The Supreme Court in Estonia has clarified that job applicants
can only be asked to do short-term trial work, and that the
potential employer should be present while it takes place.
Trial periods of work or tasks used as part of the hiring
process are not regulated by the Estonian Employment Contracts Act,
but are a fairly common practice that continues to cause
uncertainty.
In a recent decision (No 2-20-5834/36), the Estonian Supreme
Court found that until an employment contract is signed, an
employer has the right to, among other things, assess a
candidate's work skills. However, practical tasks, tests, or
similar activities aimed at determining the candidate's skills
should generally be limited to simulating a
short-term work situation in the employer's
presence.
