Labour Disputes

Labour Dispute Resolution Act

The Labour Dispute Resolution Act has been in force as from 01.01.2018, pursuant to which labour dispute matters shall be resolved in a labour dispute committee. A labour dispute committee shall accept a labour dispute for adjudication on the basis of a petition.

The Labour Dispute Resolution Act was amended on 04.12.2020 and one of the most significant amendments was the possibility to participate in a labour dispute committee session virtually. A labour dispute committee may hold a session in full or in part as a procedural conference by allowing a party to proceedings or their representative or a witness to be elsewhere during the session and perform procedural acts in real time.

In a session held as a procedural conference, the right of every party to proceedings to file petitions and applications shall be guaranteed in a technically secure manner and the conditions of the session in respect of the real-time transmission of image and sound from the absent party to proceedings to the labour dispute committee and vice versa shall be technically secure. (subsection 42¹ (1, 2) of the Labour Dispute Resolution Act)

Labour dispute proceedings and conduct of other administrative matters in the labour dispute committee shall take place in Estonian. The party in need of an interpreter shall arrange for an interpreter to appear at the session.

Recourse to a labour dispute committee is exempt from state fees. When resolving a labour dispute matter in a labour dispute committee each party shall cover their own procedural expenses.

A petition filed with a labour dispute committee shall be heard within 45 calendar days as of the receipt thereof by the labour dispute committee unless the extension of the proceedings arises from objective circumstances or the provisions of the Labour Dispute Resolution Act.

Please note: The labour dispute committee shall apply the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure concerning the service of procedural documents to the service of a procedural document. Section 317 of the Code of Civil Procedure grants the labour dispute committee the right to publicly serve procedural documents. The labour dispute committee is entitled to disclose an extract of the publicly served document in the publication Ametlikud Teadaanded.

The labour dispute committee shall only consider the option of serving the documents publicly if a party to the labour dispute does not confirm the receipt of procedural documents sent by the labour dispute committee by e-mail or regular mail.

Competence of a labour dispute committee

A labour dispute committee is an independent extrajudicial authority that does not protect the interests of either the employer or the employee, but resolves labour disputes impartially pursuant to legislations. The duty of a labour dispute committee is to conduct proceedings purposefully and efficiently and to resolve a labour dispute properly, as easily and quickly as possible and with the lowest expenses possible.

Only the following disputes can be referred to the labour dispute committee:

1. a labour dispute arising from the employment relationship between an employee and an employer registered in Estonia, an employer operating in Estonia through a branch or an employer registered as a non-resident employer and from the preparation for such an employment relationship (individual labour dispute);
2. a labour dispute arising from section 7 of the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act between an employee posted to Estonia and their employer (individual labour dispute);
3. a collective labour dispute arising from the performance of a collective agreement (collective labour dispute).

The labour dispute committee does not settle disputes concerning occupational accidents or occupational diseases, or compensation for the damage caused by the health damage, personal injuries or deaths arising from them. These disputes shall be referred to the county court.

Before starting a dispute, think carefully about whether there is any way to resolve the misunderstanding by way of negotiations and agreement.

Pursuant to the Labour Dispute Resolution Act, if possible, a labour dispute matter shall be resolved by agreement of the parties to the dispute:

1. before referring the matter to a labour dispute committee on the basis of the principle of good faith and reasonableness and, if necessary, through the representative of employees;
2. by way of conciliation or compromise in a labour dispute committee on the basis of the provisions of this Act.

This means that during the entire proceedings the labour dispute committee shall do everything in its power for the labour dispute or part thereof to be resolved by way of a compromise or other agreement of the parties. To this end, the chairman of the labour dispute committee may, among other things, present to the parties a draft compromise agreement, propose to resolve the dispute in conciliation procedure or outside the labour dispute committee. The purpose of this is to restore the stability of law and peace of mind for the parties to the dispute.

Types of labour dispute procedure

1. The so-called ordinary procedure, which means that after the application has been accepted, it is forwarded to the other party and a time is set for the committee to hear the matter. The labour dispute committee shall hear a labour dispute by a panel of three members (the Chairman of the Labour Dispute Committee and representatives appointed by social partners, i.e. two lay assessors) and the parties to the dispute.

Please note! If the petitioner does not appear at the hearing by the specified time, the labour dispute committee may dismiss the petition. If the other party does not appear at the hearing, the committee may decide not to hear him or her.

2. Written proceedings of monetary claims where the chairman of a labour dispute committee may hear alone and on their own initiative a petition of a monetary claim in written proceedings if the total amount of claims does not exceed 6400 euros.

Please note! If a petition submitted to the labour dispute committee contains both monetary and non-monetary claims (e.g., establishing voidness of cancellation of an employment contract, establishment of an employment relationship, etc.) or the total amount of monetary claims exceeds 6400 euros or the monetary claims submitted to the committee require clarification, the committee shall review the petition in the course of the ordinary procedure, meaning that written procedure cannot be applied in this case.

3. Conciliation procedure. This is an activity carried out at the request of both parties to the dispute (on a voluntary basis), in which an impartial person, i.e. the chairman of the labour dispute committee as the conciliator, supports the communication of the parties with the objective of helping to resolve the disputed matter, i.e. reach a settlement agreement.

Conciliation procedure is a simplified settlement of a labour dispute through a conciliator. The conciliator, i.e. the chairman of the labour dispute committee, does not only handle legal problems but all circumstances that are important to the parties (including emotional satisfaction). A conciliator, who is independent and impartial in the proceedings and participates in the proceedings as an active listener, can help the parties to resolve the dispute by proposing to end the dispute on certain terms. The parties need to submit an agreement to the labour dispute committee to resolve the matter through a conciliation procedure.

A written settlement agreement shall be entered into between the parties within ten working days as of the decision to accept the petition. If conciliation fails, the parties can continue to settle the dispute in the ordinary procedure.

Recommendation! A conciliation procedure is certainly useful if the dispute has arisen during the employment relationship, i.e. the employment contract has not yet expired, and also in cases where the conflict has a strong emotional aspect (i.e. there may not be any legal requirements but both parties have strong feelings about the situation). However, it is also a good solution after an employment relationship has been terminated to achieve a result that satisfies both parties.

Submission of a petition with the labour dispute committee

An employee may file a petition with the labour dispute committee of his or her residence or place of employment or the residence or place of employment of the employer. The choice is made by the employee. An employer may file a petition with the labour dispute committee of the employee’s residence or place of employment. A petition for adjudication of a collective labour dispute shall be filed with the labour dispute committee of the registered office or residence of the employer or with the labour dispute committee of the registered office of the federation of employers or the central federation of employers.

By agreement of the parties reached beforehand in a format which can be reproduced in writing, a labour dispute matter may be adjudicated in agreed jurisdiction. However, the parties cannot select a specific chairman of the labour dispute committee to resolve the dispute. The distribution of labour disputes is based on the service areas and internal organisation of work of labour dispute committees.

Petition with the labour dispute committee of the labour Inspectorate

It is possible to have recourse to a labour dispute committee personally or through a representative. The signed petition with annexes can be submitted on paper or electronically. If the petition is sent to the e-mail address of the labour dispute committee electronically, it shall be signed digitally and the necessary documents shall be attached. A petition may only be signed by a representative if an authorisation document is annexed to the petition.

The petition shall set out:

• the jurisdiction of the labour dispute matter, i.e. the jurisdiction where the petitioner would like to have the labour dispute resolved;
• the petitioner’s name, personal identification code or registry code, residence or registered office and means of communication (phone number or e-mail);
• the name of the person against whom a claim is filed, their personal identification code or registry code, residence or registered office and means of communication;
• the petitioner’s clearly expressed claim, the gross amount of the claim if the claim is monetary;
• the factual circumstances which are the basis for the claim and which are used to substantiate the claim;
• evidence in proof of the factual circumstances which are the basis for the claim, and a specific reference to the facts which the petitioner wants to prove with each piece of evidence;
• Only the documents necessary to substantiate the claim shall be attached as evidence. We ask not to add documents containing sensitive and private information if there are no grounds for it;
• whether the party agrees to the conduct of written proceedings or wishes the matter to be heard in a session;
• a confirmation on the agreement of the parties if the parties apply to resolve the labour dispute by an agreed labour dispute committee.

The amount of a monetary claim shall be substantiated and there is no maximum limit when referring a matter to a labour dispute committee.

An unsigned petition will not be accepted.

• The petition shall be signed digitally
• The application and its annexes shall be in PDF format
• Submitted additional documents shall have the correct file names. For example, Annex1_Employment Contract; Annex2_Account_ Statement

Time limit for submitting a claim

A petition shall be submitted to the labour dispute body within a specific time limit. The time limits for filing a claim are provided in the Employment Contracts Act:

• The time limit for filing a claim for the recognition of rights arising from employment relationships and for the protection of violated rights for the purpose of recourse to a labour dispute resolution body is four months as of the time the person became or should have become aware of the violation of his or her rights.
  Example: various benefits, e.g. holiday benefit, compensation for cancellation (section 100 of the Employment Contracts Act).
• As an exception, the time limit for filing a claim for establishment of voidness of cancellation shall be filed within 30 calendar days as of the receipt of the declaration of cancellation. This term applies to both the employee and the employer.
• The term for filing a claim for wages is three years as of the time the wages fell due. Wages fall due on the payday.
  Example: wages include overtime pay, pay for work done on public holiday, etc.
• An employer’s claim for compensation for damage against an employee expires within 12 months as of the time when the employer learnt or should have learnt of the damage caused and the person obligated to compensate for it, but not later than three years after the damage was caused.
  Example: subsections 74 (1) and (2) and subsection 76 (2) of the Employment Contracts Act

The calculation of time limits is based on the fact that the time limit starts on the day following the day of the event, for example, in the case of a claim for wages, from the day following the pay day. The time limit expires on the last day of the time limit.

*If the employee works on summarised working time, the term for filing a claim for remuneration for overtime work will become payable on the payday following the end of the calculation period.

What claims can be submitted?

List of example claims an employee can submit:

1. claim to establish employment relationship and make the relevant register entry. For example, if an employee works under an oral employment contract and the employer has not made an entry in the employment register, but the employee can prove the existence of the employment relationship in a format which can be reproduced in writing.
2. claim for unpaid wages. Example: Please order the payment of wages for January 2022 in the gross amount of 1020 euros.
3. claim for remuneration for on-call time.
4. claim for an agreed benefit or restitution. For example, the parties have entered into an agreement on proprietary liability in the employment contract, but the employer fails to pay compensation.
5. claim for business trip expenses and daily allowance related to a business trip abroad.
6. 6.  claim for sickness benefit. An employee can request payment of the share of the sickness benefit paid by an employer through the labour dispute committee. If an employer does not confirm a certificate for sick leave, the labour dispute committee cannot oblige the employer to do so. If the EHIF does not compensate the employee for the sick leave due to the inaction of the employer, compensation for the relevant damages can be claimed in the labour dispute committee.
7. claim for compensation for unused leave. To calculate the number of days of leave earned, the number of annual leave days shall be divided by the number of days of the calendar year and multiplied by the number of calendar days of the period on which the right to leave is based.
8. claim for penalty interest. The penalty interest calculator can be used for the calculation.
9. claim for benefits not received. For example, if an employer does not adhere to the time limit when cancelling an employment contract (subsection 100 (5) of the Employment Contracts Act) or the employer does not pay compensation for lay-off (subsection 100 (1) of the Employment Contracts Act).
10. establishment of the expiry of an employment contract and making the corresponding entry in the employment register. For example, an employee cancelled an employment relationship extraordinarily (on the basis of subsection 91 (2) of the Employment Contracts Act), but the employer entered section 85 of the Employment Contracts Act (cancellation on one’s own will) as the basis for cancellation of employment in the employment register. A written notice of the declaration of cancellation that was delivered to the employer shall be submitted to the labour dispute committee as evidence.
11. establishment of the voidness of extraordinary cancellation of an employment contract, cancellation of and employment contract by the labour dispute committee, a claim for compensation and for making the relevant entry in the employment register. For example, an employer cancelled an employee’s employment contract due to a violation by the employee based on clause 88 (1) 3) of the Employment Contracts Act but if the employee does not agree with the declaration of cancellation, they have 30 days as from receipt of the declaration of cancellation to contest it.
12. claim for compensation for damage.

List of example claims an employer can submit:

1. claim to establish voidness of extraordinary cancellation of a contract of employment (pursuant to subsection 91 (2) of the Employment Contracts Act
2. claim for a contractual penalty pursuant to sections 22, 26 or 77 of the Employment Contracts Act or section 14 ^{1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act}
3. claim for compensation for damage pursuant to sections 74–76 of the Employment Contracts Act
4. claim for compensation related to an employee leaving employment pursuant to subsection 74 (3) of the Employment Contracts Act
5. claim for refund of wages
6. claim for compensation for training expenses
7. claim for compensation for breach of the cancellation time limit of an employment contract

Labour dispute procedure in session

A labour dispute matter shall be heard in the presence of the parties or their representatives. If a party summoned to a session of the labour dispute committee is unable to appear in the session, they shall notify the labour dispute committee thereof before the start of the session. If he or she cannot give notice of a circumstance that prevents him or her from appearing in the session before the start of the session, he or she shall notify the labour dispute committee immediately after the circumstance which prevents attendance in the session ceases to exist.

If the petitioner fails to appear in a session of the labour dispute committee and has not filed a reasoned request for the postponement of the hearing of the labour dispute matter, the hearing of the matter shall be terminated. However, if a party fails to appear in a session of the labour dispute committee for a good reason, the hearing of the labour dispute matter shall be postponed. The Labour Dispute Resolution Act provides an exception whereby it is possible to hear a labour dispute in their absence. The exception concerns a situation where an alien has worked in Estonia without a legal basis and was expelled from Estonia during the hearing of the labour dispute or will be expelled from Estonia during the hearing of the labour dispute. In that case, the matter will be heard in his or her absence.

A session of a labour dispute committee shall be chaired by the chairman of the labour dispute committee who shall announce at the opening of the session the labour dispute matter to be heard, the nature of the dispute and the corresponding rules of law. The panel of the labour dispute committee is also introduced.

At the beginning of the session, the chairman of the labour dispute committee shall ascertain:

• who from the persons summoned have appeared in the session and their identities;
• whether absent persons were summoned according to law;
• whether the representatives of the parties hold the right of representation;
• whether there are no bases for removing a member of the labour dispute committee.

Before hearing the labour dispute matter on the merits the labour dispute committee shall adjudicate the requests of the parties. In the course of this, it is possible to request the submission of additional documentary evidence if it was impossible to submit the evidence earlier. Such requests may be requests to declare proceedings closed and compromise requests by the parties. The petitioner may supplement their claims submitted in a written petition orally in the session or waive them in part or in full until the hearing of the labour dispute matter on the merits. However, the waiver cannot be withdrawn.

Upon hearing the matter on the merits, the explanations of the parties to the dispute and witnesses shall be heard, documents and other evidence shall be examined and assessed. The parties to the labour dispute may submit questions to each other. The final positions of the parties shall be heard at the end of the session.

The hearing may be postponed upon reasoned request. If the hearing is postponed, the chairman shall determine the time of the new hearing and the parties shall receive summonses.

Minutes shall be taken of a session. The parties are entitled to examine the minutes but they shall submit a relevant application to the labour dispute committee.

Employment register and settlement of labour disputes in the labour dispute committee

The labour dispute committee can make amendments that are specified by law to the employment register. Based on petitions submitted and information ascertained in the course of the labour dispute, the labour dispute committee may change the nature of the employment contract which served as the basis of working (from a contract for services to an employment contract), the date of commencement of the employment relationship, the date of expiry of the employment relationship and the legal basis for the expiry of the employment contract.

A decision of a labour dispute committee which has entered into force may be important for the payment of unemployment insurance benefit, pension and sickness benefit and establishing the right to health insurance.

Legal basis for changes to entries made by the labour dispute committee

Section 63 of the Labour Dispute Resolution Act grants the chairman or secretary of the labour dispute committee the right to add or change the following information on the basis of a decision which has entered into force:

• the date of commencement of work by the employee;
• the type of the legal relationship which served as the basis for working;
• the date of expiry of the employment contract;
• the legal basis for the expiry of the employment contract.

Circumstances that serve as the basis for the amendment of the registry entry

1. The date of commencement of work by the employee is the date when the employee actually started performing their duties based on the employment contract, i.e. when the factual relationship began. The date of entry into the employment contract and commencement of work may differ. In addition, the date of commencement of work by the employee is also considered the date when the employee was supposed to commence work but could not do so in duly justified cases (primarily pursuant to section 35 of the Employment Contracts Act, i.e. the employee could not actually perform work but the employer had an obligation to pay wages and thus also taxes).
   
   The entry amendment is noted in the resolution of the labour dispute committee if the petitioner submits a claim for example for the establishment of date of commencement of the employment relationship or work which may be related to a claim for wages or other monetary claims. This means that a petition to amend a register entry cannot be submitted alone.
    
2.  The type of legal relationship which serves as the basis for working may for example be a law of obligations contract/agreement or an employment contract. A law of obligations contract or oral agreement concluded between the parties may turn out to be an employment contract in the course of a labour dispute.
   Primarily, the petitioner requests the establishment of an employment relationship that may be the prerequisite for submitting claims arising from the Employment Contracts Act (e.g. holiday pay) and which may also change the type of legal relationship that served as the basis for working in the employment register (or work under an employment contract is entered into the register if the employer had not made the entry).
    
3. The date of expiry of an employment contract is the date which is the last day of the employment relationship. Addition or amendment of the date of expiry of an employment contract is primarily included in the operative part of the decision in the following situations:

• if the termination of and employment contract and the date of its expiry are established,
• if a claim to establish the voidness of cancellation of an employment contract is settled and the labour dispute committee terminates an employment contract pursuant to the petition pursuant to subsection 107 (2) of the Employment Contracts Act.

4. The legal basis for the termination of an employment contract is defined separately in the operative part of the decision so that it would include a reference to the exact provision of the Employment Contracts Act.

A petitioner who wishes the labour dispute committee to amend the information related to his or her employment in the employment register by a decision shall express his or her will clearly and unambiguously. For example, a statement submitted to the labour dispute committee may include, among other things, “I would like my information to be amended in the employment register after the establishment of an employment relationship” or “Please also amend the date of commencement of the employment relationship in the employment register”.

This means that an application to amend an employment register entry shall be submitted before the start of the session of the labour dispute matter on the merits or during it together with the initial application or as a separate application.

Pay attention to the fact that the amendment of a register entry cannot be an independent claim but this is an ancillary claim, for example in cases where an employee applies for the establishment of an employment relationship and establishment of the date of commencement of the employment relationship, contests to the cancellation of an employment contract or claims for restitution in relation to termination of an employment relationship.

The labour dispute committee can only amend employment register entries based on a decision that has entered into force, therefore amending the entry is based on the submission of an application for a notation on entry into force by a party to the dispute after the end of the period for bringing a challenge.

Enforcement of a decision of the labour dispute committee

A labour dispute committee shall make a decision if, in the opinion of the committee, the labour dispute matter has been heard to a sufficient extent and the matter is ready for making a final decision. If a labour dispute matter is heard in a session, the labour dispute committee shall prepare the operative part of the decision on the day of hearing the labour dispute matter by majority vote. A member of the committee who maintains a minority position has the right to a dissenting opinion which shall be annexed to the decision. The chairman formalises the decision. The chairman of the labour dispute committee shall make the decision alone in written proceedings.

The decision shall be based on the law and be reasoned. The labour dispute committee has the right to specify the legal assessment of the claim if this is necessary for the protection of the parties’ legal rights and interests. In making a decision, a labour dispute committee may only rely on the evidence.

A decision shall consist of an introduction, operative part, descriptive part and statement of reasons. In the operative part the labour dispute committee shall clearly and unambiguously adjudicate the claims and any requests that have not yet been adjudicated. The descriptive part of a decision shall indicate, concisely and in a logical order, the relevant content of the claims filed and the arguments, objections and evidence provided concerning such claims. The statement of reasons of a decision shall set out the facts, the conclusions reached on the basis thereof, the evidence on which the conclusions are based and the legislation which was applied by the labour dispute committee. The statement of reasons shall be based on the provisions of the law applied by the labour dispute committee. The labour dispute committee shall analyse all relevant evidence in their decision.

No third persons shall be present when a decision is made by the labour dispute committee. The decision of the labour dispute committee shall be announced to the parties within ten working days after the session took place. The exact time of announcing the decision shall be provided at the end of the session in ordinary procedure or on the date provided in the ruling in the case of a written procedure.

A labour dispute committee which makes a decision cannot generally annul or amend the decision after the announcement of the decision. A decision can be annulled before its entry into force if a compromise is reached in the matter between the parties and the chairman of the labour dispute committee approves the compromise by a ruling. A petitioner may withdraw their petition without the opposing party’s consent until the acceptance of the petition for adjudication.

Only spelling or calculation mistakes that do not affect the content of the decision can be corrected in the decision of a labour dispute committee.

The decision of the labour dispute committee enters into force if the employee or the employer has not submitted a statement of claim to the county court to contest the decision within one month as from receipt of the decision. The decision of the labour dispute committee which has entered into force is binding on the parties.

A decision shall have a notation on entry into force in order for a bailiff to be able to enforce a decision. An application shall be submitted to the labour dispute committee that made the decision to add a notation on entry into force to a decision. The application shall be sent in a written format via mail or electronically.

After receipt of an application, the secretary of the labour dispute committee shall make an inquiry to the county court to ascertain whether the parties have had recourse to court. It may take some time to get an answer from the court. If it established that a decision has been disputed in court, a notation on entry into force will not be added to the decision and the applicant shall be notified thereof in writing.

Pursuant to the amendments to the act which entered into force on 01.07.2014, a notation on entry into force of the decision of the labour dispute committee shall be added at the reasoned request of a party or an administrative authority concerned (primarily the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, Health Insurance Fund, Tax and Customs Board, Social Insurance Board).

A notation on entry into force shall only be added to a decision if is established that the decision was not disputed in court.

Application to add a notation on entry into force

Contesting the decisions of labour dispute committees

If the employee or the employer (party or parties) do not agree with the decision made by the labour dispute committee, they have 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the decision to refer the same labour dispute to the county court for consideration.

Upon having recourse to the court, the decision of the labour dispute committee will not enter into force. Upon partial contesting of a decision of the labour dispute committee, the decision will enter into force for the part that was not contested in court.

The time limit for contesting the decision of the labour dispute committee commences from the day after the decision is received. For example, if the decision of the labour dispute committee was received today, the time limit for contestation will be counted from tomorrow. 

The decision of the labour dispute committee can be served electronically by e-mail, by mail, or publicly through the journal Official Announcements.

In cases where the party does not confirm receipt of the decision by e-mail, the decision will be sent to the party by mail. If it is not possible to serve the decision to the party by post, the secretary-referent of the labour dispute committee publishes the decision in the journal Official Announcements. In the case of publication in the Official Announcements, the party is deemed to have been notified of the decision after 15 calendar days of the publication of the operative part of the decision.

Example: the labour dispute committee sends the decision to the parties electronically by e-mail on 01.02.2023. Only the employee confirms receipt of the decision by e-mail by sending a relevant confirmation by e-mail to the labour dispute committee on 01.02.2023. As the employee confirmed receipt of the decision on 01.02.2023, the 30-day time limit for contestation with regard to the employee must be counted from 02.02.2023.
The employer did not confirm receipt of the decision by e-mail and it was sent the employer by mail. As the decision could not be served on the employer by post either, it was communicated to the employer through the Official Announcements. In such a case, the 30-day time limit for contestation must be counted from 15 calendar days after the publication of the decision's operative part in the Official Announcements.

For recourse to court, a statement of claim must be filed. An appeal against a decision of the labour dispute committee cannot be brought before a court.   

The statement of claim must comply with the requirements set out in the Code of Civil Procedure. The statement of claim filed with the court must indicate who the claim was filed against, what is claimed, why the claim is made (i.e. on what legal grounds) and what evidence supports the claim. Thus, the statement of claim must entail the relief sought by the claimant, clearly expressed (relief sought from the court), the factual circumstances which constitute grounds for the court claim (cause of the court claim), the evidence to support the facts which constitute the cause of the court claim, and a specific reference to which fact the claimant seeks to prove with each item of evidence.

The statement of claim must be signed. If the statement of claim is filed by the plaintiff’s representative who is not a an attorney, a power of attorney must be attached.

Upon filing a statement of claim, a state fee in accordance with the State Fees Act must be paid. Certain actions are exempt from state fees (for example, actions for recovery of wages or salary and also actions for declaration of voidness of cancellation of employment contract). Employers are not exempt from paying state fees in employment matters before the courts.

If necessary, the court will set a time limit for the parties for the filing of a petition in the format prescribed for action-by-claim proceedings, for providing additional reasons for their positions and for providing additional evidence.

If a labour dispute committee denies a petition or satisfies it in part, the petitioner (i.e. the person who filed a petition with the labour dispute committee) may file an action with a court for the adjudication of the labour dispute matter to the extent not satisfied. The action may only include the same claims as put before the labour dispute committee.

If a labour dispute committee satisfies a petition in full or in part, the other party (i.e. the person against who the claim was filed with the labour dispute committee) may request the court to hear the petition filed with the labour dispute committee as an action pursuant to the action-by-claim proceedings. In such a case, the person who had recourse to the labour dispute committee (i.e. the petitioner) is the claimant in the court proceedings. The defendant is the party who filed the request with the court (i.e. the person against whom the claim was filed with the labour dispute committee).

It is important to remember that the party who serves as the claimant in the proceedings must file a petition with the court. The petition must be made in a format prescribed for the statement of claim and filed with the court within the time limit prescribed by the court. Otherwise, the court will dismiss the petition and the decision of the labour dispute committee will not enter into force to the contested extent.  The court draws the claimant's attention to this when they prescribe a time limit for filing a petition in the form of a statement of claim.

Example: before a labour dispute committee an employee was the petitioner whose claim had been fully satisfied by a decision of the labour dispute committee. The employer disagreed with the decision and filed a request with the court to hear the case again in the format of action-by-claim proceedings. In such a case, the petitioner (i.e. the employee) is the claimant in the court and must file a statement of claim with the court within the time limit set by the court, in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the employee fails to file a proper statement of claim within the time limit set by the court, the court will dismiss the petition, which in turn means that the decision of the labour dispute committee previously made in the employee's favour will not enter into force (i.e. the decision previously made will essentially become invalid).

In addition, the parties in court proceedings must also take into account the fact that while each party bears its own costs of the proceedings when the labour dispute is resolved by the labour dispute committee, then upon having recourse to the court the parties may claim reimbursement of the costs incurred for both proceedings conducted in the labour dispute committee and in court. The Supreme Court is of the opinion (decision No 3-2-1-80-15) that the procedural costs (such as legal aid costs, translation costs, etc.) incurred in the resolution of a labour dispute by a labour dispute committee  may be claimed later in court as damages (as costs incurred in the pre-trial proceedings). Consequently, compensation for the costs incurred by the parties in filing the petition to the labour dispute committee is possible under clause 4 of § 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure, together with the costs of court proceedings.

The form for the statement of claim can be found here.

For more information on action-by-claim proceedings and how to file a statement of claim, see the Estonian Courts' website.

Further reading

• Contact information and jurisdictions of labour dispute committees
• Leaflet Resolution of a labour dispute in a labour dispute committee (EST)
• Sharing legal aid