Estonia
Make employment in Estonia easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Estonia, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Tallinn
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
Estonian
- Population size
1,329,460
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Tallinn
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
Estonian
- Population size
1,329,460
- 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)
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.
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.
Risks of misclassification
Estonia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Estonia may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in Estonia
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 of €820 per month, or €4.86 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 4 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.
12 Public holidays
Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!
Effortless HR in Estonia: Take the Tour
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
Taxes in Estonia
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Estonia.
13%
Health Insurance
20%
Pension Insurance
0.8%
Unemployment Insurance
Types of leave
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.
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 one month's salary as severance pay.
Fixed-term employees who are made redundant are entitled to the wages for the remainder of the contract’s term if they’re terminated.
On top of severance pay, terminated employees are entitled to benefits payable by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Employees who have been employed for five to 10 years are entitled to one month of gross salary
Employees who have been employed for more than 10 years are entitled to two months of gross salary
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.
Fair Pricing in Estonia
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at $599/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localized benefits
Top features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Remote Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
$50
per employee/month
Top features
Reduce costs by centralizing payroll management
Ensure local compliance for every country
Direct support from in-house local payroll experts
Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience
Tax and labor authority reporting handled for you
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app