Employ in Estonia with ease.
Remote makes employment in Estonia easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.
Remote-Owned Local Entity
We own our own entity in the countries where we operate to shield your company from risk and provide you and your employees with the signature Remote experience.
Capital city
Tallinn
Currency
Euro
(€, EUR)Languages spoken
Estonian
Services available:
Facts & Stats
The Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik) is a European Union member, organized as a unitary parliamentary republic.
For a country with a population of less than 2 million, Estonia’s GDP ranks well above average at 37 on the global scale, driven by membership in the EU, and a flourishing, innovative tech sector. Estonia is a progressive nation with a healthy local economy, a high human development index, and a stable democracy —all of which make this Easter European nation an attractive proposition for international employers.
Estonia is a well-established destination for digital nomads and remote workers, with many coworking spaces, and quality internet connectivity.
Capital city
Tallinn
Currency
Euro
(€, EUR)Languages spoken
Estonian
Population size
1,329,460 (est. 2021)
Ease of doing business
Very easy
Cost of living index
$$$ (47 of 139 nations)
Payroll frequency
Monthly
VAT - standard rate
20%
GDP - real growth rate
5.0% (2019)
Grow your team in Estonia with Remote
Looking to employ workers in Estonia? Companies hiring in Estonia must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in Estonia on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Estonia team. You can also pay contractors now in Estonia with Remote.
Employing in Estonia
Estonia adheres to labor principles laid down in the Estonian Constitution and the Conventions of the International Labor Organization, codified further in statutes like:
Estonian labor regulations are liberal in principle but provide strong worker protections designed to safeguard workers’ rights in practice. Employees in Estonia enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process may be about minimum wage, overtime rates, and paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Estonia.
Minimum Wage
The Estonia government mandates a minimum wage and employers are expected to offer employees at least €584 per month, or €3.85 per hour for hourly work.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in Estonia fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 5 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
Competitive benefits package in Estonia
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in Estonia are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Mental Health Support
- Pension or 401(K)
- Life and Disability Insurance
Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Estonia
Taxes in Estonia
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Estonia.
Employer
13% - Health Insurance
20% - Pension Insurance
0.8% - Unemployment Insurance
Employee
21% - Flat income tax rate
1.6% - Unemployment insurance
2% of gross salary – pension contribution (obligatory for employees born after 1983)
Types of leave
Paid time off
Employees are entitled to 28 paid days off and should any of those leave days fall on a public holiday, the paid leave will be extended so employees are not shortchanged.
Public holidays
Employees are entitled to take the 13 national holidays off and employees who make themselves available on holidays are entitled to double pay.
Sick leave
Estonian labor law guarantees a maximum of 182 paid sick leave days per calendar year, paid at 70% of the employee’s average salary. This is paid by the employer from the fourth until the eighth day of the employee’s illness. The employee draws sickness benefits from the social security administration from the ninth day onwards.
Maternity leave
Pregnant employees are entitled to 140 paid days off, which can start vesting at least 70 days before the delivery date. Maternity benefits are disbursed by the social security office.
Parental leave
An employee is entitled to paid parental leave to raise a newly-delivered child or to assist a postpartum partner, both at the expense of the state. Same sex couples are eligible if the child is adopted by the other parent. Paid parental leave can be taken until the child reaches the age of three. The parents can take up to 435 days of leave (this time can be either consecutive or not consecutive). Only one parent can take this leave at a time.
Paternity leave
Men are entitled to 10 working days that can be taken within two months of the expected birth date. After the birth, the father is entitled to two months paternity leave. Men are entitled to 100% of their gross salary, however it is capped at three times the minimum wage of the country.
Education leave
Working students can access 30 calendar days off for general education or vocational studies and are guaranteed 20 days of compensation for the time off taken.
Other leave
- Adoption leave: adopting parents are guaranteed paid leave to negotiate the adoption process and bond with their children.
- Childcare leave: employees with children aged below 14 are entitled to up to 6 days of paid leave monthly, depending on the age of their children. Either parent of a disabled child can take an additional paid workday off every month until the child turns 18.
Employment termination
Termination process
A working relationship can be terminated in cases of gross employee misconduct, willful employee resignation, or a winding down of the relationship as prescribed in the employment contract.
Notice period
Depending on the duration an employee has worked with an employer, the latter should provide written notice to the employee well in advance of termination of the working relationship.
- Less than 1 year of employment: at least 15 calendar days
- 1 t0 5 years of employment: at least 30 calendar days
- 5 to 10 years of service: at least 60 calendar days
- 10 or more years of service: at least 90 calendar days
Severance pay
If a redundant employee is terminated, the employer should pay the average of the previous six months’ salary as severance pay.
Fixed-term employees are entitled to the wages for the remainder of the contract’s term if they’re terminated.
The situations where severance pay is triggered are outlined in Estonian employment legislation as follows:
- Where the termination is due to redundancy, the employee is entitled to six months of salary
- Employees who have been employed for five to 10 years are entitled to one additional month of gross salary
- Employees who have been employed for 10 years or more are entitled to two additional months of gross salary
- Employees with fixed term contracts that were terminated due to redundancy are entitled to the wages that they would have received until the date of termination of the contract
Probation periods
Probation periods can last up to four months but cannot exceed half of the term of an employment contract. That is, if an employment contract lasts for three months, the probation period cannot exceed six weeks.
An employer should provide notice at least 15 days before terminating a contract that’s still in the probation stage.
