Estonia: proposal would allow 16-year-olds to prepare and sell alcohol

11.05.2026 - A new amendment proposal in the Estonian Parliament has raised concern among public health organisations, as it would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in jobs involving the preparation, offering and sale of alcoholic beverages.

The proposal was submitted on 29 April 2026 by the parliamentary groups of the Reform Party and Estonia 200 as an amendment to the Draft Act amending the Employment Contracts Act (837 SE). Although the draft law itself concerns employment regulation, the amendment would also change the Alcohol Act. More specifically, it would amend § 47(5), which currently restricts the use of minors in work connected with alcohol handling.

Under the current rule, minors may not be employed in work related to alcohol handling, with a narrow exception for storage or commercial transport, provided that the minor only comes into contact with alcohol in unopened packaging. The new proposal would create an additional exception: a minor aged at least 16 could work with the preparation, offering for sale and sale of alcoholic beverages, if the work takes place under the supervision of an adult employee.

In practice, the change would affect cafés, bars, restaurants, hotels and other service businesses where alcoholic drinks are part of regular customer service. The explanation attached to the amendment argues that the current restriction makes it unattractive and impractical for employers to hire minors as service staff, especially during seasonal labour shortages. It also states that some minors already perform such tasks unofficially, creating legal uncertainty for both employers and young workers.

The Estonian Chamber for the Reduction of Tobacco and Alcohol Harms (ETAK) has strongly opposed the proposal. In its position paper, ETAK argues that the measure should not be treated as a minor technical employment law adjustment, but as a question of alcohol policy, child protection and public health. The organisation stresses that alcohol preparation and sales involve responsibilities that go beyond ordinary customer service, including age verification, recognising intoxication, refusing sales and handling potentially difficult customer situations.

A central concern is the contradiction built into the proposal. On the one hand, the amendment presents adult supervision as a safeguard. On the other hand, one of the reasons given for the change is that the current system is inconvenient because an adult employee must already be present in the same shift to provide full service. If adult supervision is real and meaningful, then an adult worker must still be present and able to intervene. If the aim is to reduce the need for adult presence, the safeguard risks becoming only formal.

The debate also has a wider background. Earlier discussions within the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications included an even more radical idea: allowing alcohol handling from the age of 13. This has strengthened concern among health organisations that the issue has been approached too narrowly from the perspective of labour supply and employer flexibility, while the public health and child protection dimensions have not been given sufficient weight.

ETAK also points to broader concerns about the direction of alcohol policy in Estonia. Recent discussions have included proposals to move alcohol advertising issues further towards self-regulation, to abolish the alcohol register, and to weaken existing controls. At the same time, the national alcohol policy development document has not been approved at government level. For public health organisations, the proposed change on minors and alcohol handling is therefore not an isolated issue, but part of a wider pattern of liberalisation.

Estonian data also show that alcohol availability to young people remains a concern. According to the National Institute for Health Development, test purchasing studies have shown weaknesses in age verification. In 2022, documents were not requested in 54 percent of alcohol test purchases at regular checkouts, and the Institute summarised the findings by saying that every second young person in Estonia can obtain alcohol without proving their age.

ETAK argues that this is precisely the wrong context in which to expand minors’ involvement in alcohol-related work. If alcohol remains too accessible to young people and age checks are not consistently enforced, the priority should be stronger prevention and better control, not placing 16- and 17-year-olds into work roles where alcohol becomes part of their everyday duties.

The organisation also refers to evidence from service and hospitality work environments, where employees may face customer aggression, harassment, stress and pressure connected to alcohol-serving settings. International studies have shown that bartenders and servers are a vulnerable group in relation to alcohol-related risks, and that even adult staff often struggle to refuse service to clearly intoxicated customers. ETAK argues that such responsibilities should not be extended to minors.

In Estonia, national workplace data also raise concerns. A 2025 survey by Intra Research found that half of Estonian service sector workers had experienced customer harassment or inappropriate behaviour. The Labour Inspectorate’s 2025 targeted inspections in catering and accommodation businesses identified shortcomings in risk assessments and work safety practices, including risks related to minor workers. These findings suggest that the working environments affected by the proposal are not risk-free even before alcohol-handling duties are added.

The amendment’s supporters present the aim as helping young people enter the labour market more easily. ETAK does not dispute the importance of youth employment, but argues that young people can gain work experience in many roles that do not involve alcohol. In catering and service businesses, minors can work in assisting roles, kitchen support, cleaning, event preparation, logistics and other tasks that do not require them to prepare or sell alcoholic drinks.

For ETAK, the question is not whether young people should be allowed to work. The question is whether alcohol should become part of a 16-year-old’s regular work environment and responsibility.

The Chamber has asked the Riigikogu Social Affairs Committee not to support the amendment and to leave the current restriction in § 47(5) of the Alcohol Act essentially unchanged. Its position is that minors should not be placed on the front line of alcohol sales, and that youth employment should be supported in ways that do not weaken the principles of alcohol prevention and child protection.

---

Source: ETAK