Adult education allowance creates many possibilities for employers

Adult education allowance is an easy way to ensure relevant and up-to-date skills for your employees. It is a cost-effective way for employers to allow their staff to study on full-time or part-time study leave.

Adult education allowance is a practical way to support the professional development and well-being of employees. It helps strengthen expertise in the work community in line with the organisation’s goals.

Cost-effective solution to various situations

Adult education allowance covers a wide range of studies in different fields, from full degrees to partial degrees and short vocational trainings. It enables employees to take part-time or full-time study leave and combine work and studies.

Employees apply for the allowance in the Employment Fund’s online service, and the allowance is paid directly to the applicant.  The employee’s studies will not create any costs or obligations to the employer, other than having to make study leave arrangements and submit employment contract information during the application process.

“It is definitely a good idea to include adult education allowance in your company’s toolkit. You don’t need massive staff competence development plans to take advantage of it," says Tuulikki Saari, Director of Customer Relations of the Employment Fund. 

A way to build new skills

The most important preconditions for adult education allowance are that the employee must have eight years of work history in any field and that the current employment relationship must have lasted at least one year. This means that the employee can apply for the allowance quite early into the employment relationship, which may lower the threshold for hiring less experienced workers.

Sometimes adult education allowance can enable the employee to take on a new role, either within their current company or somewhere else.

“Adult education allowance can make it easier to find a solution to an unexpected situation, whether it’s underachievement issues or the employee’s desire to get better at their current job or pursue a new career path,” says Katja Knaapila, Director of HR and Communications of the Employment Fund. 

Get the most out of studies with the help of our guide 

At best, studying benefits both the employee and the employer. Although adult education allowance is paid to the employee, the initiative to apply for it can come from the employer. 

Our guide helps employees and employers discuss their hopes and goals together. 

Read our guide! (PDF) 

Employer’s checklist for the application process

Is your employee applying for adult education allowance? This checklist helps you ensure that the allowance process goes smoothly.

• When you accept your employee’s study leave, find out how it will affect your employee’s annual holidays.
• Arrange a replacement for the duration of the employee’s study leave. Appoint a contact person who the employee can contact during study leave.
• When your employee submits an initial application to apply for a right to adult education allowance, you will receive a request to complete the employer form in the online service. To complete the form, provide the following information: information about your organisation, weekly working hours, start date of employment contract, permanent or fixed-term employment contract, pension plan information and timing of study leave. 
• If you are notified that the income data reported to the Incomes Register needs correcting, make the relevant corrections as soon as possible. After this, submit proof of the employee’s earnings in the Employment Fund’s online service.
• Log into the online service through the Suomi.fi authentication service using your personal online banking credentials. Your personal data will not be saved.
  • Please note that the online employer form works best with the latest versions of the Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers. Go to the browser settings to make sure that you are using the latest browser version.
  • Our online service is the safest channel for sending documentation. If you do not have online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or a certification card to use the Suomi.fi authentication service, you can send us the information via encrypted email. See email instructions.