Termination of employment in Estonia: notice periods, grounds and deadlines

By Ero Liivik, lawyer (jurist) at Erovik Law Office · Updated 2 November 2026

Termination of employment in Estonia differs from that in many countries in one key way: an employer cannot end a contract at will, only on a ground set out in the Employment Contracts Act (TLS), normally with notice, and it must give reasons. An employee can resign from a permanent contract at any time with 30 days’ notice. If you receive a notice you believe is unlawful, you have only 30 calendar days to challenge it.

Key points

• The employer may terminate only on statutory grounds, mainly reasons relating to the employee, redundancy or probation (TLS §§ 85–89).
• The employer’s notice is 15 to 90 calendar days, depending on how long the employment has lasted; an employee’s ordinary notice is 30 days (TLS §§ 97, 98).
• Notice must be in a form that can be reproduced in writing; an oral notice is void (TLS § 95).
• Redundancy pay is one month’s average pay, plus a benefit from the Unemployment Insurance Fund after five years with that employer (TLS § 100; § 14¹ of the Unemployment Insurance Act (TKindlS)).
• An unlawful termination must be challenged within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice (TLS § 105).
• All claims, including pay for unused holiday, fall due when the contract ends (TLS §§ 71, 84).

How an employment contract can end

• By agreement, at any time (TLS § 79). This removes the right to the income-based unemployment insurance benefit (TKindlS § 6(2)).
• When a fixed term expires (TLS § 80(1)). If you keep working after the end date, the contract becomes permanent unless the employer objects within five working days of learning of it (TLS § 80(3)).
• By termination (ülesütlemine) by the employee or the employer, only on the grounds in the Act (TLS § 83).

A contract is presumed to be permanent. A fixed term (up to five years) needs good reasons linked to the temporary nature of the work, and repeated fixed-term contracts for similar work can make the relationship permanent (TLS §§ 9, 10).

No termination at will by the employer

The employer cannot terminate ordinarily, that is, without a legal reason (TLS § 85(5)). It may terminate only for a good reason provided by law and with the required notice (TLS § 87):

• Reasons relating to the employee (TLS § 88(1)), for example long-term inability to work because of health, insufficient skills or unsuitability, breaching duties despite a warning, being intoxicated at work despite a warning, theft, fraud or other conduct that destroys trust, or breaching confidentiality or a non-compete obligation.
• Redundancy (koondamine) (TLS § 89): continuing on the agreed terms becomes impossible because work decreases, is reorganised or otherwise ends, including when the employer’s activity ends or it goes bankrupt.
• Probation (TLS § 86): either party may terminate during probation, but the employer may not do so for a reason contrary to the purpose of probation. By default, probation lasts four months from the first day of work, unless the contract shortens or excludes it (TLS § 10¹). See our guide on the probation period in Estonia.

Before dismissing for breach of duties or reduced ability to work, the employer must normally give a prior warning (TLS § 88(3)). Before terminating for reasons relating to the employee, and before a redundancy unless the business closes or goes bankrupt, it must offer other work where possible (TLS §§ 88(2), 89(3)). In a redundancy, employee representatives and employees raising a child under three have a preferential right to stay (TLS § 89(5)).

Protected employees

The employer may not terminate because an employee is pregnant or entitled to maternity leave, takes family-related leave, is briefly unable to work due to health, represents employees, is in conscript, alternative or reserve service, or has asked for information on working conditions, among other reasons (TLS § 92(1)). If the employee is pregnant or is raising a child under three, the termination is presumed to be for a prohibited reason unless the employer proves a lawful ground (TLS § 92(2)).

A pregnant employee, a woman entitled to maternity leave and a person on paternity, adoption or parental leave cannot be made redundant unless the employer’s business ends, including through bankruptcy. A pregnant employee or a woman entitled to maternity leave also cannot be dismissed for reduced ability to work. These protections apply if the employee informs the employer before receiving the notice or within 14 calendar days after it (TLS § 93).

Notice periods in Estonia

Who terminates	Minimum notice
Employer, employment under 1 year	15 calendar days
Employer, 1 to 5 years	30 calendar days
Employer, 5 to 10 years	60 calendar days
Employer, 10 years or more	90 calendar days
Either party during probation	15 calendar days
Employee resigning from a permanent contract	30 calendar days

Sources: TLS §§ 96, 97(2) and 98(1). For reasons relating to the employee (except health), the employer may terminate without notice if continuing until the end of the notice period cannot reasonably be required (TLS § 97(3)). The same applies to an employee’s extraordinary termination (TLS § 98(2)). If notice is too short, the other party is entitled to average daily pay for each working day of missing notice (TLS § 100(5)). An employee cannot ordinarily terminate a fixed-term contract, except one concluded to replace an absent employee (TLS § 85(2)).

Form of the notice

A termination notice must be in a form that can be reproduced in writing; a notice in the wrong form, or a conditional notice, is void (TLS § 95(1)). No handwritten signature is needed, but the notice must allow permanent written reproduction and show the sender’s name (§ 79 of the General Part of the Civil Code Act (TsÜS)). So an e-mail usually works and a phone call does not. The employer must give reasons in the same form (TLS § 95(2)). Missing reasons do not make the termination void, but the party at fault must compensate the resulting damage (TLS § 95(3)). Keep proof of when the notice was received, because the 30-day challenge period runs from receipt (TLS § 105(1)).

Redundancy pay and Unemployment Insurance Fund benefits

• From the employer: one month’s average pay (TLS § 100(1)).
• From the Unemployment Insurance Fund (Eesti Töötukassa): after at least five years with that employer, one month’s average pay (five to ten years) or two months’ (over ten years) (TKindlS §§ 14¹–14²). The employer must apply within five calendar days after employment ends; if it does not, you can apply yourself (TKindlS § 14³).
• Unemployment insurance benefit: if you register as unemployed and meet the conditions, the income-based benefit after a redundancy starts 30 days after employment ends if you worked there five to ten years, or 60 days if more than ten (TKindlS § 6(4)). It is excluded if you resigned (except for reasons such as the employer’s serious breach), agreed to end the contract or were dismissed for conduct-related reasons (TKindlS § 6(2)). A flat-rate (base-rate) benefit may still be available if you meet its conditions (TKindlS § 6¹).
• Fixed-term contract ended early for economic reasons (other than bankruptcy): the pay you would have received until the end of the term, unless the cause is force majeure (TLS § 100(3)).

Collective redundancies (for example, at least 10 employees within 30 days in a business with 20–99 employees; other thresholds apply to smaller and larger businesses) require prior consultation with staff and notice to the Unemployment Insurance Fund. They take effect no earlier than 30 calendar days after the Fund received the information (TLS §§ 90, 101–103).

Challenging a termination

If you think the termination has no legal ground or breaks the rules, file a claim in court or an application with the Labour Dispute Committee (töövaidluskomisjon) within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice (TLS § 105(1)). Writing to the employer that you disagree is not enough. If you miss the deadline and it is not restored, the termination is valid and the contract ends on the date in the notice (TLS § 105(2)). An arbitration clause cannot take this dispute away from the committee or court (§ 718(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure (TsMS)).

The committee is often the simpler route: there is no state fee, and an application is, as a rule, reviewed within 45 calendar days (§§ 15 and 38 of the Labour Dispute Resolution Act (TvLS)). Our unpaid salary guide explains the committee procedure step by step. What you can win:

• If the termination is void, the contract is treated as not ended (TLS § 107(1)). If it continues, you can claim damages, in particular lost pay, which may be reduced by what you earned elsewhere (TLS § 108).
• Either party may ask the committee or court to end the contract from the date the notice would have ended it (TLS § 107(2)). The employer then pays three months’ average pay, or 12 months’ for a pregnant employee, an employee entitled to maternity leave or an elected employee representative; the amount may be adjusted (TLS § 109).

Final pay and holiday

When the contract ends, all claims from the employment relationship fall due (TLS § 84(1)). The employer must pay money for unused basic holiday that has not expired (TLS § 71) and may deduct pay for holiday you took in advance (TLS § 78(3)). Pay claims can be brought within three years (TLS § 29(9)), most other claims within four months (TLS § 3¹).

Typical mistakes

• Employers: relying on a contract clause allowing termination at will (void under TLS § 2), dismissing without a prior warning, giving notice orally or without reasons, calling it redundancy when the work has not actually decreased or changed, and overlooking a pregnancy.
• Employees: missing the 30-day deadline while negotiating, signing a termination agreement without checking the effect on unemployment benefits, and resigning “for cause” without a valid ground, which then counts as an ordinary resignation (TLS § 85(4)).

Related guides: Redundancy in Estonia and Annual leave and holiday pay in Estonia.

Frequently asked questions

What is the notice period in Estonia?

At least 30 calendar days for an employee resigning from a permanent contract, and 15 to 90 days for an employer, depending on how long the employment has lasted. During probation, the minimum for both is 15 days.

Is there severance pay in Estonia?

On redundancy, yes: one month’s average pay from the employer, plus a Fund benefit after five years. If you resign because of the employer’s serious breach, the employer pays three months’ average pay (TLS § 100(4)). Otherwise there is no statutory severance pay, but it can be agreed in a termination agreement.

Can I resign without notice?

Only for a good reason, such as the employer’s serious breach, and only if you cannot reasonably be expected to continue until the end of the notice period (TLS §§ 91, 98(2)).

How Erovik Law Office can help

We advise employees and employers on termination: checking a notice, preparing committee or court applications, defending claims and negotiating termination agreements. Because of the 30-day deadline, contact us as soon as you receive a notice and tell us the date of receipt. See our employment law services, fees and contact page. Employers may also read our guide on dismissing an employee in Estonia.

This guide reflects Estonian law in force on 1 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.