Mihkel Lees

OTRK: "Increasing children's physical activity to improve mental and physical health"

Estonia · Riigikogu · 18 May 2026

Decision of the Riigikogu "Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to develop measures to increase the physical activity of children and young people"

Estonia · Riigikogu · 13 May 2026

The bill proposes to the government to develop measures to increase the physical activity of children and young people. The presentation of the draft is motivated by the alarmingly low physical activity of children and young people, the decline in physical fitness of young people and the need to strengthen prevention-based health, education and sports policy.

The Act on Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and other related laws

Estonia · Riigikogu · 16 April 2026

The bill provides for updating the law in order to reduce the administrative burden on employers and the Labor Inspectorate and to make the occupational safety system clearer and more efficient. The changes eliminate duplicative responsibilities and reduce reporting while maintaining worker safety. The bill makes several important changes. For example, companies with less than 10 employees no longer have to submit a risk analysis of the working environment to the Labor Inspection Self-Service (TEIS) or organize an analysis of the occupational health situation. One-person companies are not fully covered by the law. Bureaucracy is reduced - the obligation to inform the Labor Inspectorate about the working environment specialist and commissioner disappears. In the future, the working environment commissioner will only be elected at the request of the employees (at least 10%). More flexible work organization - first aid can be organized jointly by several companies, each employer does not have to have a separate first aid provider. Clearer rules for drunkenness control - the employer has the right to check the drunkenness of the employee in order to ensure occupational safety in case of reasonable suspicion or in high-risk jobs. In addition, the labor inspectorate's supervision becomes more data-based and targeted. The inspectorate will have the right to use data from the employment register (TÖR) and the contract chain, which will help to better identify hidden work and violations, especially in the construction sector. At the same time, formal control decreases and the focus shifts to greater risk jobs. As a result of the changes, the administrative burden on companies will be reduced, legal clarity will be improved, and the organization of occupational safety will become more flexible. No new responsibilities are added to employees and the level of occupational safety is maintained.

Family Benefits Act Amendment Act

Estonia · Riigikogu · 9 March 2026

Eelnõu eesmärk on sätestada, et edaspidi võetakse vanemahüvitise määra arvutamise aluseks eelmise kalendriaasta 1. juulil kehtinud töötasu alammäär. Samuti arvutatakse vanemahüvitis töötasu alammäära muutumisel ümber sõltumata alammäära muutumise kuupäevast. Seaduse muutmise eesmärgiks on tagada lastega peredele parem majanduslik toimetulek. Muudatus mõjutab positiivselt eelkõige kõige haavatavamat vanemahüvitise saajate sihtrühma, kellel arvestusperioodi jooksul sotsiaalmaksuga maksustatav tulu puudus või oli väiksem kui kehtestatud töötasu alammäär ning kellele makstakse vanemahüvitist vanemahüvitise määras või töötasu alammääras. Kui muudatust ei tehta, toimub kehtiva seaduse kohaselt vanemahüvitise määra muutumine alles alates 1.jaanuarist 2028, samas kui seaduse muutmisel toimub see alates 1.jaanuarist 2027. Seaduse muutmise korral saab töötasu alammäära muutumisel vanemahüvitist ümber arvutada alates 1. aprillist 2026 ehk vastavalt töötasu alammäära muutumisele. Kui muudatust ei tehta, on ümberarvutamine võimalik alles alates 1. jaanuarist 2027. Muudatus aitab vältida sarnaseid olukordi ka tulevikus, kui sotsiaalpartnerite keskorganisatsioonid jõuavad töötasu alammääras kokkuleppele ning sellest tulenev Vabariigi Valitsuse määruse muutmine toimub pärast 1. jaanuari.

Act to amend the Atmospheric Air Protection Act and other laws (reducing bureaucracy)

Estonia · Riigikogu · 17 November 2025

Current requirements for applying for permits and performing supervision are sometimes disproportionate, duplicative and do not correspond to real health risks. The bill envisages changes in the Atmospheric Air Protection Act, the Private Schools Act, the Youth Work Act, the Elementary and High School Act, the Social Welfare Act, the Public Health Act, the Medicines Act and the Tourism Act. The changes simplify the licensing and supervision processes, Empty or duplicative obligations are eliminated.  For example, in the case of schools and social services (childcare, foster care, shelters, etc.), the obligation to ask for a separate health board assessment when applying for an activity license disappears. The Health Board assesses health safety during the commissioning of the premises and later during supervision. This makes it faster to launch institutions and provide services. In youth camps, excessively detailed requirements disappear. Now comes the camps for example, the organizers have to comply with the requirements regarding the duration of the meal time, and the health board has to check its fulfillment. The Board of Health will be freed from double control in the case of local governments. For example, local governments no longer need to send noise reduction action plans and noise maps to the agency simply for information. The Agency can consult the documents during supervision.

Public Health Act Amendment Act

Estonia · Riigikogu · 7 April 2025

The bill provides for the end of turning the clocks to summer time and winter time. Since 2002, Estonia has switched to summer time on the last Sunday of March at 03:00, and the clock hands must be moved forward by one hour. The end of summer time has been on the last Sunday of October at 04:00 at night, and then the clock hands have to be moved back one hour. Unofficially, this time zone is also called winter time. Daylight saving time is one hour ahead of the time zone shifted time.

Product Conformity Act Amendment Act

Estonia · Riigikogu · 4 November 2024

With the amendments of the draft law, modernize the product safety requirements, which primarily concern cyber security and online commerce. The goals of the bill are to ensure compliance with European Union law, and the regulation of accreditation fees will also be updated. The EU General Product Safety Regulation places a clear obligation on manufacturers to assess the risks associated with the use of cyber security and artificial intelligence. The regulation also states that the consumer must have an online store the same information as in a regular store is available, including the manufacturer's information, product label, product image and all warnings and safety information. In addition, the basis for the review of the accreditation applications submitted to the Estonian Accreditation Center (EAK) and the hourly fee of the conformity assessment institutions will be updated in order to ensure fair and transparent remuneration for all accreditation activities. The changes resolve the situation where some accreditation application reviews are paid and parts not. In the future, when submitting any kind of application, the review fee must be paid based on the volume of work, and the hourly fee for accreditation includes, in addition to the activities of the chief assessor, the work of the assessment decision and technical review maker, which is also related to the assessment. Currently, the costs arising from the aforementioned activities are covered by the annual fees paid by all customers. However, both activities are related to a specific client and should be included in the fees associated with each client.