Employment lawyer in Estonia – for employees and employers

Ero Liivik, lawyer (jurist) at Erovik Law Office in Tallinn, works as an employment lawyer Estonia-wide. He advises employees, including foreigners working in Estonia, and employers, including foreign companies and e-residents whose Estonian OÜ has staff, in Estonian or English. Estonian employment law may protect employees more than you expect: an employer cannot end a contract at will, many rules cannot be changed to the employee’s disadvantage, and some deadlines are only 30 days.

For employees

• Unpaid or late pay, holiday pay or final pay. Under the Employment Contracts Act (TLS), pay is due at least once a month unless a shorter period is agreed (TLS § 33). A claim for pay can be brought within three years of the date it fell due (TLS § 29(9)).
• Dismissal. An employer may terminate only on a ground set out in the Act, normally with notice, and must give reasons in a form that can be reproduced in writing (TLS §§ 88, 89, 95, 97). To challenge a termination, you must file a claim within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice (TLS § 105).
• Disguised employment. Some people sign a “service contract” but work like employees. If the work can, in the circumstances, be expected only for pay, the law presumes an employment contract. This does not apply if you are substantially independent in choosing how, when and where you work (TLS § 1(2), (4)). You may then have an employee’s rights, such as paid holiday and protection against dismissal.
• Claims against you, for example for damages, a contractual penalty or training costs. An agreement to repay training costs, for instance, is valid only if it is in writing, states the content and cost of the training and binds you for no more than three years (TLS § 34(2)).

For employers, including foreign employers

• Lawful termination. There is no termination at will (TLS § 85(5)). Before dismissing for a breach of duties or poor performance, you normally need to give a prior warning (TLS § 88(3)), and where possible you must offer other work (TLS § 88(2)). Redundancy requires a real decrease in or reorganisation of work and costs one month’s average pay in compensation (TLS §§ 89, 100(1)).
• Documents. We draft warnings, termination notices and termination agreements, and review employment contracts. A notice that is not in a form that can be reproduced in writing is void (TLS § 95(1)).
• Defending claims before the Labour Dispute Committee and in court.
• Ongoing preventive advice for companies with many employees.

The Labour Dispute Committee hears disputes with employers that are registered in Estonia, operate here through a branch or are registered as a non-resident employer (§ 2 of the Labour Dispute Resolution Act (TvLS)). An arbitration clause covering a dispute about ending an employment contract is void (§ 718(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure (TsMS)).

How a labour dispute runs in Estonia

1. Try to settle. Where possible, the parties should first try to reach an agreement (TvLS § 3).
2. Choose the forum. An individual employment dispute can go to the Labour Dispute Committee (töövaidluskomisjon) or to a court. The committee is an out-of-court body at the Labour Inspectorate (Tööinspektsioon) (TvLS § 4).
3. Committee procedure. There is no state fee, and each party bears its own costs (TvLS §§ 15, 16). As a rule, the application is reviewed within 45 calendar days (TvLS § 38). The chair alone may decide money claims totalling up to EUR 6,400 in writing, but a party can ask to be heard (TvLS § 40). The procedure is in Estonian. A hearing may be held in another language only if the parties and the committee members agree; otherwise, without an Estonian-speaking representative, you must bring your own interpreter (TvLS § 13¹). Hearings may be held by video link (TvLS § 42¹).
4. Court. A party who disagrees with the decision may take the same dispute to court within 30 calendar days of receiving it. This is a new claim, not an appeal (TvLS § 58).
5. Enforcement. If neither party goes to court, the decision enters into force and is binding (TvLS § 59). A bailiff (kohtutäitur) can then enforce it (TvLS § 64; § 2 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure (TMS)).

Court carries a higher cost risk: the losing party generally bears the costs, including the other side’s necessary costs (TsMS § 162). In civil cases in the county and circuit courts, a party may be represented by an advocate or by another person with the legal qualification required by the Code of Civil Procedure (TsMS § 218). At the committee, you may act yourself or through a representative (TvLS § 17).

Key deadlines

Situation	Deadline	Rule
Challenging a termination notice	30 calendar days from receiving the notice	TLS §§ 105, 106
Claim for pay	3 years from the date the pay fell due	TLS § 29(9)
Other claims arising from the employment relationship	4 months from when you learned or should have learned of the breach	TLS § 3¹
Going to court after a committee decision	30 calendar days from receiving the decision	TvLS § 58

What an employee can be awarded

• Unlawful termination: a void termination does not end the contract, and if the employment continues you can claim lost pay (TLS §§ 107(1), 108). If the committee or court instead ends the contract, the employer pays three months’ average pay, or 12 months’ for an employee who is pregnant, entitled to maternity leave or an elected employee representative. The amount can be adjusted (TLS § 109).
• Resigning because of the employer’s serious breach, such as substantially delayed pay: three months’ average pay, also adjustable (TLS §§ 91(2), 100(4)).
• Redundancy: one month’s average pay from the employer (TLS § 100(1)), plus a benefit from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) after at least five years with that employer (§ 14¹ of the Unemployment Insurance Act (TKindlS)).

What we do

• Initial written legal analysis and action plan: EUR 120–180.
• Demand letters and replies to demand letters: EUR 120–200.
• Statements of claim to court: from EUR 300.
• Applications to the Labour Dispute Committee, replies to claims, representation and settlement negotiations: price by agreement.
• Review of employment contracts and termination documents: from EUR 120.

Between 2020 and 2025, Ero Liivik handled more than 250 disputes, including more than 25 employment and tenancy disputes. Scope, desired result and price are agreed before work starts, and you know what each stage costs. You can order a single document without full representation. If a claim has no real prospects or a settlement is better, we say so. Prices are final, as the office is not VAT-registered; state fees, translations and other third-party costs are extra. See fees.

Related guides

• Unpaid salary in Estonia
• Termination of employment in Estonia
• Dismissing an employee in Estonia
• Probation period in Estonia
• Employment contracts in Estonia
• Annual leave and holiday pay in Estonia
• Redundancy in Estonia

Contact us

Send a short description, say which side you are on, attach key documents and give the date you received any termination notice or committee decision. We usually reply within one working day. Write to info@erovik.ee or use the contact page.