Chatbot
A highly skilled workforce, strong emphasis on IT and language proficiency, straightforward hiring processes, and supportive visa schemes for foreign talent—the Estonian labour market sets you up for success.
Estonia’s talented workforce is in demand, from the world-leading startup sector to smart industry.
The Estonian labour market is characterised by:
Hiring from abroad is simple and straightforward. Although Estonia has introduced an annual immigration quota for non-EU nationals, there is no limit to startups (incl. founders, developers), IT specialists, and top-level specialists, whose monthly income is at least equal to double the average gross salary in Estonia.
Work in Estonia partners with companies hiring international specialists. In addition to relentlessly introducing Estonia as an attractive place to live and work, Work in Estonia also helps to bring international attention to the companies here that are recruiting international talent, and share news, messages, and success stories that are relevant to the target audience. To help you find and keep people with exceptional skills from all over the world, Work in Estonia has introduced various services for employers.
Use our unique location attractiveness comparison tool to compare Estonia’s investment attractiveness to that of other European countries.
Estonia’s labour legislation is liberal and offers a lot of flexibility in agreeing on terms and conditions of employment. Employment and labour contracts are regulated by the Employment Contracts Act.
Information on labour taxes is available here.
When planning to hire from abroad, Wok in Estonia is your top source of information.
The standard working schedule in Estonia is eight hours a day, five days per week. The duration of one shift may not exceed 12 hours. Working overtime is allowed by mutual agreement. Employer and employee may agree on a longer working schedule than 48 hours if the working schedule does not exceed, on average, 52 hours per seven days over a calculation period of four months, and the agreement is not unfair to the employee. An employee may cancel the agreement at any time, giving two weeks’ notice.
Annual leave is 28 days, with extended vacation for some professions, such as state officials and local government officials, teachers, academic, pedagogical and scientific staff, and others. National holidays and public holidays are not included in the vacation duration calculations. An employee may request unpaid leave.
Maternity leave – A woman is granted 140 days of pregnancy and maternity leave, which can start at least 70 days before the estimated birth date of the child. The maternity benefit is paid by the state.
Parental leave – A parent, regardless of gender, can request parental leave for raising a child of up to 3 years of age. The parental benefit is paid by the state. Maternity and parental benefits are paid for a total of 575 days.
Sickness – An employee can take up to 182 calendar days of paid sick leave (a maximum of 250 days per year). The gross wage during this period is 70% of their average salary in the last year. The employer pays the wage from the 4th to 8th day of sickness and the state as of the 9th day of sick leave.
Please see the Work in Estonia website for more information on working and living in Estonia.
The average monthly gross salary in 2024 was €1,981. Keep an eye on Statistics Estonia for more specific salary information. Wages must be paid at least once a month, and it’s the employer’s responsibility to calculate and withhold all payroll taxes.
Social tax at a rate of 33% is levied on income from employment and business to finance pension and state health insurance. The unemployment insurance contribution rate is 2.4%, of which employees pay 1.6% and employers pay 0.8%.
When hiring, the general standard is a 4-month trial period with a one-day notice. Long-term employees usually have a one-month notice period. If the working hours are at night (from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am), employers are required to pay 1.25x the normal wage, unless it has been agreed that the wages already include remuneration for working at night. Additional pay per hour of overtime is at least 50% of the hourly wage.
Work during public holidays may be compensated for by offering time off or paying double wages.
Here are some useful links regarding the labour market:
You are also welcome to send us an enquiry for more specific information.
What is it like to run a business in Estonia? How to benefit from the e-solutions and the efficiency of our business culture? What are the opportunities in specific sectors? Who to partner up with?
The Estonian Investment Agency’s team is happy to help you via its complimentary e-Consulting service, organize online or offline follow-up events such as virtual investment visits and guide you through the fairly simple process of investing in Estonia.
