As of August 1, 2022, several changes to the Employment Contracts Act came into force. §5 of the Employment Contracts Act, which regulates information on working conditions, which the employer is obliged to inform the employee, has been significantly supplemented. Here is the new amended §5 of the Employment Contracts Act with all changes highlighted:
§5. Notification of employee of working conditions
(1) A written document of an employment contract must contain at least the following data:
1) the name, personal identification code or registry code, place of residence or seat of the employer and the employee;
2) the date of entry into the employment contract and commencement of work by the employee;
3) a description of duties;
4) the official title if this brings about a legal consequence;
5) the agreed remuneration payable for the work (wages), including remuneration payable based on the economic performance and transactions, and the manner of calculation, the procedure for payment and the time of falling due of wages (pay day), also taxes and payments payable and withheld by the employer, including a reference to the authorities receiving the taxes and payments and protection accompanied by the payment thereof;
6) the training entitlement provided by the employer and other benefits if agreed upon;
7) the time when the employee performs the agreed duties (working time);
8) the place of performance of work;
9) the duration of annual holiday and a reference to another holiday compensated by the employer;
10) a reference to the form reproducible in writing, the obligation to give reasons and the notice periods pertaining to the cancellation of the employment contract;
11) a reference to the rules of work organization established by the employer;
12) a reference to a collective agreement if a collective agreement is applicable with regard to the employee;
13) a reference to the procedure for performing and compensating overtime work;
14) the duration of the probationary period.
(2) The employer is to inform the employee of the data in good faith, clearly and unambiguously. The employee has the right to access the data at any given time. The employer may demand that the employee confirm the provision of the data specified in this section.
(3) If the data has not been provided to the employee before commencement of work, the employee may demand it at any time. The employer is required to provide the data within two weeks as of the receipt of such a request.
(4) Any changes in the data are presented to the employee in writing no later than on the day the changes take effect, considering the provisions of subsections 2 and 3 of this section.
(5) The employer is to retain the data specified in this section and information about the provision and receipt of the data during the term of validity of the employment contract and for ten years after the expiry of the employment contract.
(6) The employer need not inform the employee of the data in writing if the working time agreed upon with the employee and actually worked does not exceed on average three hours a week over the period of four consecutive weeks.
It is not required to adjust Employment contracts already concluded before 01.08.2022. However, in case employee asks, the additional information stipulated by the amendment must be given to the employee.
This summary contains only changes made in §5 of the Employment Contracts Act, all changes to the Employment Contract Act that entered into force on August 1st can be found here: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/130042022001
We recommend employers to review and, if necessary, adjust their employment contract templates and other acts regulating employees’ working conditions.
Source: https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/511072022005/consolide