Unemployment benefit from January 1, 2026: new carving model and its practical consequences
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December 30, 2025
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Significant changes in the payment of unemployment benefits will come into effect from 1 January 2026. After many years, during which the benefit was paid at the same amount throughout the entire support period, the so-called. carving model, in which the amount of the benefit is gradually reduced. The change is part of the amendment to the Social Insurance Act approved as part of the consolidation package.
Although it is an intervention in the social system, the changes will not affect all insured persons. The decisive factor will be the date of entitlement to the benefit, i.e. the day of inclusion in the register of job seekers. In the article, we explain in detail who the changes affect, how the benefit will be paid from now on, and what financial difference may arise in practice.
Unemployment benefit: purpose and basic conditions of entitlement
Unemployment benefit is one of the social insurance benefits and its aim is to temporarily replace the income of a person who has lost their job and is actively looking for a new job. The entitlement to the benefit arises on the day the insured person is included in the register of job seekers kept by the employment office.
The condition for granting the benefit is that the insured person, before being included in the register, must be:
- compulsorily insured against unemployment (e.g. employee),
- or voluntarily insured in unemployment.
The support period during which the benefit is paid is six months. This length is not changed by the amendment. However, it is changed benefit amount in individual months of the support period.
Current method of benefit payment (until 31.12.2025)
Until the end of 2025, unemployment benefit is paid in the amount of:
50 % daily assessment base (DVZ)
regardless of whether it is the first or last month of receiving the benefit. This model will also apply if part of the benefit is already paid in 2026, as long as the claim arose no later than 31 December 2025.
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New unemployment benefit payment from January 1, 2026
The amendment to the Social Insurance Act will be implemented from January 1, 2026 unemployment benefit carving model, which differentiates the amount of the benefit according to individual months of receipt.
The benefit will now be paid as follows:
Benefit period | Amount of benefit |
1st month | 50 % DVZ |
2nd month | 50 % DVZ |
3rd month | 50 % DVZ |
4th month | 40 % DVZ |
5th month | 30 % DVZ |
6th month | 20 % DVZ |
The table shows that the full amount of the benefit (50 % DVZ) will be maintained only during the first three months. In the second half of the support period, the benefit will gradually decrease, and in the last month it will represent only one fifth of the daily assessment base.
Who will be affected by the changes?
Insured person registered until 31.12.2025
The insured person was included in the register of job seekers on November 1, 2025. His gross monthly income was €1,500 and the daily assessment base reached €49.2477.
During the entire support period, the benefit is paid in the amount of 50 % DVZ. The total amount of the benefit for six months is 4 457,30 €.
Insured person registered since 1.1.2026
If the same insured person is registered only on January 1, 2026, with the same income and the same DVZ, the carving-out model will already apply. The total benefit amount for six months will only reach 3 560,90 €.
The difference between the old and new regimes is thus almost 900 €, which in practice has a significant impact on the financial situation of the unemployed.
Failure to exhaust the entire benefit and re-emergence of the claim
If the benefit recipient does not use up the entire six-month support period (for example, they get a job) and within two years is re-registered as a job seeker, he/she is entitled to benefit payment during the remaining part of the support period.
In this case too, it is crucial date of original claim:
- if the original claim arose before 31.12.2025, the remainder of the benefit is paid according to the original rules (50 % DVZ),
- if it was created from January 1, 2026, the remaining months are paid according to the carving model (40 %, 30 %, 20 % DVZ).
Maximum unemployment benefit amount
The amount of the benefit is limited by the maximum daily assessment base, which changes annually on July 1 and is based on the general assessment base (GAB).
The maximum DVZ is calculated as:
DVZ max = 2 × VVZ / 365
For the period from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, the following applies:
- VVZ: €18,288,
- maximum DVZ: €100.2083,
- maximum benefit per 30 days: €1,503.20,
- maximum benefit for 31 days: €1,553.30.
Objective and rationale for introducing the sculpting model
The introduction of the carving model is part of the consolidation package and is estimated to bring savings to public finances of approximately 24 million euros. However, the explanatory report to the law states that the main objective is Motivating unemployed people to return to the labor market sooner.
The legislator assumes that a higher benefit in the initial months will provide the necessary financial stability, while its gradual reduction is intended to increase the pressure to actively seek employment in the later phase of unemployment.