immediately before claiming the benefits. Apart from certain exceptions, claims can thus only be submitted in the last country of employment.
An unemployed person may also seek work in another Member State to improve their chances of finding a job. However, as this possibility is subject to restrictive conditions, it is important to be aware of your rights and obligations in this situation, as, otherwise, entitlement to unemployment benefits might be lost. These conditions require that:
- you must have remained available to the unemployment services of the Member State that pays the unemployment benefits for at least 4 weeks, unless the services shortened this period;
- you must register with the unemployment services of the Member State where you are looking for work within 7 days after you left the first Member State;
- you must comply with control procedures organised by the unemployment service of the Member State where you are looking for work.
In this case, you retain the right to unemployment benefits for a maximum period of 3 months. During this period, the amount of unemployment benefit is determined by the legislation of the Member State that you left, but actually paid to you by the employment services of the Member State where you are looking for work.
If you not have found a new job within this period, but are entitled to receive unemployment benefits for a longer time, you will only continue to receive these benefits if you return to the first Member State before the end of the 3-month period. If you return later, without the explicit permission of the employment service of the first Member State, you will lose all entitlement to unemployment benefits.
It is only possible to receive the three-month payment once between two periods of employment. Finally, keep in mind that specific rules apply to wholly unemployed frontier and seasonal workers: as a rule, such a frontier worker is entitled to unemployment benefits in his country of residence. A wholly unemployed seasonal worker has a right of option and can get benefits either in the country where he was a seasonal worker or where he resides.
- For the most part, the provisions on unemployment benefits are contained in Title III, Chapter 6 of Regulation 1408/71 (OJ No L28 of 30 January 1997).
- Practical tip: Form E301 is issued by the employment institution of the Member State where the unemployed person used to be insured before he moved to another Member State. This form is needed if the waiting period to obtain unemployment benefits in the Member State of last employment is not fulfilled. You can ask for it yourself, or the institution of the Member State where benefits are claimed will demand it directly from the other institution.
- If family members reside in another Member State, and if the number of family members is to be taken into account in assessing the level of unemployment benefit, particulars of the family members must be provided to the competent institution on form E302.
To ensure that unemployment benefits are paid to you within a reasonable time during the 3-month period by the employment services of the Member State where you are going to look for work, you should obtain form E303 from the employment service of the Member State which pays the unemployment benefits before you leave the country.
