European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Chapter 4 Unemployment Insurance Act: Chapter 9, § 52 (4)(5)
Insolvency is understood as either the bankruptcy of the employer or the abatement of bankruptcy proceedings (if the assets cannot meet the costs of liquidation).
The trustee in bankruptcy or an interim trustee submits a standard format application to the unemployment insurance fund (Töötukassa) which pays insolvency benefits to employees in case of company bankruptcies.??Benefits upon insolvency of the employer include:
In case of unreceived salary, the amount paid is up to the employee's gross wages for the last three months of work but not exceeding in total the amount equal to three average gross monthly wages in Estonia during the quarter preceding the declaration of the employer as insolvent (according to the data published by the Statistical Office).
In case of unreceived holiday pay, the maximum paid amount is one gross monthly wage of the employee but not exceeding the amount equal to one average gross monthly wage in Estonia during the quarter preceding the declaration of the employer as insolvent (according to the data published by the Statistical Office).
In case of unreceived benefits, the maximum paid amount is equal to the employee's two gross monthly wages but in total not exceeding the amount equal to one average gross monthly wage in Estonia during the quarter preceding the declaration of the employer as insolvent (according to the data published by the Statistical Office).
Entitled are all employees, public servants, natural persons providing services on the basis of a contract, non-working spouses accompanying and officials serving in a foreign mission of the Republic of Estonia who have paid the unemployment insurance premiums pursuant to the procedure provided for in this act, including part-time and fixed-term workers, irrespective of the duration of the employment.
Exempted are sole proprietors, notaries, bailiffs, sworn translators, other independent persons engaging in a profession in public law, creative persons engaged in a liberal profession, management or controlling bodies of a legal person, some civil servants, those who have reached pensionable age and persons receiving early retirement pension.
Employers are defined as legal persons or structural units thereof if granted the rights of an employer, or a natural person with active legal capacity.
There has been a reform in the unemployment insurance benefit system, which affects the length of the grant of the benefit. An unemployed person shall be paid unemployment insurance benefit additionally for 60 calendar days on one occasion if the following conditions are fulfilled in the month the period of payment of unemployment insurance benefit ends:? 1) registered unemployment rate in the calendar month before the previous calendar month was higher than 8.5%;? 2) the period of payment of unemployment insurance benefit ends between 1 September 2021 and 28 February 2022.
Also, the unemployment insurance fund shall calculate the registered unemployment rate for the previous calendar month and publish it on its website once a month not later than by the tenth day of the given calendar month.
In addition, since 30th of June 2023, the length of the benefit payment period is not only dependent on the work experience but also the situation on the job market. At the end of the base benefit payment period, the situation will be reevaluated, whether on average the unemployment rate has worsened or improved in the last 3 years (also a reference to the average of the past 10 years is made). If the unemployment rate has increased, there will be an extensions of the benefit payment, as it has been harder to find a job. If the situation has improved, no extension is given. Individuals with work experience of more than 5 years can get an extension of 60 days twice or 120 days once. People with less than 5 years of experience can get a maximum of 60 days of extension.
For insolvency and wage guarantee data, visit the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.
Eurofound (2015), Estonia: Wage guarantee in case of insolvency, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/wage-guarantee-in-case-of-insolvency/estonia
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
