Estonia
Minimum wage raised
Impact date: 1 April 2026 The minimum wage has been raised to €5.67 per hour or a minimum of €946 per month for full-time workers.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should ensure that all employees currently paid at the minimum wage have their pay adjusted to the new minimum wage as of the impact date.
Employer risk Employers that fail to implement the statutory minimum wage increase may be exposed to enforcement action, including wage claims and potential financial penalties.
Link Establishment of the minimum wage (in Estonian)
Amendment to the Aliens Act
Impact date: 22 May 2026 A foreign employee who already holds an Estonian temporary residence permit for employment will be able to change employer during the validity of that residence permit without applying for a new residence permit. Instead, the new employer must register the change of employer with the Police and Border Guard Board, which will make a decision within up to 30 days. The normal employment-related conditions will still apply at the new employer, such as salary requirements and, where relevant, Unemployment Insurance Fund permission.
In practical terms, this means that an employer hiring a third-country national who is already in Estonia on a work-based residence permit should face a faster and lighter process than under the previous model, because the employee does not need to start a fresh residence permit application solely because they are changing jobs. However, the new employer still needs to check that the role and employment terms meet the applicable immigration requirements and complete the registration process correctly.
Employer implications/action needed N/A
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law (in Estonian)
Pay Transparency Directive
Impact date: N/A On 20 April 2026, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications proposed a draft law transposing some elements of the Pay Transparency Directive, which has now been sent for coordination between the relevant Ministries. The draft law does not provide for full transposition of the Directive. Instead, it focuses mainly on recruitment-related pay transparency and pay secrecy rules. In particular, employers would be required to provide applicants with information on the expected pay or pay range before the job interview, preferably in the job advertisement. Employers would also be prohibited from asking applicants about their current or previous salary, and from preventing employees from disclosing or discussing their own pay.
In addition, the draft law creates a legal basis for the voluntary Pay Mirror tool. The Pay Mirror is intended to be a digital tool through which employers can monitor potential gender pay gap indicators within their organization, using employment and pay-related data that they have already submitted to the state (usually for tax purposes).
The more burdensome elements of the Directive, including regular gender pay gap reporting and detailed pay structure obligations, are not included in the current draft. Based on the Ministry’s public statements, Estonia is still discussing with the European Commission how these requirements could be implemented with minimal administrative burden.
Employer implications/action needed Just to keep in mind for now, only a draft law has been published. After coordination between the ministries, the Parliament must also vote on and pass the law.
Employer risk N/A
Link Draft law (in Estonian)
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