Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Estonian Air, Estonian national airline, filed for bankruptcy after the European Commission announced that the state aid provided to the company from 2010-2014 was illegal. According to the decision, the company should have returned the aid, however, since the company did not have such resources it filed for bankruptcy on 20 November. The court announced Estonian Air bankruptcy on 29 December 2015.
Due the bankruptcy, 169 employees were made redundant, however only 129 employees had the right to unemployment insurance benefit from the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (EUIF). Since the company filed for bankruptcy and not for liquidation process, the redundancy fee is paid by the EUIF and not by the company, however the amount of the benefit paid by EUIF is much lower compared to wages earned by pilots.
Approximately around 40 other former employees of Estonian Air did not qualify for the unemployment benefit from EUIF. The company has gone through several redundancies since 2009, and although after some time the employees made redundant were rehired, formally the length of time for which they have been in employment is shorter than the qualifying period necessary to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefit.
After the bankruptcy, employees might receive so-called bankruptcy benefit in the amount of three average gross monthly salary, holiday benefit in the amount of one month average gross salary and benefit for cancellation of employment contract in the amount of one month gross salary. It's still unknown when and if employees will receive their benefits.
Eurofound (2015), Estonian Air, Bankruptcy in Estonia, factsheet number 86352, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/86352.