R E P O R T, 2025
for the period from September 2022 to September 2025, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the
Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period.
Taking into account the relevant comments of the CEACR, we would like to give the following information:
Gender pay gap
In 2023, the gender pay gap reached a historic low of 13.1%, down from over 20% a decade ago. In 2024, the gender pay gap remained stable and was 13,2%. The gender pay gap by field of activities is presented in the table below. The gender employment gap is low, at 1.5%. The share of women in managerial positions was 39,7% in 2024. Disaggregated data by sector and occupation is available through the Earnings Application and Labour Market Application, which allow users to compare wages by sex, county, age and occupation. Eurostat data from 2023 demonstrates, that Estonia’s gender pay gap has decreased considerable and was 16,9% in 2023 (EU average is 12%).
Table: Gender pay gap by economic activity, %, 2020-2024, Statistics Estonia
Activity
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Total - all activities
15,6
14,9
17,5
13,1
13,2
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
7,2
7,6
9,3
-1,1
5,9
Mining and quarrying
26,1
17,0
14,5
18,1
15,1
Manufacturing
21,6
21,4
25,3
23,0
20,2
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
11,0
9,5
13,4
6,8
7,6
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
5,4
6,6
10,2
9,1
3,6
Construction
3,0
11,4
0,1
6,9
11,4
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
23,0
24,2
29,6
25,5
23,5
Transportation and storage
-6,2
-5,2
-2,9
-5,6
-7,1
Accommodation and food service activities
15,9
5,8
18,9
19,5
15,4
Information and communication
24,1
23,5
24,4
25,1
24,4
Financial and insurance activities
29,4
25,7
30,4
24,9
25,5
Real estate activities
17,5
15,0
20,3
4,6
6,0
Professional, scientific and technical activities
12,1
7,3
17,8
-2,4
8,7
Administrative and support service activities
18,2
15,2
9,7
20,2
15,5
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
5,2
6,9
5,9
6,1
6,5
Education
16,7
17,0
14,0
10,4
9,7
Human health and social work activities
24,0
23,8
28,2
19,1
20,7
Arts, entertainment and recreation
12,6
9,6
16,1
17,5
11,8
Other service activities
17,1
11,3
22,6
-18,4
14,8
In 2022 OECD published a report titled The Economic Case for More Gender Equality in Estonia, which also includes statistical analyses based on official macroeconomic data from national accounts databases and employment and working hours estimates from labour force surveys. The report demonstrates that differences in firm pay practices account for about half of the gender pay gap in Estonia. Of this, three-fifths can be attributed to the fact that women tend to work in firms that pay lower wages. The other two-fifths of the explained part of the gender wage gap reflect gender differences in pay within firms and can be attributed to a weaker bargaining position of female employees vis-à-vis employers, but may also partially reflect pay discrimination against women. The remaining half of the gender wage gap reflects differences in tasks, responsibilities and skills.
Pay transparency
Estonia has taken significant steps to improve pay transparency and prepare for the transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970), which must be implemented by 7 July 2026. These efforts include both legislative developments and the introduction of voluntary tools to support employers in identifying and addressing gender pay gaps. A draft law is currently being prepared to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is responsible for this process. The forthcoming legislation will require employers to:
• Establish pay structures based on objective and gender-neutral criteria,
• Provide job applicants with pay or pay range information before interviews,
• Disclose average pay levels and gender pay gaps upon employee request,
• Gender pay gap reporting procedure (utilizing administrative data) and make them publicly available (for employers with 100+ employees).
In 2024, Estonia launched a voluntary digital tool called Pay Mirror (Palgapeegel), developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Statistics Estonia, the Labour Inspectorate, and the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre. The tool is available to all employers at least three men and three women employees, via the Labour Inspectorate’s self-service portal (TEIS). The homepage for Pay Mirror is available here (in Estonian).
Pay Mirror enables employers to monitor gender pay gaps using administrative data already submitted to national registers. Employers do not need to input additional data. The indicators provided include:
• Gender pay gap based on average and median wages,
• Gender distribution of the workforce and pay quartiles,
• Average and median wages by gender and occupation,
• Gender gap in irregular pay (e.g. bonuses).
The tool is designed to raise awareness and support employers. Importantly, the data is processed only upon the employer’s request and is accessible only to the employer and their authorized representatives. The Labour Inspectorate does not have access to the data unless it is voluntarily shared. An average of 400 employers use Pay Mirror each month. For comparison, approximately 900 employers will be required to report under the mandatory gender pay gap reporting requirements.
To support the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive and ensure equal pay for equal work, Estonia has launched the “PALK” project. This initiative supplements existing measures by providing employers with a comprehensive methodology for job evaluation. The project includes a comparative analysis of job evaluation methods, the adaptation of a suitable model for Estonian employers, and the development of practical guidelines. In addition, the government is delivering in-person and online training to help employers adopt the methodology effectively. These efforts aim to assist employers in building transparent and gender-neutral pay structures, in line with the requirements of the new pay transparency measures. The project also strengthens institutional capacity through training and knowledge exchange for policymakers and monitoring authorities.
Policy measures and public communication
Since 2023, Estonia has launched a series of targeted initiatives to reduce occupational gender segregation by addressing gender stereotypes in career counselling and education. These measures are part of a broader strategic effort supported by the European Structural Funds, with a total budget of €3.5 million allocated to activities aimed at reducing gender segregation in education and the labour market.
A key component of this strategy is the development of a gender equality training programme for career counsellors working at the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund. The programme is designed to equip counsellors with the knowledge and tools necessary to challenge gender stereotypes and promote non-traditional career paths among both youth and adults. The training will be integrated into the in-job training system for career counsellors, who provide guidance to adult clients as well as pupils in grades 7–12 across Estonia. The online course that is a part of the training program is available at The Digital State Academy.
In parallel, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is implementing a range of activities during 2023–2029 to combat gender stereotypes and foster gender balance in sectors marked by significant segregation, such as STEM, ICT, education, health, and welfare. These activities include:
• Conducting research on gender stereotypes and segregation (Report on the factors contributing to the underrepresentation of men in the fields of education, health and welfare is available here),
• Organizing training sessions for educators and professionals,
• Running awareness-raising campaigns to promote inclusive career choices,
• Supporting employers and educational institutions through open calls for project funding.
These efforts aim to create a more inclusive and stereotype-free environment in both education and employment, encouraging individuals to pursue careers based on interest and aptitude rather than societal expectations. The initiatives also contribute to the implementation of the Welfare Development Plan 2023–2030, which prioritizes gender equality as a cross-cutting objective in all policy areas.
Strategic communication to raise public awareness of the gender pay gap and the right to equal remuneration is a key annual activity in Estonia’s gender equality policy. These efforts are embedded in the Welfare Development Plan 2023–2030, which emphasizes changing societal attitudes and valuing gender equality across all sectors. One prominent example is the observance of Equal Pay Day, which marks the symbolic date when women in Estonia have earned, on average, the same amount that men earned by the end of the previous year. This annual event serves as a public reminder of the persistent wage disparities and is used to engage the media, employers, and civil society in discussions about pay equity.
The awareness on gender pay gap is monitored in gender equality monitoring. Last round in 2021 (published in 2022), demonstrated that awareness of the gender pay gap has increased by 14 percentage points compared to 2016 – from 69% to 83% (a 16 percentage point increase among people aged 15–74). Men and women are equally aware of the issue. 54% of those aware of the gender pay gap consider it a serious or very serious problem, with women significantly more likely to do so (71%) than men (35%). Compared to 2016, the share of people who view the pay gap as a problem has decreased notably – from 64% to 54%. 96% of the population agrees that men and women should receive equal pay for the same work. Support is slightly lower for the principle that men and women performing different work of equal value – in terms of responsibility, skills, and effort – should also receive equal pay, with 84% in agreement.
Number of gender-based pay inequality disputes
The labour inspectors do not carry out supervision over equal pay. After the amendment of Gender Equality Act, when transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, the inspectors will start carrying out supervision over equal pay as of 2027.
Labour inspectors, labour dispute committees and courts do not gather statistics specifically on disputes based on gender pay gap. In 2024, the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner received 47 enquiries related to gender.
The following organizations have been sent its copies:
• Estonian Employers’ Confederation
• Estonian Trade Union Confederation
R E P O R T, 2025
for the period from September 2022 to September 2025, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
There are no changes to the scope of application of the Equal Treatment Act compared to the previous report. Due to parliamentary elections in March 2023, upon the expiry of the mandate of the previous composition of the Parliament of Estonia, all bills on which the proceedings were not completed during the mandate of the parliament were dropped from the proceedings. This included the draft bill amending the Equal Treatment Act as described in the previous report.
In 2023, the responsibility for co-ordination of equal treatment policy, including proposing relevant legislation, was transferred from the Ministry of Social Affairs to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
In 2024, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications prepared and sent for public consultation a draft law proposing merging the Gender Equality Act and the Equal Treatment Act (ETA). The draft included plans to widen the specific protection provided under the ETA to additional grounds, including e.g., origin and social status but also leaving the list of grounds open. It also aimed to widen the scope of protection for all grounds to all areas of public life. Due to the change of government and responsible minister in July 2024, the processing of the draft law stopped.
Taking into account the relevant comments of the CEACR, we would like to give the following information:
Concerning the observation of the Committee from 2023, we would like to point out that according to Estonian Constitution, everyone is equal before the law. No one shall be discriminated against on the basis of nationality, race, colour, sex, language, origin, religion, political or other beliefs, property or social status, or on other grounds. The Constitution also prohibits the incitement of national, racial, religious or political hatred, violence or discrimination and the incitement of hatred, violence or discrimination between social strata.
More, concerning the ground of political opinion, we would like to point out that the concept of “other beliefs” in the ETA includes also those of political nature, thus covering the political opinions.
Policy measures
The Welfare Development Plan 2023-2030 (WDP) is a comprehensive strategy that, among other things, sets out clear objectives and measures to promote gender equality and equal opportunities. It outlines the main challenges and opportunities as well as courses of action for advancing gender equality and equal opportunities for minorities and people with special needs. The WDP plan is implemented through four-year rolling programmes to ensure effective implementation and monitoring. Progress on the development plan's implementation is reported annually as part of the national budget performance reporting process.
Activities that are being carried out to implement the WDP also include those aimed at raising employers’ awareness on promoting diversity in public and private sector organizations. For this purpose, the government continued to (also financially) support celebrating the Diversity Day (and Month) in May each year, the work of the network of employers committed to the Estonian Diversity Charter (https://humanrights.ee/en/topics-main/diversity-and-inclusion/charter/), and the administering of the Diverse Workplace Label (https://humanrights.ee/en/topics-main/diversity-and-inclusion/mitmekesise-tookoha-margis/). All three activities have been carried out and/or co-ordinated by the Estonian Human Rights Centre. By May 2025, 229 public, private and non-governmental organisations were committed to implementing the Estonian Diversity Charter. As of 2024, the Diverse Workplace Label has been awarded (for two years) to 60 organisations.
Additionally, based on recommendation of the Accessibility Task Force (2020-2021), activities are implemented to improve physical (including building and transport) and digital (including services) accessibility to support participation of people with special needs, including children, elderly and people with disabilities, in society.
Persons with disabilities & related statistics
Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund provides access to training measures for employed people with health problems, including people with disabilities. This involves labour market training in the extent of 2,500 Euros in areas defined by Unemployment Insurance Fund (i.e. with proven labour force and skills needs). Also, training courses for people looking for work are available to registered unemployed (including people with disabilities) in case training needs are identified in the counselling process. Also, the Unemployment Insurance Fund supports participation in formal training (including vocational and higher education programs) for people who need new skills due to health reasons. The education programs that are supported involve only publicly financed positions (participation fees are not covered) and must enable employment considering the person’s health conditions and are in areas with labour force and skills needs. The support includes a monthly payment during the course of studies (in 2025 gross payment of 410,13 Euros per month).
Unemployment Insurance Fund also offers a range of measures to support employment for people with reduced work ability, including counselling, workplace adaptation, supported employment service, work-related rehabilitation etc. Unemployment Insurance Fund also conducts work ability assessment which means that as soon as a person receives a decision on reduced work ability, the respective labour market measures are available from the same public institution. All people with partial work ability who apply for work ability allowance are subject to activity requirements, i.e. in case not employed, active job search is expected (some exceptions apply).
In 2024, 33% of people with reduced work ability aged 20-64 participated in lifelong learning over the past 12 months compared to 58% among people with no reduced work ability (Labour Force Survey, Statistics Estonia). In 2024, 53% of people with reduced work ability aged 20-64 were employed compared to 85.5% among people with no reduced work ability. Employment rate has remained relatively stable, ranging between 52 and 55% over the past five years.
Labour dispute committees and courts do not gather statistics specifically on disputes based on discrimination based on disabilities. In 2024, the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner received 21 enquiries related to disability.
The Labour Inspectorate is able to carry out supervision when a person has experienced workplace bullying (can be also due to disability) and check whether the employer has assessed psychosocial risk factors, as well as applied necessary means to stop workplace bullying. In supervision, in the last five years, we have been able to identify two complaints that are to some extent related to disability. In one case: the complainant was a man with a mobility impairment, who pointed out that he had been repeatedly accused of smelling unpleasant and not wearing nice clothes, also that there is verbal humiliation in the work environment directed towards the man's mobility impairment. The inspector carried out an inspection at the company. Another complaint also refers to bullying related to mobility impairment. The applicant was a person with a disability who pointed out that at one point he was bullied because of his disability (for example: why does he park his car in a spot intended for people with disabilities). He did not pay enough attention to this and this behavior, however the attitude continued. A memorandum (märgukiri) was issued to the company.
Language requirements and ethnic minorities
Language requirements are established on the basis of the Language Act. The Act states that the goal is to ensure that Estonian is the primary language of communication in all spheres of public life (specifically, and with a view to regulating language use in the private sector, this includes public safety, public order, public administration, education, health, consumer protection and occupational safety). This goal is based on the Constitution which tasks the Government with ensuring the use, development and sustainability of the Estonian language. To fulfil this goal, certain occupations have language requirements. The choice of such jobs follows from the previous goal and the specific requirements established take into consideration the nature of the jobs and their typical language use situations. We wish to underline that there are various areas of employment that do not have language requirements. In the jobs where language requirements are established, these apply to all employees regardless of their race, colour, national extraction or social origin. Various programmes and opportunities exist for people to develop their Estonian language skills, many of them offered free of charge. These include both in-person courses, online teacher-led courses as well as self-guided online courses. A major reform underway is the transition of Russian-medium schools to Estonian-medium instruction. The reform began in 2024/2025 academic year and will conclude by 2030. This will help ensure sufficient Estonian skills for people with other mother tongues and will help close the educational as well as income gaps.
The Language Board publishes a yearly overview of their work, which includes information on the implementation of Regulation No. 84. These can be accessed on their home page: https://www.keeleamet.ee/keeleameti-tegevused-ja-eesmargid/keeleseaduse-ja-teiste-keeleoskust-ja-keelekasutust-3. The most recent report is for 2024. In 2024, the Board drew up reports on 2254 employees. A non-compliance levy was implemented in 175 instances (144 euros on average; 25 410 euros in total). Of these, 173 were issued to individuals and 2 to organizations. Compared to previous years, 2024 saw fewer levies (vs 390 in 2022 and 380 in 2023) but at an increased value (vs 73 euros on average in 2022 and 104 in 2023). The increase in the levies is a practical necessity – according to the 2024 report, compliance with notices given by the Board was only 15,4% (however, up from 6% in 2022 and 7,5% in 2023). When issuing a compliance notice, the Board takes into consideration the time needed to reach the required language level (following § 28 (3) of the Language Act). Employees can make use of various opportunities to learn Estonian and, when ready, can take the Estonian examination free of charge (organized four times a year at all relevant levels). Support for language learning is available through free-of-charge courses (offered by different organizations) and through courses offered by language schools. If there are expenses related to learning the language to comply with a Language Board notice, the Education and Youth Board can refund the costs following the successful completion of the exam.
For school-age refugees, there is a benefit designed to support their learning of Estonian (600 euros per month per student; in 2025 the total amounted to approximately 3 million euros). The purpose of this benefit is to support the organization of additional Estonian language learning instruction and Estonian-language extracurricular activities.
School-age refugees arriving to Estonia are provided with opportunities to continue their education. The aim is to integrate children into the local education system. To support this, students are offered the opportunity to study in schools where Estonian is the language of instruction. To help refugees adapt, schools can draw up an individual curriculum for the refugees that provides conditions supporting learning and development based on the student's abilities, prior knowledge, and background.
The right to preserve and learn mother tongue at least two hours per week is guaranteed with legal regulation and additional funding. Mother tongue lessons can take place at pre-school and basic education level and also in hobby schools.
Equal treatment of Roma people
Since the Roma community in Estonia is very small compared to other European Union member states (according to the 2021 Census, 676 Roma live in Estonia), they are considered a target group in the national integration policy Cohesive Estonia 2030. The largest number of Roma live in Valga Municipality (196), followed by Tartu (55), Tallinn (45), Narva (45), and Pärnu (45), according to the Population Register (as of 01.01.2024).
Estonia has incorporated measures to combat racism and racial discrimination into broader national action plans and strategies, including: the Welfare Development Plan 2023-2030 (general equality policy and governance), the Culture Development Plan 2021-2030 (cultural diversity and equal access to culture), the Cohesive Estonia Development Plan 2021-2030 (interethnic understanding, social cohesion, integration, and reducing socio-economic disparities based on ethnicity and language), the Internal Security Development Plan -2030 (national security, violence and terrorism prevention, migration and asylum policy), and the Education Development Plan 20212035 (developing a shared cultural and value space). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is co-ordinating the exchange of information and awareness raising activities among policymakers from different ministries.
The Estonian government places strong emphasis on supporting municipal and local-level initiatives. Since 2020, this includes the development of mentoring services for Roma people. The aim is to support Roma individuals in socioeconomically vulnerable situations and to strengthen Roma civil society organizations. Roma mentors help facilitate cooperation between Roma families, local governments, and public institutions. As of 2025, two Roma mentors are working in Valga, South Estonia. Their target group includes Roma families whose official residence is in Valga Municipality (home to one-third of Estonia's Roma population), as well as Roma youth needing support to complete compulsory education.
The mentoring service provides: educational support for Roma children and youth, collaboration with parents and schools, events aimed at strengthening the national identity of Roma youth in Valga, activities to support adaptation and integration, overall improvement of the socio-economic well-being of the Roma community.
Mentoring services also include counselling for both Roma families and local authorities (the latter on Roma cultural practices and community-specific issues). Mentors organize various activities for the children such as educational field trips to museums and visitor centres across Estonia, practical workshops etc. Authentic Roma dance classes for girls have become particularly popular. Mentors also assist newly arrived Roma families in adapting to the area – helping them find family doctors, kindergartens or schools, obtain necessary documents, and access humanitarian aid when needed. Throughout the school year, mentors offer weekly Estonian language classes and Roma dance and vocal training, helping reduce barriers to education and promote inclusion.
An authentic Roma dance group, Shukar Roma, has emerged from these trainings. The group has gained national and regional recognition and is invited to perform in Estonia and other Baltic countries.
A Roma "Youth Center" has also been established in Valga, integrated with the local mentoring service. According to Valga Municipality, school attendance among young Roma participants has improved. Special efforts are made to prevent school dropouts in the critical 7th–8th grades. Mentors work individually with children in need, providing regular follow-up support twice a week.
As a direct result of these mentoring activities, a non-profit organization (NGO) was established by young Roma community members in Valga in 2024. The NGO promotes Roma culture, organizes events and training, and supports the Shukar Roma dance group.
The mentoring service is coordinated by the Integration Foundation and funded by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research.
Trainings for Young Roma and Roma Women
Between 2017 and 2023, the Ministry of Culture, with support from the European Commission, implemented a series of projects (ESTROM 1-3) aimed at supporting the integration of the Roma community. The objective was to foster cooperation between integration stakeholders, the Roma community, local governments, and state institutions. The activities included: trainings for Roma youth and young Roma activists, trainings for teachers working with Roma children, seminars for Roma women, an online survey for educators working with Roma children, and organization of Roma Culture Festivals (ROMFEST).
As a result of the ESTROM project series cooperation and contact between integration stakeholders (Roma and public officials) significantly deepened, a network of Roma mediators (also known as mentors) operating across the Baltic countries was established, best practices were exchanged among stakeholders, teachers became better equipped to work with Roma children, young Roma and youth centre staff formed new connections, participation of Roma women in society was promoted, seminars for Roma women addressed the balance between maintaining Roma cultural traditions and participating in working life, awareness and understanding of Roma culture and history increased, along with a more positive public attitude toward the Roma community.
As a direct outcome of the three ESTROM projects, the Roma community in Estonia has become significantly more active, engaged, and open.
In 2024, the Integration Foundation organized a new series of training seminars for young Roma activists. These seminars provided Roma youth with practical knowledge in time and career management, as well as NGO management. The training also focused on developing essential soft skills such as teamwork, initiative, confidence in self-expression, and analytical thinking. The acquired knowledge supports young Roma in building better lives and contributing positively to their communities.
Employment for Roma people
Employment rate of Roma (15-74 years old) was 17,4% in 2024 (Source: Statistics Estonia, Employment Register (TÖR)).
Since March 2025, the Integration Foundation has been implementing the project “Creating and Improving Employment Opportunities for Roma.” The aim is to provide customized labour market measures to broaden employment prospects for Roma individuals and enhance their motivation to enter the labour market. The project targets Roma communities in five Estonian cities and includes identifying local labour market needs, offering job clubs and training, providing counselling and work placement opportunities, developing a support network to assist Roma jobseekers. The project will run from 2025 to 2027.
Living conditions for Roma people
According to the to the data of Estonian Statistics (Census 2021) the living conditions of Roma people are good. 89% of Roma have a water supply system, 78% have washing facilities (shower or bath at home), 86% WC toilet room, 60 % of Roma have central heating system.
Education for Roma people
According to the to the data of Estonian Statistics (01.01.2024) 2% of Roma have higher education, 23,9% have Secondary, secondary specialized or vocational education, 37,7% have basic education, 24,5% have primary education, 9,1 % are without education and 2,7% of Roma`s education is unknown.
In the 2024/2025 academic year, 8 children with Roma as their native language participated in early childhood education. Three of them were offered additional Estonian language instruction, and one received speech therapy support.
60 pupils studied in Estonian general education schools in the academic year of 2024/2025, whose mother tongue was Roma. It can be assumed that there are actually more students with Roma ethnic identity, but they may have Russian or Latvian or another language listed as their native language, and therefore it is not possible to distinguish them based on the registry data. Of the 60 Roma native speakers, 48 had Latvian citizenship and 12 had Estonian citizenship. The majority of them (46) lived in Valga County. 44 students studied in a regular class and 16 in a special class. 33 pupils were offered additional Estonian language instruction, 23 students had an individual curriculum in individual subjects, 17 received support from a special education teacher and 17 from a speech therapist.
Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women, statistics
Employment rate of men and women has remained stable over the past three years. Employment gap between men and women remains around 4-5 percentage points. Share of women working in the services sector has increased to 84% in 2024 compared to 56% among men.
Table: Participation of men and women in lifelong learning and employment, 2022-2024
2022
2023
2024
Employment rate, age 15-74, %
Men
72
72
71
Women
67
67
67
Participation in lifelong learning during 12 months, age 20-64, %*
Men
49
…
49
Women
59
…
62
*Data collected every second year. Source: Labour Force Survey, Statistics Estonia
Table: Employment of men and women by sector of economy, 2022-2024, %
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Industry and construction
Services
Men
2022
4
41
56
2023
4
40
56
2024
5
39
56
Women
2022
2
16
82
2023
1
15
84
2024
2
14
84
Table: Employed population by gender and occupation, 2024, %
Men
Women
Managers
8,9
5,8
Professionals
17,9
31,9
Technicians and associate professionals
12,9
15,5
Clerical support workers
4,9
8,7
Service and sales workers
5,7
19,5
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers
1,8
0,9
Craft and related trades workers
24,7
3,4
Plant and machine operators and assemblers
15,3
4,5
Elementary occupations
7,4
9,9
Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner
In 2024, the Commissioner received 230 enquiries.
Compared to the previous year (198 enquiries in 2023), the number of enquiries increased. This rise in numbers may indicate greater visibility of the Commissioner’s institution and growing public trust in it.
Most enquiries were related to gender (47 enquiries), disability (21), and ethnicity (20).
While the scope of the Gender Equality Act is broad, the Equal Treatment Act links protected characteristics to specific fields in which the Commissioner has the authority to investigate cases based on those characteristics. Therefore, a significant number of enquiries fall outside the Commissioner’s competence resulting in not being able to form an opinion or offer assistance. All though in these cases the Commissioner advises the person with relevant information where to turn to.
One of the tools used for awareness raising and enhancing protection of a right to equal treatment, is strategic partnership with CSO-s. Since 2019, Estonia has operated a strategic partnership framework offering three-year funding to CSOs working on gender equality, equal treatment and human rights issues related to promoting equal opportunities for minority groups. Funding rounds were held in 2019, 2022, and 2025. Activities carried out by CSO-s include advocacy, research, awareness campaigns, counselling, and training aligned with gender equality and equal treatment goals in the Welfare Development Plan.
Also, the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner has different tasks which enable the body to raise both public awareness and awareness of specific stakeholders about rights and obligations deriving from the ETA. For this purpose, the Commissioner uses different tools, including homepage1 in Estonian, English and Russian, media briefings, articles and interviews, information materials, e-lessons for schools, etc.
Starting from 2024, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has led the development of the first Estonian action plan to promote equal opportunities for LGBTIQ+ persons. The action plan will propose activities in seven areas: education and youth, legal framework, civil society, health, work, security and foreign policy. Planned activities include those aimed at raising awareness of both the stakeholders and the rightsholders. The action plan will hopefully be adopted in autumn 2025.
The budget of the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner has slightly increased from 2022 to 2025. When in 2022 the budget was 505 883 EUR, then in 2025 the budget is 526 289 EUR. There has been a decrease compared to 2024 (when the budget was 552 038 EUR) due to overall budget cuts in the public sector. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is preparing a draft law to transpose the EU directives 2024/1499 and 2024/1500 on standards for equality bodies. The directives establish binding standards for national equality bodies (in Estonia – the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner) to enhance their independence and effectiveness in enforcing equal treatment legislation across the EU. Ensuring sufficient human, technical and financial resources for equality body to perform all its tasks and exercise all its powers effectively is one of the specific obligations foreseen for the member states. Some increase of the yearly budget is planned for the Commissioner in relations to the transposition of the directives. The national draft law is planned to be sent to the Government by the end of 2025 and is expected to be adopted by the Parliament at the latest in June 2026.
The following organizations have been sent its copies:
• Estonian Employers’ Confederation
• Estonian Trade Union Confederation
R E P O R T, 2025
for the period from September 2022 to September 2025, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the
Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81)
There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period.
Annual reports of work environment can be found here (in English):
https://www.ti.ee/en/government-agency-news-and-contacts/statistics/annual-reports-work-environment.
The following organizations have been sent its copies:
• Estonian Employers’ Confederation
• Estonian Trade Union Confederation
R E P O R T, 2025
for the period from September 2022 to September 2025, made by the Government of Estonia, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the
Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129)
There have been no amendments to the relevant legislation compared to the previous reporting period.
Taking into account the relevant comments of the CEACR, we would like to give the following information:
Labour inspections & migrant workers
When carrying out supervision, the Labour Inspectorate reviews the working conditions of all employees regardless of their origin.
To start with, labour inspectors have identified cases where migrant workers are treated worse than Estonian citizens due to their vulnerable situation (i.e. lower wages are paid, more work is required, personal protective equipment is not provided, etc.). In such a situation, the inspector can issue a precept and demand the elimination of the violation, if necessary securing it with a penalty payment, and in the case of more serious violations for which misdemeanor liability is provided (e.g. violation of work and rest time requirements, failure to inform about working conditions, failure to issue personal protective equipment), initiate misdemeanor proceedings and apply a fine.
Secondly, if migrant workers are discovered during the supervision, the information is forwarded to the Police and Border Guard, who can verify whether the person has a legal basis for staying in the country. In addition, labour inspectors constantly conduct joint inspections with the Police and Border Guard and the Tax and Customs Board to identify labor exploitation (or human trafficking) and violations of the Aliens Act and Taxation Acts. For detailed information, also look for our report of ratified conventions in 2024 for the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention.
The Labour Inspectorate has no competency when it comes to social security benefits. If the labour inspector determines that wages have been paid below the national minimum, they can oblige the employer to pay at least the minimum wage. The labor inspector also has the legal competency to supervise work performed under special conditions (e.g. overtime, working on public holidays and at night-time) and demand compensation of hereof. In addition, the employee has the right to turn to the Labour Dispute Committee or to court with claims for unpaid wages. The Police and Border Guard has the right to oblige the employer to pay the wage rate prescribed for foreigners in the Aliens Act (§ 286.3)
Conditions of service and number of labour inspectors
The Committee points out in the Direct Request statistics regarding the number of approved posts for Labour Inspectorate, specifically how it has been decreasing over time (from 113.5 in 2017 to 107.5 in 2021).2 However, we would like to draw the Committee’s attention to the fact that as of 31.12.2024, the number of people working in the Labour Inspectorate was 113. As of 31.12.2023, there were 112 people working in the Labour Inspectorate. Therefore, there has not been a steady decrease in staff, but the number of workers/positions varies from year to year (e.g. due to rearrangements, staff turnover etc).
At the same time, each year, the Labour Inspectorate checks the workplace safety of nearly 100,000 employees. Advice is given approximately 40,000 times a year by e-mail and telephone, occupational safety and mental health issues are consulted in nearly 100 companies, and more than 2,000 labour disputes are resolved annually. In 2024, 3163 supervision proceedings were carried out. For more detailed information please look at the 2024 yearbook of the Labour Inspectorate: Yearbook of the Labour Inspectorate 2024.pdf.
According to the Statistics Estonia, there were approximately 698,600 wage workers employed in Estonia in 2024. The total number of labour inspector positions (including investigators and task force leaders) is 45. Therefore, there are currently around 698,600 / 45 ≈ 15,524 workers per inspector.
As of 2024, the average basic salary before taxes for civil servants in Estonia was 2434 euros. The gross salary of 35% of civil servants is less than 2,000 euros and the gross salary of 65% of civil servants is less than 2,500 euros. Around 6% of civil servants receive a high salary of over 4,000 euros.3
Table: Basic salary before taxes, EUR, 2024, Ministry of Finance Estonia
Labour Inspectorate
Transport Administration
Agency of Medicines
Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority
Health Board
Inspector
2100
2500
2550 - 2900
2450 - 2800
1850 - 1950
Senior inspector
2420
2330 - 3750
1950 - 2200
Leading inspector
2800
2800 - 4425
Lawyer
2100
2200 - 2400
3000 - 3100
Chief lawyer
2630
Inspections without notice
The labour inspectors do have the power to carry out inspections without consent or prior notice:
Law Enforcement Act, § 50. Entry into premises
(1) The police or, in the cases provided by law, another law enforcement agency may enter without the consent of the possessor a fenced or marked immovable, building, dwelling or room in their possession, including open doors and gates or eliminate other obstacles if:
1) it is necessary for ascertaining or countering a serious threat;
2) if there is reason to believe that a person who may be deprived of liberty pursuant to law or whose life, health or physical inviolability is in danger due to their need of assistance has entered the fenced or marked immovable, building or room;
3) if it is necessary for preventing, ascertaining or countering a threat or for eliminating a disorder upon ensuring the compliance with the requirements established by or on the basis of law, and the verification of the compliance with such requirements lies within the competence of the law enforcement agency entering the premises.
Business premises, as a general rule, should be entered during business hours:
Law Enforcement Act, § 50. Entry into premises
(3) The premises are entered, if possible, in the presence of the possessor or another entitled person and during the period from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. business premises are entered, if possible, during their business hours.
Although, if there is a need to inspect at night (e.g. a nightclub or similar establishment), then this right exists as well.
Inspection is an administrative procedure and it is regulated in addition to Law Enforcement Act by the Administrative Procedure Act.
Administrative Procedure Act, § 35. Commencement of proceedings
(1) Administrative proceedings for issue of an administrative decision or taking a measure shall commence as follows:
1) by submission of an application to an administrative authority;
2) in administrative proceedings commenced on the initiative of an administrative authority, by notifying a participant in the proceedings of the proceedings;
3) in administrative proceedings commenced on the initiative of an administrative authority, by the performance of the first procedural act with regard to a participant in the proceedings
The labour inspector decides on the method of conducting the inspection – with or without prior notice. When starting an inspection, the principle of informing the party to the proceedings in accordance with § 35 (1) 2) of the Administrative Procedure Act is followed. In the case of an unannounced inspection, notification is made upon arrival at the site.
Law also stipulates exceptions when prior notice is not needed:
Administrative Procedure Act, § 40. Hearing of opinions and objections of participants in proceedings
(3) An administrative proceeding may be conducted without hearing the opinions and objections of a participant in the proceeding in the following cases:
1) if prompt action is required for prevention of damage arising from delay or for the protection of public interests;
/…/
4) if notification of the administrative decision or measure, which is necessary to allow submission of opinions or objections, does not enable achievement of the purpose of the administrative decision or measure.
There is no possibility to statistically distinguish whether more violations have been detected, for example, during unannounced inspections. Although we can distinguish the number of violations between announced and unannounced inspections, this would not be comparable, as it does not allow us to conclude that the number of violations detected depended solely on the selected inspection method.
The internal regulations stipulate that in case of tips regarding foreign labor, we conduct unannounced inspections, as well if there is suspicion of labor exploitation. However, it depends very much on different factors, such as, the content of the tip, when the company was last inspected, what was identified, whether there is a risk analysis done, whether representatives have been appointed in the self-service of the Labour Inspectorate (TEIS), whether there have been previous tips, whether there have been registered occupational diseases, etc.
Occupational accidents and diseases
To improve the level of awareness of both employers and employees concerning the importance of reporting occupational accidents and cases of occupational diseases the Labour Inspectorate provides legal consultation free of charge to employees and employers, by phone or by email and organizes information days and trainings. For example, the Labour Inspectorate organizes a two-day training for working environment specialists where everything related to the organization of the work environment (including investigations of occupational accidents and occupational diseases) is covered.
Also, the Labour Inspectorate has done different campaigns and exhibitions to raise awareness on this topic. For example, an exhibition, which entails work environment hazards and occupational accidents, was done in shopping malls. One of the parts of the exhibition included black helmets, equal to the number of deaths due to occupational accidents in 2024.
Besides that, the Labour Inspectorate publishes instructions and relevant information, such as what is an occupational accident and occupational disease, what to do in case of an occupational accident, how to conduct investigations of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, compensation in case of occupational accidents and occupational diseases etc.
The Labor Inspectorate also provides free consultation service to companies. The consultation service is mainly divided into three parts: consultation on work environment, labor relations, and mental health. Workplace consultants consult on occupational health and safety issues, make proposals and provide recommendations for creating or improving a functioning occupational health and safety system. The consultant advises the employer on creating a workplace management system, rather than looking for individual shortcomings in the workplace. The consultant can be invited to consult both for general company consultations, which include the entire workplace and documentation, and for consultations in one specific area of the workplace (e.g. the use of personal protective equipment, the organization of instructions and training, investigation of occupational diseases and accidents etc.).
Besides that, we also publish statistics about occupational diseases and accidents.
According to the amendments made to the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 2019, occupational accidents that resulted in temporary incapacity for work or death must be reported to the Labour Inspectorate. All other accidents must be investigated and registered by the employer. The amendments of the OSH Act have not had an impact on the level of reporting which remains the same since 2019. According to Statistics Estonia, about 58-59% of all accidents are being reported. It is important to continue to raise awareness of the importance of reporting and investigating occupational accidents in order to prevent them.
We would also like to point out some relevant links regarding the topic (in Estonian):
• Different statistics can be found: https://www.ti.ee/asutus-uudised-ja-kontaktid/kontakt/statistika;
• Statistics on occupational accidents and diseases: Tööõnnetused, kutsehaigestumised, tööst põhjustatud haigestumised tabelina 1995-2024 | 20.89 KB | xlsx;
• Statistics on administrative proceedings: Väärteomenetlused tabelina 2012-2024 | 20.91 KB | xlsx;
• Structure of the Labour Inspectorate: https://ti.ee/sites/default/files/documents/2025-05/TI%20koosseis%2012.05.2025.pdf;
Yearbooks of the Labour Inspectorate are also available in English: https://ti.ee/en/government-agency-news-and-contacts/contacts/yearbook-labour-inspectorate.
Labour inspection services in agriculture
In general, our checklist includes employers from different sectors (including the agricultural sector). However, in 2023 a targeted inspection of agriculture was carried out separately, the summary of which can be found here:
https://ti.ee/sites/default/files/documents/2024-01/P%C3%B5llumajandussektori%20SK.pdf. As a result of the targeted inspection, precepts were issued to 37 companies, and 2 misdemeanor proceedings were initiated.
Furthermore, social conditionality sets the condition for receiving area and animal-based subsidies of the European Union's common agricultural policy to comply with certain requirements related to working and employment conditions and employer obligations in addition to the requirements established so far (https://www.pria.ee/infokeskus/tingimuslikkus). The requirements of social conditionality do not involve the establishment of new or additional requirements related to working and employment conditions and employer obligations, nor the creation of a new control system. In essence, it is only a matter of linking agricultural subsidies to relevant legislation in force in Estonia (for example, the Employment Contracts Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act). All requirements related to working and employment conditions and employer obligations, which are also social conditionality requirements, have been checked during the usual inspection before.
From 1 January 2025, receiving full area and animal subsidies will be linked, in addition to fulfilling the conditionality requirements, to fulfilling the work and employment conditions, i.e. social conditionality requirements.
In the case of a violation resulting from negligence, i.e. all violations that did not have serious consequences or if they did not pose a threat to human and animal health, are added together and in the case of a first-time violation, the total reduction is limited to 5%. In the case of at least one violation with serious consequences or a violation poses a direct threat to human and/or animal health, the total reduction is limited to 10% in the case of a first-time violation. In case of a recurrence of a first-time violation, the reduction is generally 10%. In the case of a deliberate violation, it is 15-100%.
If, as part of its routine inspection, the Labour Inspectorate detects a violation of a requirement related to working or employment conditions in a company applying for area-based and/or animal-based subsidies, it will notify the relevant authority thereof.
Although this does not mean that we will carry out significantly more inspections in the agricultural sector, it may lead to an improvement in the situation, since in the case of serious violations there is a high probability that the amount of state support applied for will decrease, which has a significant impact on the economic situation of the agricultural enterprise. Thus, employers are expected to be more motivated to comply with the relevant requirements of this sector.
Training courses provided for labour inspectors related to agriculture
There have been no training courses specifically related to agriculture, but there have been general training courses (2019 – 10.07.2025), which are also important from the perspective of the agricultural sector, e.g. personal protective equipment, misdemeanor procedure, prevention of human trafficking, chemical hazards (limit values, impact), foreign workers, training on the administrative procedure, procedural training for investigators, work equipment safety, training on biological hazards, hazardous chemicals and similar.
The following organizations have been sent its copies:
• Estonian Employers’ Confederation
• Estonian Trade Union Confederation