Background information

The main purpose of the service is to provide assistance to the laid-off employee to get a job so that the duration of unemployment of the unemployed is shortened to a minimum, and to provide them with information exchange during the lay-off process and when finding a new job. The service is provided by the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Other cases related to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (EUIF) are:

• Labour force and skills demand forecasts
• Employment mediation service by Unemployment Insurance Fund
• Benefits in case of employer insolvency
• Measures to prevent unemployment - work and study

Content of measure

The service provides employees facing collective redundancy with tailor-made and institutionally-linked services, with the aim of avoiding unemployment or reducing the duration of unemployment. Information is also provided on entitlements to avail of services and unemployment benefits and other social services if needed. Workers are given help in searching for a new job, including information on means of finding jobs, writing CVs, and job interview skills. Other services include individual counselling, job mediation and other individually tailored measures, if required.

The service also provides employers carrying out collective redundancies with adequate and institutionally-linked information (for example information about rights and obligations according to collective redundancy legislation and related information about the procedures involved). Information on redundant workers is also passed on to employers who wish to recruit new workers. As part of the service, meetings can be arranged between potential employers and employees. Meetings with other institutions like social services providers, labour Inspectorate, trade unions could be also arranged if needed.

As part of the implementation of the service, the EUIF also sets up a regional team, consisting of the representatives of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the PES, the labour inspectorate, local municipality and representatives of the employer and employees. This regional team prepares an action plan for each specific case of collective redundancies with a package of specific measures.

Coverage extends to most situations involving collective redundancies. The thresholds for collective redundancies are:

• A redundancy of 5 or more employees, when the average number of employees in the company is up to 19.
• A redundancy of 10 or more employees, when the average number is between 20 and 99.
• A redundancy of 10% or more of workers, when the average number is between 100 and 299.
• A redundancy of 30 or more employees, when the average number is at least 300.

Use of measure

There is no detailed use data available. Some examples of the use of the measure include larger restructuring cases such as Repo Vabrikud in 2022 , Widex Eesti in 2020 , and PKC in 2016 .

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Other groups of workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions Local / regional government Public employment service	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 01 January 2005: Collective redundancy (www.tootukassa.ee)
• 23 August 2007: Leetmaa, R., Võrk, A. (2007), Kollektiivsetele koondamistele reageerimise teenuse tulemuslikkus (The performance of the response service to collective redundancies), Poliitikauuringute Keskus Praxis. (www.praxis.ee)