Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act entering into force on 13 July will ease conditions for young people working

Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act will soon ease the conditions under which minors may work. In future, minors will be able to work for longer during school holidays, and a young person aged at least 16 may be permitted to work in activities related to the preparation, offering for sale and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Exception to the restriction on handling alcohol for young people aged at least 16

At the proposal of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an amendment has also been added to the Act that will soon enter into force, under which a young person aged at least 16 may be permitted to work in activities related to the preparation, offering for sale and sale of alcoholic beverages. In practice, this primarily concerns the catering, accommodation and service sectors, where young people are often offered their first employment opportunities. The current restrictions unjustifiably limit young people’s opportunities to enter the labour market and exacerbate labour shortages in sectors where there is a strong need for seasonal and part-time workers. In the Chamber’s view, minors are protected by the requirement for parental consent before they start work. The employer will also remain obliged to ensure a safe and lawful working environment.

Minors will be able to work for longer during school holidays

The amendments entering into force will allow minors to work for more than half of the duration of a school holiday, with the maximum working period specified separately for each school holiday. Under the amendment, the minor’s legal representative (generally their mother or father) may not consent to an education-obliged minor working for longer than two months during the summer holiday, provided that the minor has at least four consecutive weeks of rest. Consent may also not be given to work for more than five calendar days during a one-week school holiday or ten calendar days during a two-week school holiday. For example, if a two-week school holiday runs from 21 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, the legal representative may consent to the minor working for up to ten days during that period. Previously, a minor could work for up to half of each school holiday; for example, if the holiday lasted 14 days, the minor could work for up to seven days.

Minors aged 7–17 will be able to work in their family business without restrictions on the field of activity

As a result of the amendments, a fixed-term employment contract for light work may in future be concluded in a family business with a minor aged 7–17 without applying restrictions on the field of activity; in other words, the young person may work in any field of activity. Working in a family business primarily refers to a situation where the employer concluding the employment contract with the minor is the minor’s parent, sibling, aunt or uncle, grandparent or adoptive parent. In addition, the employer in a family business may be the minor’s foster parent or guardian. Previously, minors aged 7–12 were not permitted to work in fields other than cultural, artistic, sporting or advertising activities.

The procedure for obtaining Labour Inspectorate authorisation to employ a minor aged 7–12 will become faster

Before concluding an employment contract with a minor aged 7–12, the consent of the Labour Inspectorate is required in addition to the consent of the legal representative. The amendments shorten the time limit for processing the Labour Inspectorate authorisation required to employ a minor aged 7–12 from ten working days to five. An exception is also provided for situations where, before the minor aged 7–12 is registered in the employment register, the Labour Inspectorate inspector has already received from the employer the information necessary to check whether the minor may be permitted to work (information concerning the consent of the minor’s legal representative, the minor’s working conditions and duties, and their obligation to study), has carried out the check and has given consent for the minor to work.

The Employment Contracts Act can be viewed here and the Alcohol Act here. The amendments will enter into force on 13 July 2026.

If you have any questions about the amendments to the Employment Contracts Act, please contact us at juristid@koda.ee.