How much should an employee from Ukraine be paid?

Vladimir Logatšev, lead counselling lawyer at the Labour Inspectorate responds:

Citizens of Ukraine or persons who were granted international protection in Ukraine and their family members who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and left Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022 and who do not have a valid Estonian visa or a temporary protection residence permit have a legal right to stay and work in Estonia, even if other grounds have expired. This right also applies to Ukrainian citizens who were staying in Estonia legally before 24 February 2022.

In this case the employer has to make sure that the foreign national fulfils the conditions to be granted this right. The employer is obliged to pay remuneration at least equal to the average gross monthly wage of the field of activity which the person works in as last published by Statistics Estonia multiplied by a coefficient of 0.8. Calculation of the average gross monthly wage of the field of activity is based on the EMTAK (Estonian Classification of Economic Activities) code.

If a person has been granted temporary protection, they have the right to work in Estonia under same conditions as Estonian citizens. If employees work full time, their wages cannot be lower than the minimum wage. As of 1 January 2024, the minimum hourly wage is 4.86 euros and the monthly minimum wage for full-time employment is 820 euros (gross).

If an alien works in Estonia on the basis of a short-term registration, they must be paid wages pursuant to the Aliens Act. In such a case, the employer is obliged to pay the alien a wage at least equal to the amount of the annual average gross wage in Estonia. The average gross wage in Estonia is 1832 euros per month.