Income security: increased exempt amount to continue until end November
Parliament has approved a law amendment, according to which the provisions regarding increased exempt amount will continue to end of November. Eased requirements regarding commuting and relocation allowances will also continue.
Exempt amount means that earnings-related daily allowance receivers may earn € 500 per month (€ 465 per four week application period) until earnings start affecting their daily allowances. For earnings exceeding € 500, each euro earned will reduce the daily allowance by 50 cents. Without increase, the exempt amount is € 300 per month.
According to the law amendment, the exempt amount € 500 concerns application periods starting no later than November 30, 2021. Accordingly, for application periods starting December 1, 2021 or later, the exempt amount is € 300.
You may use our calculator to get an estimation on how part-time work or short-term jobs affect your daily allowance.
The calculator observes the exempt amount € 500, and also shows how salaries exceeding the exempt amount as well as maximum and minimum amounts affect your daily allowance. Maximum amount means that the total of daily allowance and paid work cannot exceed the salary, which your earnings-related daily allowance is based on. Minimum amount means that the amount of daily allowance must always at least equal the amount which would be paid as a basic daily allowance by KELA.
Travel time requirement for commuting and relocation allowances to remain at two hours
Unemployed persons may qualify for a commuting and relocation allowance, if they accept employment involving a workplace located far away from their present place of residence. The commuting and relocation allowance is between € 726 and € 1045 per month. Allowances can be paid for a maximum of two months.
By way of this temporary law amendment, the travel time requirement for a two-way commuting distance has been reduced from three hours to two hours. This amendment applies to full-time work. For part-time work, the commuting distance has already been two hours. You meet this two hour commuting distance if your travel time to work, one-way, is more than one hour.
As a result of the law amendment, a commuting and relocation allowance for full-time work can be obtained based on a commuting distance of more than two hours, providing that your employment relationship starts no later than November 30, 2021. For employment relationships starting December 1, 2021 or later, a commuting distance of three hours applies.
