Töösuhtega

Töösuhtega describes the status of a person who works under an employment relationship in Estonia. In legal and administrative language, it denotes someone who is bound by a tööleping (employment contract) with an employer, and whose work is directed and supervised by that employer. The arrangement typically involves remuneration for the work performed and is distinguished from other forms of work, such as independent contracting or service agreements.

The key features of a töösuhe include subordination (juhendatavus), personal performance (isiklik töötegemine), and a regular employer–employee relationship. The employer sets tasks, controls how they are performed, and provides compensation, while the employee performs work personally and pursuant to the agreed terms. A töösuhe can be open-ended or fixed-term and is usually accompanied by rights related to working time, holidays, rest periods, and social protections.

The legal framework governing töösuhte is the Töölepingu seadus (Employment Contracts Act). This law regulates how a töösuhe is created (primarily through a tööleping), the rights and obligations of both parties, working hours, wage payments, leave, and the conditions under which the relationship may be terminated. It also distinguishes töösuhte from other arrangements such as töövõtt (service contracts) and emphasizes the employer’s responsibility to properly classify workers to avoid misclassification and related legal and tax consequences.

In practice, the term is widely used in official documents, HR contexts, and labor-market statistics to describe workers who are in an employment relationship. The phrase commonly appears as “töösuhtega töötaja” to denote an employee under a formal employment contract.