Another restrictive section of the labour law can be found in regards to overtime. Working together with overtime shall not exceed an average of forty-eight hours per week during a four-month recording period.

Employees shall not be required to work overtime for more than four hours per day. The duration of a shift together with overtime shall not exceed twelve hours. Based on the foregoing, the average overtime may be eight hours per week. Under certain circumstances an employee may be required to work overtime with his or her consent to the extent of 200 aditional hours per year.

In addition, a 50% premium must be paid for overtime work.

Another restriction of note is that there is a total ban on pregnant women working between 10 PM and 6 AM with no exceptions to this rule.

The form and content of Estonian labour law is, and has been, the subject of much recent debate. A new Employment Contracts Act was introduced to the Parliament (Riigikogu) in June of 2001 and received its first reading in late August 2001. As of the outset of 2002, it has not yet undergone a second reading. Subject to amendments which may be introduced before passage, the major changes expected from the draft law include increasing the importance of collective agreements; introduction of further minimal safeguards for employees; clarification of the confidentiality requirements relating to business and production secrets; limitations on non-competition clauses; the obligation for employers to negotiation with employee representatives in the event of collecting termination; and extension of maternal benefits to fathers of small children.

CONTRACTUAL AND NON CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

Fundamental changes to Estonian law were introduced with the pasage of the Contractual and Non-Contractual Act on Septmber 26, 2001 (hereinafter called the C&NCO Act). The Act has been passed but will not come into force until some time in 2002.

The exact date when the C&NCO Act will come into force is uncertain because a separate piece of legislation must be pased for implementation. The implementing legislation is necessary because the effect of this Act is so great that more than 100 other statutes must be changed to comply with it. The Act took more than 4 years to draft and has 1,068 sections. The draft implementation bill underwent second reading on 23.01.2002, and that bill states that the date when the C&NCO Act is to come into effect is July 1, 2002 (escept section 729(6), which is to take effect on January 1, 2003).

The C&NCO Act is the final part of the new Civil Code of Estonia. Currently parts of the old Soviet Civil Code still govern, even though they are out-of-date in Estonia’s free market economy.

The C&NCO Act governs obligations between persons. “Obligations” are the legal relations arising when one person (the obligor) has an obligation to do or leave undone something for the benefit of another party (the obligee). An obligation may arise with or without a contract. For instance, a dog-owner has an obligation to any person that the dog bites.

(To be continued)

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