Vladimir Logatšev, lead counselling lawyer of the Labour Inspectorate, explains that there are various contracts for employment, such as an employment contract, a contract for services or an authorisation agreement. ‘It is necessary to distinguish them, as they are subject to different rights and obligations,’ claims Logatšev. ‘In the case of an authorisation agreement and a contract for services, the employee has more freedom in the performance of work, but less protection and fewer benefits compared to those working under an employment contract.’ An employment contract gives employees a number of legal rights, such as minimum wage, paid leave, higher pay for overtime work and working and rest time restrictions.
The Employment Contracts Act presupposes that before commencing work, all essential terms are agreed and the employment contract is concluded in writing. It is also important to note that the employment relationship between the employee and employer begins from the moment the employee starts to perform their duties, even if they have not yet entered into a written contract.
An employment contract is deemed to have been entered into if the employee and the employer have reached an agreement on all relevant terms and conditions. The parties have to negotiate and agree on the nature of the duties, the wages paid for the work, the recording of working time, the time and place of the work, the length of the probationary period and many other terms and conditions. Logatšev points out that when starting work, you have to make sure that you understand and agree with everything in the employment contract, because a signed employment contract is binding on both parties and its conditions can be amended only by agreement of the parties.
Fixed-term or unspecified term
Unless agreed otherwise, it is assumed that employment contracts are entered into for an unspecified term. A fixed-term employment contract is only possible when the work is temporary in nature, such as seasonal work or a temporary increase in the volume of work, or to substitute an employee who is temporarily absent.
The current Employment Contracts Act allows a fixed-term contract to be entered into for a maximum of two consecutive times or to be extended once. An employment contract may be entered into for a fixed term of up to five years. In mid-December, amendments to the Employment Contracts Act will enter into force, allowing for the conclusion of an unlimited number of fixed-term employment contracts of up to eight days within a six-month period, but it should be noted that if another fixed-term employment contract is entered into after the six-month period, the contract will become indefinite.
The sample employment contract is available in the Working Life Portal in Estonian, English and Russian HERE (and in Ukrainian HERE).
