Working Hours and Overtime in Estonia

In Estonia, your company must comply with working hour and overtime laws – including daily limits, overtime thresholds, and rest requirements – to stay compliant and build a strong employee experience.

As you plan staffing and scheduling for 2024–2026, you should expect continued enforcement of EU-aligned working time rules, closer scrutiny of time-recording practices, and growing employee expectations around work–life balance. This means investing in reliable timekeeping systems, transparent overtime policies, and proactive health and safety measures, especially for night work and shift work. Regulators are likely to focus on sectors with irregular hours, so documenting compliance and consulting employees or their representatives on schedule changes will be increasingly important.

• Standard Working Hours
• Overtime Thresholds
• Overtime Pay Rates
• Daily And Weekly Rest Requirements
• Night Work Restrictions
• Penalties For Non-Compliance

What Are The Standard Working Hours In Estonia?

An employee whose age is 15 or younger has a maximum of 5 hours per day and 25 hours per week. An employee whose age is 18 or older is allowed to work 40 hours per week. A minimum meal interval of 30 minutes must be observed by employees who work more than 6 hours in a day. In typical working hours, Monday through Friday, the hours are 9:00 to 17:00.

Maximum Working Hours In Estonia

Under Estonian law, the standard working time for adult employees is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, calculated over a standard five-day workweek. You may use summarised working time arrangements, where daily and weekly hours vary, provided that the average working time does not exceed 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week over the agreed reference period. Any schedule you design must respect mandatory daily and weekly rest periods and may not result in excessive consecutive working days.

For minors, stricter limits apply. Employees aged 15–17 who are subject to compulsory schooling may generally work up to 2–3 hours on a school day and up to 12 hours per week during school time, with higher weekly limits during school holidays, but never reaching the full 40-hour standard of adults. You must also ensure that minor employees do not work at night and that their work does not interfere with schooling or endanger their health or development.

Industry-Specific Exceptions

• Healthcare And Emergency Services
• Transport And Logistics Operations
• Hospitality, Tourism, And Retail
• Continuous Process Manufacturing And Energy
• Seasonal Agriculture And Fisheries

Managerial And Exempt Employees

In Estonia, senior managerial employees and certain high-level specialists may have more flexible working time arrangements, particularly where their working hours cannot be strictly measured or predetermined. While the Employment Contracts Act still applies, you may agree on broader autonomy in scheduling, including irregular hours and on-call duties, as long as health and safety rules and minimum rest periods are respected. For such roles, it is common to compensate longer or irregular hours through higher base pay, bonuses, or additional leave rather than strict hourly overtime calculations.

However, simply labelling an employee as “managerial” does not exempt you from working-time rules. If you control when and how long the person works, you must still monitor their hours, ensure that daily and weekly rest is provided, and address excessive workloads. Written job descriptions and employment contracts should clearly set out expectations regarding availability, flexibility, and any special arrangements for recording working time.

Statutory Full-Time Working Hours In Estonia

Statutory full-time work in Estonia is based on 40 hours per week for adult employees, usually structured as 8 hours per day over five days. You may agree on shorter full-time hours in a collective agreement or company policy, but you cannot exceed the statutory maximum without triggering overtime rules. Part-time arrangements are permitted where the agreed weekly hours are lower than the 40-hour standard, and part-time employees must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time staff solely because of their reduced hours.

When you implement summarised working time, you must ensure that the average weekly working time, including overtime, does not exceed the legal limits over the reference period. Accurate timekeeping systems, clear internal rules, and regular reviews of schedules are essential to demonstrate compliance and to protect employee health and safety.

Overtime Regulations In Estonia

What Counts As Overtime In Estonia?

In Estonia, overtime is generally any working time performed by an employee at the employer’s initiative that exceeds the agreed working hours, typically the standard 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week for full-time employees. Overtime can also arise under summarised working time arrangements when the average working time over the reference period exceeds the statutory or contractually agreed norm.

Overtime must be based on mutual agreement between you and the employee, except in limited emergency situations where you may require additional hours to prevent damage, ensure the continuity of essential services, or address unforeseen operational disruptions. You must record all overtime accurately and ensure that it is either compensated with additional pay or time off in lieu according to the law and any applicable collective agreements.

Maximum Overtime In Estonia

Estonian law limits the total working time, including overtime, to protect employee health and safety. As a rule of thumb, the average working time of an employee, including overtime, should not exceed 48 hours per week over the applicable reference period, in line with EU working time standards. You may agree on a reference period of up to several months, provided that the average weekly limit is respected and rest periods are guaranteed.

For vulnerable groups such as pregnant employees, employees who have recently given birth, employees with health restrictions, and minors, overtime is either prohibited or subject to much stricter conditions. You should avoid relying on systematic overtime as a normal staffing solution and instead use workforce planning, shift rotation, and temporary staffing to manage peak workloads.

Overtime Payout Rates In Estonia

Overtime work in Estonia must be compensated at a higher rate than regular working time unless you provide equivalent paid time off. The statutory minimum is a 50% premium on the employee’s usual hourly wage for each hour of overtime, although collective agreements or company policies may grant more generous rates. You may agree in writing that overtime is compensated with paid time off of equivalent duration, granted within a reasonable period after the overtime was worked.

In addition to overtime premiums, you must also consider other supplements, such as night work, weekend work, or public holiday work, where applicable. These supplements are usually calculated on top of the base hourly rate and may be cumulative with overtime pay, depending on the circumstances and any collective agreements. Clear payroll rules and transparent payslips are essential so employees can see how their overtime and supplements have been calculated.

Rest Periods And Breaks In Estonia

Employees in Estonia typically work up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and the law links rest periods and breaks directly to these standard working hours. During the working day, employees who work more than 6 hours must receive a meal and rest break, and between working days they are entitled to uninterrupted daily and weekly rest so that total working time, including overtime, does not compromise health, safety, or work–life balance.

• Meal Break Requirements
• Daily Rest
• Weekly Rest
• Minors
• Employer Duties