Receiving unemployment benefits requires uninterrupted employment during the last 120 days before application. Many workers who could not return to work for a long time because of the coronavirus pandemic now wonder how they will qualify for unemployment benefits if they are dismissed after the lifting of the dismissal ban.
Concerns After the Dismissal Ban
To prevent economic problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and currency fluctuations, a dismissal ban has been in effect since the outbreak began. The ban is expected to be extended until the end of the year. Under this rule, employers cannot lay off workers except for justified reasons related to the epidemic, but they often place employees on unpaid leave. Because social security contributions are not paid for employees on unpaid leave, those workers are recorded as not actively working. This situation creates a significant risk for people who may be dismissed when the ban ends, since receiving unemployment benefits requires uninterrupted employment during the final 120 days prior to the end of employment.
Because contributions are not paid while on unpaid leave, retirement terms are also extended, and many companies face economic contraction. Although employers cannot dismiss staff due to the ban, the end of the restriction will raise serious problems for affected workers.
The 120-Day Requirement for Unemployment Benefits
A 2019 change clarified that a key condition for unemployment benefits is that the employment contract must be in effect during the final 120 days before termination. Under unpaid leave, the employment contract is effectively suspended and contributions are not paid. Recent updates state that names must appear on employer payroll and premium declarations and that there must be 120 days of contributions within the last 120 days. In other words, the worker’s insurance must be active.
Insurance entries and exits at the same workplace or employment at multiple workplaces during the last 120 days are accepted under the amended rules, provided there is no gap between insurance records. If a worker has a recorded insurance exit and is registered at another workplace from the very next day onward, the 120-day requirement can still be met. However, if there is any interruption between the exit date and the next entry—even a one-day gap—the employment contract is considered interrupted and the 120-day condition is not satisfied. Shortfalls in the number of reported working days by the employer do not automatically break the 120-day rule. For example, months where an employee’s working days are reported as fewer than 30 to the social security institution do not necessarily invalidate the 120-day requirement. The decisive factor is whether the worker’s insurance coverage has been uninterrupted in the final 120 days before termination.
Situations That Do Not Affect the 120 Days
The legislation also lists situations that are excluded from counting toward the final 120 days for unemployment insurance eligibility. Exemptions include disciplinary penalty, personal illness, detention, custody, lockout, natural disaster, and strike. Currently, pandemic-related illness is not explicitly included in that list. Although unpaid leave is mentioned in the legislation, it applies only for limited periods. If pandemic-related unpaid leave is later added to the list of excluded events, employees placed on unpaid leave due to a widespread health emergency could retain their unemployment benefit rights when the dismissal ban ends.