Employment, Financial Services, Insurance, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

The Lithuanian Parliament has started to consider amendments to the Law on Unemployment Social Insurance. It is one of the seven packages of the new social model related to the sustainability of social insurance.

The amendments stipulate that a person would be able to claim the unemployment social insurance benefit if prior to registration at a local labour exchange he had acquired the unemployment insurance record not shorter than 12 months during the last 24 months, instead of the current 18 months during the last 36 months.

The unemployment social insurance benefit payout periods would no longer be linked to the unemployment insurance record and essentially would be extended to 9 months.

The variable part of the unemployment insurance benefit would be calculated encouraging an unemployed person to promptly look for a new job. In the initial period, 1-3 months, the variable part of the unemployment social insurance benefit would amount to 50% of the average monthly insured income of an unemployed person. Afterwards, the amount would be reduced to 40 and 30%. However, the unemployment social insurance benefit would not exceed 75% of the average salary level in Lithuania.

Parliament should return to the matter on 24 November.