Part IV: Allowances and benefits You can get more information about the Unemployment Insurance Act on the website of Riigi Teataja at www. riigiteataja.ee
What conditions must be met in order to get unemployment insurance?
Part IV of the material introduces the work related benefits paid in Estonia –
4.1. Unemployment insurance Unemployment insurance in Estonia is governed by the Unemployment Insurance Act. The goal of unemployment insurance is to provide the employee a substitute source of income during the period he or she is unemployed, support an active job search and offer the employer economic support in the case of collective collective redundancies. Who is eligible? You become eligible for unemployment insurance benefits if:
• You have been registered as unemployed;
• You have filed an application for unemployment insurance benefits;
• You have been employed and paid
unemployment insurance premiums for at least 12 months within the 36 months preceding registration as unemployed;
• Your employment relationship was terminated on grounds giving you the right to seek indemnity.
• Your previous employment must
How to apply for unemployment insurance?
How big is unemployment insurance?
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unemployment insurance, unemployment allowance and parental benefit.
have ended through no fault of your own to become eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. This means that you can only receive a benefit when your employer has terminated your contract, or when the contract has run out. No benefit is granted when you have left your job by choice, on your own initiative, or following a mutual agreement with your employer, or when you have been dismissed due to an infringement, loss of confidence, or indecent act or act of corruption. The one exception to this rule is when you have resigned on your own initiative because the employer breached the contract by violating the terms and conditions
of the contract or changed the organisation of production or work. Some employers prefer to end employment agreements by mutual consent, because this is the easiest and most conflict-free way to do so. Be sure to understand the consequences concerning your right to benefits before you enter in such an agreement. How to apply? To apply for the unemployment insurance benefits, you must fill in the application for registration as unemployed and the application for the unemployment insurance benefit, which is available from offices of Töötukassa or online from the website of Töötukassa. Töötukassa shall make the decision with regard to payment of the benefit within 14 days of submission of the application. You can find out about the decision from a county department of Töötukassa or it shall be sent electronically. Rates The unemployment insurance compensation is paid at a rate of 50% of the previous wage or salary for the first hundred days and thereafter at a rate of 40%. Because your previous wage is only taken into account up to a certain amount, there is a maximum limit as to how much unemployment benefit anyone can receive. There is also a minimum amount, which is set at half of the national minimum wage. Unemployment benefits from other countries If you come to Estonia to look for
