Visiting Researcher's Guide - EURAXESS Estonia

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General working time in Estonia is 8 hours a
day, 5 days per week. 12 public holidays and
one national holiday, i.e. the Anniversary of
the Republic of Estonia on the 24th of February,
are days off.
The duration of the annual vacation is 28
days, and an extended vacation is granted
in the case of some professions, such as
state officials and local government officials,
teachers, academic staff and other pedagogical
and scientific staff, and others. National
holidays and public holidays are not
included in the calculations of the duration
of the vacation. Employees who have worked
at least six months during their first working
year have the right to be granted a vacation
in proportion to the number of months
worked.
A woman is granted 140 days pregnancy and
maternity leave, which may be commenced
70 days before the estimated birth of the
child. The pregnancy and maternity leave
should be commenced at least 30 days before
the estimated birth of the child, or else
deductions will be made to the maternity
benefit. A mother or father shall be granted
parental leave at her or his request for raising
a child of up to 3 years of age. For more
details about maternity and child-care benefits,
see chapter 6.2 Family benefits.
WORK
4.3 General working conditions and regulations
Employment contracts may have a specified
or an unspecified term. In the event
that the term is fixed, the contract is made
for no longer than 5 years. With the agreement
of both employer and employee, an
employment contract can be terminated at
any time. It can be terminated on the initiative
of the employee by giving at least one
month notice in advance if the employment
agreement has an unspecified term. In the
case of an employment contract with a fixed
term, it is necessary to give 2 weeks advance
notice, if the term of the contract exceeds
one year, and 5 days in the event of a shorter
contract.
Employment contracts may only be terminated
on the initiative of the employer for
serious reasons and with at least two weeks
advance notice (in the case of long-term incapacity
for work), although in most cases
notice must be given at least 1 month in advance.
It is generally prohibited to terminate an employment
contract with a pregnant woman
or a person raising a child under three years
of age. An employment contract with a pregnant
woman or the parent of a child under
three years of age can be terminated only
with the consent of the labour inspector.