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?

How to apply for unemployment insurance?

How big is unemployment insurance?

Part IV of the material introduces the work related benefits paid in Estonia – unemployment insurance, unemployment allowance and parental benefit.

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 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

work and are entitled to unemployment benefits in the country you have worked earlier you may be able to have your benefit transferred and paid out in Estonia for a period of three months. In order to arrange this, you first must contact the local employment office in the country where this right exists and discuss your intention to go look for work abroad. The authorities there will issue you with the necessary forms and instructions.

When you arrive in Estonia, you must then register as soon as possible with Töötukassa in order to make sure you do not lose benefits. Please note that the benefits will be paid to you by the country where you received an unemployment benefit earlier. Töötukassa job mediation services will then assist you in your job search and will also explain to you the procedures that apply and the conditions you will need to adhere to. These procedures and conditions are designed to ensure that you are actively looking for employment and that you are ready to start working when a job is offered.

If you have become unemployed in Estonia, previous employment in other countries may be taken into account when your right to a benefit in Estonia is determined. To that end, you will need to obtain documents that prove your record from the countries you have worked in before.

4.2. Unemployment allowance

If you do not meet the conditions to receive an unemployment insurance benefit, or if you have exhausted your rights to a benefit, you may still qualify for the unemployment allowance if you have worked for a minimum of 180 days during the previous calendar year. There may be other grounds to qualify for the unemployment benefit and it is advisable to contact a consultant of Töötukassa for more detailed info. Unemployment allowance in Estonia is governed by the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act.

Rates The unemployment allowance is paid for a maximum period of 270 days. The conditions are different than those for the unemployment insurance benefit and are somewhat more complicated due to the existence of many exceptions.

Who qualifies? Summarised, the unemployment allowance is paid to unemployed persons who do not qualify for the unemployment insurance benefit, who actively look for work, who have worked or finished full-time studies, and who have an income that is less than the allowance. The requirement to be involuntarily unemployment does not apply.

How to apply? To request the unemployment allowance, you need to submit an application to Töötukassa, which you can do through the local office where you are registered or submit application online via e-Töötukassa (www.tootukassa.ee/eng/tkauth/ login). You can not receive the unemployment insurance benefit and the unemployment allowance together. However, you can apply for unemployment insurance benefit and unemployment allowance at the same time. Töötukassa will then check for which of the two you qualify You can get more information about the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act on the website of Riigi Teataja at www.riigiteataja.ee

In what cases is unemployment allowance paid? What is the difference between unemployment allowance and unemployment insurance?

Who are entitled to parental benefit in Estonia?

4.3. Parental benefit

Parental benefit enables one of the parents to stay at home after the childbirth, to care for the child, while also preserving the parent’s average salary for 18 months. Parental benefit is available for permanent residents of Estonia and foreigners living in Estonia with a temporary residence permit or a temporary right of residence.

Before the child attains 70 days of age, only the mother raising the child is entitled to the benefit; thereafter, the parents can use the right to the benefit alternately. Amount of the benefit The amount of the benefit is 100% of the average income per calendar month, based on the incomes of the calendar year preceding the day of incurring the right to the benefit. The benefit is based on the salary of the person receiving the benefit. The maximum amount of parental benefit is triple the average salary established by the government. Parental benefit is taxable by income tax.

If the preceding year’s income was below the minimum monthly salary established by the government, the How big is parental benefit?

How to apply for parental benefit?

parental benefit is set to equal the minimum monthly salary. If there was no income taxable by social tax at all, the benefit is set to the benefit rate (430 euros in 2017).

The period of getting parental benefit The benefit is paid for 435 days i.e. about 14.5 months.

Applying To apply for parental benefit, the applicant needs to file an application and present a personal ID document to the Social Insurance Board. The application can be filed personally in the Social Insurance Board’s service outlet or sent by mail. It can also be filed electronically in the State Portal: www.eesti.ee

To file an application, log into the eesti.ee portal. Then: • Select “Services” (“E-teenused”) from the menu • Select the section “For a citizen” (“Kodanikule”) • Select the subsection “Family” (“Perekond”) • Select “Application for parental benefit, family allowances and additional contributions to the pension system” (“Vanemahüvitise, peretoetuste ja kohustusliku kogumispensioni täiendavate sissemaksete taotlemine”)

• Select “Applying for allowances and benefits” (“Taotlen toetuseid ja hüvitisi”) from the (Estonian) menu at the bottom of the page • Check the box in front of “Parental benefit” (“Vanemahüvitis”) in the section “My children and applying for benefits” (“Minu lapsed ja toetuste taotlemine”).

The application form is also available in the Social Insurance Board’s service outlets (the addresses and open hours of service outlets are provided on the Social Insurance Board’s website https:// www.sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee /et section “Client Service”) or on its website, section “Forms”.

To change the recipient of parental benefit, the new applicant files an application and the current recipient grants his or her consent. If the application and the consent are filed before the 15th day of the month, the recipient will change starting with the next month, otherwise starting with the month after the next.