Retraction

  • 2009-04-09
In our article titled "Unemployment board on the verge of bankruptcy" in TBT issue #649, we erroneously reported that the first 100 days of unemployment would have to covered by the employer. The correct information is as follows.

Unemployment insurance benefits in Estonia are paid by the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
The objective of unemployment insurance is to provide to insured persons, upon losing employment, compensation for the lost income which helps them cope during the time of looking for suitable work.
Estonian unemployment insurance is compulsory. Unemployment insurance premiums are obliged to pay all employers and all employees (until the pensionable age), including people working under contract under the law of obligations, and public servants.

The duration of an unemployment insurance benefit depends on the length of the unemployment insurance period:

Insurance period               The duration of an unemployment insurance benefit
Less then 56 months          180 calendar days
56's110 months                   270 calendar days
111 months and more         360 calendar days

The value of unemployment insurance benefit is connected to the insured person salary prior to unemployment, at first forming 50 percent of the insured person average remuneration per calendar day for the first 100 days and then 40 percent of the same from the 101st day of unemployment.