Guide to the concept of suitable employment in the context of unemployment benefit

The involuntary nature of unemployment and the unemployed person's availability for work are basic conditions for the award of unemployment insurance benefits. This is why the unemployed are obliged to accept offers of suitable employment and face penalties if they fail to comply with this requirement. What criteria must employment meet in order to be considered suitable? What kind of employment can workers be required to accept on pain of losing their entitlement to unemployment benefit?

Information collected from 31 Council of Europe member states in reply to these questions is set out in table form in this guide. This publication also lays down guidelines to help member states to formulate or revise their policies concerning cases in which job seekers may refuse an offer of employment without incurring penalties. These guidelines are intended to offer practical assistance and reflect current practices in many European states. They do not claim to be exhaustive nor to be applicable in every member state, but they have been deliberately devised in a sufficiently general manner to allow member states to take account of their legislation and their national, social and economic context when incorporating them into their policies and administrative procedures.