Country guide
Pay transparency in Estonia
What the EU Pay Transparency Directive means for employers in Estonia, based on its national transposition — status, thresholds, the joint-assessment trigger, and where to file.
Estonia transposed the Directive IN PART by RT I, 03.07.2026, 27 (adopted 17 June 2026), in force 13 July 2026. Six pay duties were enacted. In the Töölepingu seadus: a salary-history ban (§ 11(2¹)), pay or pay range in writing before the interview (§ 11(2²)), a duty not to hinder an employee disclosing the amount of their own pay (§ 28(2) p 14), and an equal-pay duty (§ 29(6¹)). In the Avaliku teenistuse seadus: equal pay (§ 13) and basic pay or range before the recruitment interview (§ 18(1¹)) — the public-service rule is worded on põhipalk (basic pay) where the private-sector rule says töötasu, which is the legislature's distinction and not a translation artefact. That act creates NO pay-gap report, no joint assessment, no pay-structure duty, no published pay-setting criteria and no right to comparative pay data. Estonia's pay-gap instrument is instead Palgapeegel, an expressly VOLUNTARY digital service for employers under SoVS § 11¹ ("vabatahtlik digiteenus"), fed from the tax and social-insurance registers on the employer's own application, whose indicators are not stored. The act's 1 January 2027 commencement (§ 7) attaches to its § 1 points 9–11 — two cross-reference swaps and a repeal — and defers no pay duty: all six were in force on 13 July 2026.
Estonia has partially brought the directive into force. Some obligations already apply while others are still being enacted, so check the national text for what is live today.
Reporting duties apply by employer size: 150 or more employees, from 2027 · Every three years (anticipated); 250 or more employees, from 2027 · Annual (anticipated); 100 or more employees, from 2031 · Every three years (anticipated). The directive's 5% trigger for a joint pay assessment applies until national law sets its own.
We have not yet confirmed from the national text whether the pay-gap figures must be published. Either way, the underlying work is the same: establish work of equal value through gender-neutral job evaluation, produce the statutory pay-gap report in the national format, and run a joint assessment where the gap is too wide.
Obligations at a glance
| Reporting threshold |
|
|---|---|
| Joint pay assessment | — |
| Public publication | Not yet confirmed |
| Competent authority | Soolise võrdõiguslikkuse ja võrdse kohtlemise volinik |
Frequently asked
Is the EU Pay Transparency Directive in force in Estonia?
Estonia has partially brought the directive into force. Some obligations already apply while others are still being enacted, so check the national text for what is live today.
Which employers have to report in Estonia?
Reporting duties apply by employer size: 150 or more employees, from 2027 · Every three years (anticipated); 250 or more employees, from 2027 · Annual (anticipated); 100 or more employees, from 2031 · Every three years (anticipated).
What triggers a joint pay assessment in Estonia?
The directive's 5% trigger for a joint pay assessment applies until national law sets its own.
This guide summarises publicly available information for orientation only. It is not legal advice — confirm every figure against Estonia's own transposition text before relying on it.