Denationalization

Trade of property in Estonia is strongly affected by the fact that all the land was nationalized during the Soviet period. This meant that the only landowner was the state and there were no sales of land. With the enforcement of the Law of Property Act, pieces of land began to be registered in the new register, making the registered plots tradable.

Estonia has a comprehensive regime for the denationalization of land. What this means is that nationalization of property by the Soviet Union upon or after the occupation of Estonia after 1940, is considered generally null and void. During the Soviet era land could not be bought, so there are at least not many competing claims on these nationalized lands. The issue of what to do with all of this land, which in 1991 made up the majority of Estonian land, has been a pressing concern. The good news is that the majority of this property has been returned to its rightful owners, meaning the owners prior to June 1940 or their legal successors. The land which has been returned to the prior owners may be freely sold, but land that is still in the hands of the state or local governments could be subject to competing claims for title.

LABOUR LAW

Estonian labour law gives basic rights to employees, and prescribes specific rules about the way labour contracts must be formed and how they should be interpreted. Generally speaking, the labour laws of Estonia are modern labour laws in the tradition of Western Europe. The main way that Estonian labour law differs from North Americanlabour law is in a few extra protections that it grants to workers. The most notable is that in order to terminate an employment contract an employer must find a good cause for firing a worker - meaning a specific failure to perform his or her duties properly. This is of course in stark contrast to the law in North American jurisdictions, which generally provides that workers may be terminated in any circumstance, so long as discrimination is not involved and sufficient notice is provided.

Employment contracts must always be in written form (albeit a work relationship that is not covered by contract may be interpreted as an employment contract nonetheless). The employer has to conclude employment contracts with all employees, including managing directors. Another peculiarity of Estonian labour law is the requirement that each worker have an employment record book. Each employee must have an employment record book, which includes all jobs held by the employee.

Employment contracts are generally concluded for an unlimited period. Fixed term labour contracts may be concluded only on special conditions provided in the law and for a maximum duration of five years. The probation period may not exceed 4 months. The minimal duration of the annual leave is 28 calendar days. Additionally there are 11 national holidays in a year.

To terminate an employment contract which has an unlimited term, the employee must inform the employer 1 month in advance. The employer may terminate the labour contract only in cases provided in the law and the term of notice ranges usually from to 2 - 4 months depending on the duration of the employment contract. Additionally, salary for 2 - 4 months must be paid as compensation to the employee. The employer may terminate an employment contract without the term of notice if the employee has materially violated the employment contract or the employer has lost confidence in the employee. The breach of contract by the employee, however, must be serious. If the violation is of minor importance, the employee may at first be warned or punished otherwise in accordance with the rules on disciplinary punishment and in case of a second violation the employment contract may be terminated.

(To be continued)

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