[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page:work\u002Fminimum-wage\u002Fregulations\u002Fminimum-wages-regulations-estonia":3},{"id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"short_title":7,"intro_text":7,"meta_description":8,"seo_title":8,"path":9,"content_type":10,"locale":11,"go_live_at":7,"first_published_at":12,"page_created_at":13,"published_at":12,"edit_url":14,"breadcrumbs":15,"seo":27,"rendered":37,"description":38,"body":39,"body_blocks":40,"call_to_action":41,"owner":7,"authors":48,"related_pages":49,"related_sites":50,"in_subsite":51,"contact_page_url":52,"banner_message":53},21527,"minimum-wages-regulations-estonia","Work and Wages",null,"","\u002Fwork\u002Fminimum-wage\u002Fregulations\u002Fminimum-wages-regulations-estonia","labourlaw.labourlawpage","EN_EE","2018-10-23T18:07:00+00:00","2025-12-19T10:51:46.808297+00:00","\u002Fcms\u002Fpages\u002F21527\u002Fedit\u002F",[16,19,22,25],{"title":17,"slug":18},"World of Work","work",{"title":20,"slug":21},"Minimum Wages","minimum-wage",{"title":23,"slug":24},"Minimum Wages Regulations","regulations",{"title":26,"slug":5},"Minimum Wages Regulations - Estonia",{"title":28,"description":8,"image":29,"canonical":30,"robots":31,"og_type":32,"twitter_card":33,"locale":34,"created_at":35,"last_modified_at":36},"Salary, Minimum Wage, Regular Pay - Estonia","https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fmedia\u002Fimages\u002FSocial_media_preview_image_-_2025.2e16d0ba.fill-1200x630.png","https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fwork\u002Fminimum-wage\u002Fregulations\u002Fminimum-wages-regulations-estonia\u002F","index, follow","website","summary_large_image","en","2018-10-23T20:07:00+02:00","2025-12-22T23:26:21.237453+01:00","\u003Cdiv class=\"cobra-ll-view\">\n\n  \n\n    \n    \n  \n  \u003Ch1>Work and Wages\u003C\u002Fh1>\n  \u003Cspan class=\"lastupdated\">This page was last updated on:\n      2026-03-26\u003C\u002Fspan>\n\n  \n\n    \n  \n    \n      \n        \n          \n    \n    \n    \n        \u003Cdiv class=\"teaserItem\">\n          \u003Ch2>Minimum Wage\u003C\u002Fh2>\n          \u003Cp>Minimum wages were governed under the Wages Act of 1994. However, since the passage of the Employment Contracts Act in 2008, minimum wages are now regulated under the new Act, and every year the government publishes a new agreement on minimum wages.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The government establishes the minimum wage in the country for a specific unit of time (be it hour, day, week or month) through a regulation. There exists only a single national minimum wage in the country. As an exception, there also exists a minimum wage for basic and upper secondary school teachers. There are also collective agreements in certain sectors (health care, road transport, etc.) that set their minimum wages but are not signed by the government into law. The unions in Estonia are actively working towards sectoral minimum wages. No sectoral, occupational or regional minimum wages are defined. An employer is required not to pay a worker less than the minimum wage announced by the government. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minimum wage is determined through an agreement between the social partners, i.e., the government, the Estonian Trade Union Confederation and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation. The criteria for determining or updating minimum wages include the needs of workers and their families, cost of living, consumer price index\u002Finflation rate, productivity, and the level of wages and income in the country. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each autumn, social partners are required to meet and negotiate the minimum wage rate annually. The economic forecast from the Estonian Bank serves as the basis for this determination. The broader forecast from the Ministry of Finance is also considered.\nIn 2023, the social partners, employers' and workers’ confederations, signed a Goodwill Agreement to gradually raise the minimum wage so that it reaches 50% of the national average wage by 2027.\nThe Labour Inspectorate is a government agency working under the Ministry of Social Affairs. The main tasks of the Labour Inspectorate are the implementation of the working environment policy, state supervision of compliance with the requirements of the legislation on health and safety at work and labour relations in the working environment, informing the public, employees and employers about the risks of the work environment, and resolving individual labour disputes in pre-trial labour disputes bodies. Thus, it is the job of the Labour Inspectorate to ensure compliance with minimum wages. The Employment Contract Law, however, does not specify any monetary fines for violations regarding minimum wages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sources: §29(5-6) of Employment Contracts Act, 2008; Regulation 87 on Introduction of Minimum Wage, 2024; Palga Alammäära Muutmise Põhimõtete Kohta 2008; Goodwill Agreement on the minimum wage rate and methodology for 2024-2027\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fwork\u002Fminimum-wage\u002Fcountries\u002Festonia\">For the updated minimum wage, kindly refer to the section on Minimum Wage.\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n        \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n    \n\n\n        \n      \n        \n          \n    \n    \n    \n        \u003Cdiv class=\"teaserItem\">\n          \u003Ch2>Regular Pay\u003C\u002Fh2>\n          \u003Cp>Töötasu on töö eest makstav tasu, milles on kokku lepitud. Töötasu hulka loetakse majandustulemustest ja tehingutelt makstav töötasu. Tööandjal on kohustus maksma töö eest töötasu kokkulepitud tingimustel ja ajal (palgapäeval). Tööandja maksab töötajale töötasu üks kord kuus, kui tasu maksmiseks ei ole kokku lepitud lühemat tähtaega. See tähendab, et seadus ei võimalda kokku leppida töötasu maksmises harvemini kui kord kuus. Töötasu makstakse rahas. Tööandja peab kandma töötaja töötasu ja muu tasu töötaja määratud pangakontole, kui ei ole kokku lepitud teisiti (nt tasu maksmine sularahas). Kui palgapäev satub riigipühale või puhkepäevale, loetakse palgapäev saabunuks riigipühale või puhkepäevale eelneval tööpäeval. Kokkulepitud töötasust arvestatakse maha töötaja maksukohustus ehk töötasust kinnipeetavad seaduses ettenähtud maksud ja maksed.\nKasumipõhised maksed tuleb tasuda kuue kuu jooksul pärast aastaaruande kinnitamist. Palgad kantakse töötaja pangakontole, kui ei ole kokku lepitud teisiti.\nTöötaja maksukohustused debiteeritakse töötaja palgast. Palka ei saa vähendada vigade või kahjude eest, välja arvatud juhul, kui on täidetud ranged õiguslikud tingimused. Mahaarvamised nõuavad töötaja nõusolekut ja vastutus peab olema tahtlik või ametlikult kirjalikult kokku lepitud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Töötajatele tuleb maksta vähemalt tagatud miinimumpalka. Valitsusel on õigus kontrollida palga maksmist ja selle arvutamist. Maksmata palka saab nõuda kolme aasta jooksul.\nTööandjal ei ole seaduslikku kohustust maksta 13. või 14. kuu palka. Neid makstakse ainult juhul, kui töölepingus või kollektiivlepingus on need konkreetselt sätestatud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n        \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n    \n\n\n        \n      \n    \n\n    \n      \n    \n      \u003Cdiv class=\"regulations\">\n        \u003Ch2>Regulations on Work and Wages\u003C\u002Fh2>\n        \u003Cul>\n          \u003Cli>\n            Töölepinguseadus 2008 \u002F Employment Contracts Act, 2008\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n          \u003Cli>\n            Määrus nr 166 miinimumpalga kehtestamise kohta \u002F Regulation 166 on the Introduction of Minimum Wage\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n          \u003Cli>\n            Palga alammäära muutmise põhimõtete kohta 2008 \u002F PalgaAlammääraMuutmisePõhimõteteKohta 2008\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n          \u003Cli>\n            Riigipühade ja riiklike tähtpäevade seadus \u002F Public Holidays and Days of National Importance Act\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n        \u003C\u002Ful>\n      \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n    \n\n    \n      \n    \n    \u003Cdiv class=\"related\">\n      \u003Ch2>Related Items\u003C\u002Fh2>\n      \n          _ll_compensation_URL_\n      \n          _MW_FOLDER_URL_\n      \n          _SC_URL_\n      \n    \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n    \n\n  \n\n    \n    \n\n  \n\n  \n  \n\n  \n    \u003Cstyle>\n\n      h1, h2, h3 {\n      font-weight: bold;\n      margin-top: 20px;\n      margin-bottom: 10px;\n      }\n      \n      .related a {\n        display:block;\n        border: 1px solid transparent;\n      }\n\n      ul ol, ol ol, ol ul {\n      font-size: 100%;\n      }\n\n    \u003C\u002Fstyle>\n\n  \n\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>","Your rights: salary and minimum wages in Estonia – .","\u003Cdiv>\n\n\u003Cspan>This page was last updated on:\n      2026-03-26\u003C\u002Fspan>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Minimum Wage\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Minimum wages were governed under the Wages Act of 1994. However, since the passage of the Employment Contracts Act in 2008, minimum wages are now regulated under the new Act, and every year the government publishes a new agreement on minimum wages.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The government establishes the minimum wage in the country for a specific unit of time (be it hour, day, week or month) through a regulation. There exists only a single national minimum wage in the country. As an exception, there also exists a minimum wage for basic and upper secondary school teachers. There are also collective agreements in certain sectors (health care, road transport, etc.) that set their minimum wages but are not signed by the government into law. The unions in Estonia are actively working towards sectoral minimum wages. No sectoral, occupational or regional minimum wages are defined. An employer is required not to pay a worker less than the minimum wage announced by the government. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minimum wage is determined through an agreement between the social partners, i.e., the government, the Estonian Trade Union Confederation and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation. The criteria for determining or updating minimum wages include the needs of workers and their families, cost of living, consumer price index\u002Finflation rate, productivity, and the level of wages and income in the country. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each autumn, social partners are required to meet and negotiate the minimum wage rate annually. The economic forecast from the Estonian Bank serves as the basis for this determination. The broader forecast from the Ministry of Finance is also considered.\nIn 2023, the social partners, employers' and workers’ confederations, signed a Goodwill Agreement to gradually raise the minimum wage so that it reaches 50% of the national average wage by 2027.\nThe Labour Inspectorate is a government agency working under the Ministry of Social Affairs. The main tasks of the Labour Inspectorate are the implementation of the working environment policy, state supervision of compliance with the requirements of the legislation on health and safety at work and labour relations in the working environment, informing the public, employees and employers about the risks of the work environment, and resolving individual labour disputes in pre-trial labour disputes bodies. Thus, it is the job of the Labour Inspectorate to ensure compliance with minimum wages. The Employment Contract Law, however, does not specify any monetary fines for violations regarding minimum wages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sources: §29(5-6) of Employment Contracts Act, 2008; Regulation 87 on Introduction of Minimum Wage, 2024; Palga Alammäära Muutmise Põhimõtete Kohta 2008; Goodwill Agreement on the minimum wage rate and methodology for 2024-2027\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwageindicator.org\u002Fwork\u002Fminimum-wage\u002Fcountries\u002Festonia\">For the updated minimum wage, kindly refer to the section on Minimum Wage.\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Regular Pay\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Töötasu on töö eest makstav tasu, milles on kokku lepitud. Töötasu hulka loetakse majandustulemustest ja tehingutelt makstav töötasu. Tööandjal on kohustus maksma töö eest töötasu kokkulepitud tingimustel ja ajal (palgapäeval). Tööandja maksab töötajale töötasu üks kord kuus, kui tasu maksmiseks ei ole kokku lepitud lühemat tähtaega. See tähendab, et seadus ei võimalda kokku leppida töötasu maksmises harvemini kui kord kuus. Töötasu makstakse rahas. Tööandja peab kandma töötaja töötasu ja muu tasu töötaja määratud pangakontole, kui ei ole kokku lepitud teisiti (nt tasu maksmine sularahas). Kui palgapäev satub riigipühale või puhkepäevale, loetakse palgapäev saabunuks riigipühale või puhkepäevale eelneval tööpäeval. Kokkulepitud töötasust arvestatakse maha töötaja maksukohustus ehk töötasust kinnipeetavad seaduses ettenähtud maksud ja maksed.\nKasumipõhised maksed tuleb tasuda kuue kuu jooksul pärast aastaaruande kinnitamist. Palgad kantakse töötaja pangakontole, kui ei ole kokku lepitud teisiti.\nTöötaja maksukohustused debiteeritakse töötaja palgast. Palka ei saa vähendada vigade või kahjude eest, välja arvatud juhul, kui on täidetud ranged õiguslikud tingimused. Mahaarvamised nõuavad töötaja nõusolekut ja vastutus peab olema tahtlik või ametlikult kirjalikult kokku lepitud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Töötajatele tuleb maksta vähemalt tagatud miinimumpalka. Valitsusel on õigus kontrollida palga maksmist ja selle arvutamist. Maksmata palka saab nõuda kolme aasta jooksul.\nTööandjal ei ole seaduslikku kohustust maksta 13. või 14. kuu palka. Neid makstakse ainult juhul, kui töölepingus või kollektiivlepingus on need konkreetselt sätestatud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Regulations on Work and Wages\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\n            Töölepinguseadus 2008 \u002F Employment Contracts Act, 2008\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\n            Määrus nr 166 miinimumpalga kehtestamise kohta \u002F Regulation 166 on the Introduction of Minimum Wage\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\n            Palga alammäära muutmise põhimõtete kohta 2008 \u002F PalgaAlammääraMuutmisePõhimõteteKohta 2008\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\n            Riigipühade ja riiklike tähtpäevade seadus \u002F Public Holidays and Days of National Importance Act\n          \u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Ch2>Related Items\u003C\u002Fh2>\n      \n          \n      \n          \n      \n          \n      \n    \u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cstyle>\n\n      h1, h2, h3 {\n      font-weight: bold;\n      margin-top: 20px;\n      margin-bottom: 10px;\n      }\n      \n      .related a {\n        display:block;\n        border: 1px solid transparent;\n      }\n\n      ul ol, ol ol, ol ul {\n      font-size: 100%;\n      }\n\n    \u003C\u002Fstyle>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>",[],{"text":42,"link":43},"Contact us",{"title":42,"url":44,"description":42,"rel":45,"type":46,"id":47},"\u002Fabout\u002Fcontact","follow","internal",24590,[],[],[],false,"\u002Fwork\u002Fliving-wages\u002Fcontact-us","\u003Cp>Welcome to WageIndicator. Same organisation, same information, new look!\u003C\u002Fp>"]