Cláudia is receiving unemployment benefit and a first client has turned up for her to work self-employed. She’s excited - and then, immediately, panics: “if I open an activity, do I lose the benefit tomorrow?”.
The short answer is no - and you can even turn it to your advantage. There are two official routes: an IEFP measure that lets you use the benefit you still have left to launch your business (with a serious catch - three years of exclusivity), and partial unemployment benefit, for those starting a small activity. Let’s take it step by step.
The right measure: own-employment support (IEFP)
The official route isn’t “open an activity and hope you don’t lose the benefit”. It’s an IEFP measure (the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training) called support for creating your own employment for unemployment-benefit recipients: you use the benefit you’re still entitled to in order to create your own job as a self-employed worker.
What the measure does is let you bring forward the benefit you still have left - all of it or only part - to create your own job. Depending on what you need, that takes two forms:
Either way, you have to present the IEFP with a viable project that creates at least your own full-time job.
Way 1: part now, the rest monthly
It’s the safer option at the start. You bring forward only part of the amount and let the remainder keep being paid to you monthly while you work for yourself - precisely because you’re set up as a self-employed worker. It works as a stable base income while the business isn’t yet generating enough.
Example - Cláudia, a designer: she still had several months of benefit left. Instead of requesting it all at once, she brought forward only part and let the remainder keep being paid to her monthly while landing her first clients. It’s the cushion that gave her time, without leaving her with no income at all.
Way 2: all in one go
If what you’re missing is capital to invest - equipment, software, a space - you request the payment in one go of the whole remaining amount (net of what you’ve already received). You start with all the money upfront rather than receiving it drop by drop - but from then on, the monthly benefit stops coming in.
Example - Hugo, a plumber: he requested the lump sum in one go, presented the project to the IEFP, and used that money to buy tools and a second-hand van. He started with capital rather than receiving it drop by drop.
- Steady monthly income while you start up
- Less capital available upfront
- A safety net during the first months
- All the available capital in one go to invest
- No monthly benefit from then on
- Ideal if you need to buy equipment or a space
The catch: 3 years of exclusivity
Here’s what hardly anyone tells you, and it changes the decision. By using this IEFP measure (the benefit advance), you commit to carrying out the supported activity exclusively for at least three years. It’s not support you take lightly to “try out” for a few months: it’s a three-year commitment to your own business.
So before going ahead, ask yourself seriously: do you really want to be self-employed in this activity for the next three years? If the answer is “maybe”, think twice.
Warning: the first step is the job centre, and it’s before you open an activity at the tax office - the measure requires presenting and getting a project approved by the IEFP. Opening first and asking later can leave you out of the support. And do notify Social Security and your job centre that you’ve started the activity: carrying on receiving the full benefit without notifying leads to having to pay benefits back later. The golden rule: talk to the job centre first.
Another route: partial unemployment benefit
If you’re going to run a small activity, with income below your benefit amount, you may not need the IEFP measure: there’s partial unemployment benefit, which lets you combine part of the benefit with your activity income, without the three-year commitment. It has its own rules and limits and requires you to report the income to Social Security. Before deciding, check with your job centre which route is better for you.
✅ In summary
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Yes, you can open an activity while on unemployment benefit - through the IEFP’s own-employment support measure, which lets you bring forward the benefit you still have left. You can take it all in one go as capital, or only part and keep the remainder paid to you monthly while you start up.
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The catch (on the IEFP route) is serious: you commit to keeping the activity exclusive for at least 3 years, with a project approved by the IEFP. If the activity is small, ask about partial unemployment benefit, which has no such commitment. Talk to the job centre before opening the activity at the tax office.
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With FIZ your self-employed obligations (invoices, VAT, the quarterly Social Security declaration) are handled from day one, so the business you’re creating starts without tripping over bureaucracy. See the plans.
