Unemployment Insurance Fund

Career counselling helps individuals make decisions related to their working lives and plan their careers. The counselling covers topics related to education, job placements, and professional choices.

Career counsellors work in every Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund office. All interested individuals can participate in career counselling, which is offered free of charge.

Book an appointment for a counselling session in the e-Labour Fund or call the Unemployment Insurance Fund office to make an appointment. Counsellors are also available for consultations at the International Estonian Centre.

Read more about career planning on the Unemployment Insurance Fund's career portal. 

The Fund offers various labour market training opportunities; you can find details about these options on their official website.

In the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s job clubs, you can gain insights into the Estonian labour market, the application process, and your rights and responsibilities in the workplace. For more details, please read more here.

Estonian Refugee Council organises training on How to become an entrepreneur in Estonia. Training provides an overview of the Estonian labour market’s current situation, the labour law, the current trends in the Estonian labour market and also informs about the institutions which support the employee who enters the labour market or helps them in case of legal questions. The training also covers the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) and career opportunities on the Estonian labour market. 

The entrepreneurship training will focus on topics related to starting a business, such as possible forms of entrepreneurship, legislation and the Estonian tax system. It will explain what grants are available for starting a business and introduce the e-Tax Board.

Read more about Estonian Refugee Assistance training courses here. 

The Estonian Labour Disputes Committee deals with the resolution of labour disputes by neutrally hearing all parties. The reasons for referring a dispute to the Commission are disagreements that people are unable to resolve between themselves, such as loss of pay, dismissal, etc. The Labour Disputes Committees carefully consider all the evidence presented, whether it is witness statements, documents, evidence of inspection findings.

Help in contacting the Labor Inspectorate and the Labor Dispute Commission can be provided by the Prevention and Victim Helpline. 

More information can be found here.

Exploitation at work is forcing a worker to work in violation of the rules on working time and rest time and knowingly giving the worker false information about working conditions. Non-payment of agreed wages is a common form of labour exploitation. 

Exploitation also includes limiting a worker's freedom of movement or constantly controlling the worker's mobility, social isolation, such as denying or limiting contact with loved ones and preventing the worker from seeking help, physical or sexual violence, intimidation and threats, such as threatening to refuse to pay wages or to hand them over to the authorities, taking identity and travel documents and holding them in one's possession. 

Human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation or forced labour refers to abusive activities that result in the worker being placed in a forced situation with poor working conditions, long working hours and pay below the national threshold (underpayment), poor or even dangerous working conditions, and little or no opportunity to change the situation. Forced labour refers to any work or service that a person is forced to do against his or her will, under threat or in fear of punishment..

Read more about labour exploitation on the Labour Inspectorate's website.

If you have any doubts about whether your workplace is treating you fairly and legally, find out more about workplace exploitation on the Support for Victims website.

If you feel that you have been exposed to fraudulent job offers, labour exploitation or have been lured into committing a crime, you can get help from the Prevention and Victim Helpline counsellor on  (+372) 660 7320 (Mon-Fri 9-17) or call their crisis line (+372) 116 006 (24/7). You can also contact them by email at inimkaubandus@sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee or on Facebook.

You can write to the police about your concerns at:  thb.info@politsei.ee. 

Read more about human trafficking on the Criminal Policy website. 

In order to support the integration and continued employment of beneficiaries of international protection, the employer is paid a fee for mentoring the beneficiary in the workplace and is reimbursed the costs of translation services related to the beneficiary's entry, qualification and employment.

The fee is paid and the costs are reimbursed if the employer employs a beneficiary of international protection for an indefinite period or with an employment contract of at least four months who has lived in Estonia for less than five years.

Employers can apply to the Unemployment Fund for payment of a job mentoring fee if an international protection beneficiary working for the employer needs job coaching.

The cost of interpretation or translation services related to the employment of the beneficiary of international protection (e.g. documents related to employment) is reimbursed as translation costs.

Reimbursement of the costs related to obtaining a professional qualification, certificate of competence, certificate or document certifying the right to drive a motor vehicle and incurred on behalf of the staff member: fees for the pre-examination consultation, the examination and the certificate applied for, including state fees.

The terms and conditions and more information are available on the Unemployment Insurance Fund's website.

If you wish to find a job and work but need assistance due to reduced work capacity, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) can provide services specifically designed for you.

The Töötukassa also offers various services to unemployed individuals with disabilities to make finding and retaining a job easier. You can read more about the services provided by the Töötukassa here.

An individual with a recognised partial or complete loss of work capacity is entitled to basic holiday leave of 35 calendar days instead of the standard 28 calendar days.

Parents raising a child with a disability are also afforded more favourable conditions than usual.

Termination of Employment
The termination of an employment contract can only occur under the grounds and procedures stipulated in the Employment Contracts Act. In the case of termination due to redundancy, the employee who is raising a child under three years of age has the right of priority for continued employment. There are no special provisions made for individuals with disabilities. However, it is prohibited to dismiss an employee because of their disability or to select individuals for redundancy based on this criterion.

The employer is obligated to offer an employee who has partially lost their work capacity due to a workplace accident or occupational disease the opportunity to continue working in a suitable role within the company.

Therefore, an employment contract should not be automatically terminated due to changes in the employee’s health status; instead, the employee must be offered appropriate work if such an opportunity exists.

If an employer hires an individual with reduced work capacity, they are also entitled to certain benefits. Employers employing individuals with reduced work capacity can apply to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund for social tax benefits. You can read more about this here.

Unemployment Benefit

You are entitled to unemployment benefit if you:

• Are registered as unemployed with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa).
• Have worked for at least 180 days in the year preceding your unemployment.
• Have a monthly income that is less than 31 times the daily unemployment benefit rate (€362.70).

For more information, visit the Unemployment Insurance Fund's website or call the information line at 777 3000.

Unemployment Insurance Compensation

Unemployment insurance compensation is paid to individuals who have paid unemployment insurance contributions for at least 12 months within the last three years and who have not left their job voluntarily, by mutual agreement with their employer, or due to their own fault. For the first hundred days of receiving the compensation, you will receive 60 percent of your average previous salary for each calendar day, and thereafter 40 percent.

For more details, visit the Unemployment Insurance Fund's website or call the information line at 777 3000.

Employment Contract

An employment contract is an agreement between an employee and an employer, whereby the employee commits to performing work for the employer, subject to their direction and control. In return, the employer agrees to pay the employee for their work and to ensure that the working conditions are in accordance with the agreement of the parties, the collective agreement, the law, or administrative act. As of 2024, the minimum hourly wage is €4.86, and the minimum monthly wage is €820.

The employment contract must be made in writing in two copies, with one copy retained by the employee and the other by the employer. Depending on the needs, the employment contract may be concluded either for a fixed term or for an indefinite term. Fixed-term contracts are typically used for seasonal work or to replace someone.

You can check in the e-MTAs whether the employer has registered your employment correctly.

Upon starting work, a probation period is applied, which can last up to 4 months. The probation period is a time for the employer to assess the employee's suitability and gives the employee the opportunity to evaluate the fit of the job and work environment. During the probation period, the employee retains all rights provided by law. The employment contract can be terminated during the probation period with at least 15 calendar days' notice. If the employer terminates the contract during the probation period, they must justify which objectives of the probation period the employee did not meet.

Employment Contract
An employment relationship is strictly regulated, and the employee is granted a range of rights derived from the law, but must also comply with the employer's rules. This is the most common and familiar contract for individuals. If work is performed on a specific schedule, at a designated location, and according to the employer’s instructions (e.g., cashier, secretary, customer service representative), this is the only viable option.

Civil Law Contracts – Service Contract and Work Contract
Service contracts and work contracts offer the contractor greater independence; however, working under these contracts means receiving fewer benefits and assuming greater risks and obligations. When negotiating compensation, these aspects should be kept in mind.

It is also important to remember that these contracts must be longer and more detailed; only the terms stated in the contract apply. The Employment Contracts Act and other employee benefits do not automatically extend to these agreements. If reimbursement for travel expenses and daily allowances is not specified in the contract, those costs will not be reimbursed.

From the employer's perspective, service contracts and work contracts can be cheaper; however, the employer loses control over the process.

It may be more reasonable to conclude service contracts and work contracts as a business entity rather than as an individual.

You can read more about the peculiarities of different types of contracts here.