Lepalaan says she has written proof her layoff from Estonia is a sham

Helen Lepalaan, a staff planner at the Estonia National Opera, says she will take her dismissal to the labour dispute committee, claiming she has written confirmation that her job has not genuinely been eliminated. She made the comments in an interview with ERR.

Lepalaan said her duties remain necessary to the theatre and that the dismissal was not legally sound. She cited written confirmation from the opera’s director, Ott Maaten, that her duties had not changed and would not change until a new head of the opera department was hired. She also said former director Ivari Ilja had promised that structural changes would be made together with staff and the new department head.

Lepalaan received notice of redundancy on October 13 and said she would stop working at the opera on October 19. She said she had substantial documentation to support her case and that her lawyer had encouraged her to go to the labour dispute committee.

She also described as defamatory allegations about her conduct at the opera that became public over the summer. Lepalaan said a police review and an internal inquiry into her teaching activities from 2021 to 2026 found no connection between her work and the roles at the theatre. She said she had not been given an opportunity to meet with soloists or ask them in writing what concerns they had about her.

Maaten said Lepalaan’s redundancy was part of a reorganisation of work processes in the opera department. He said the decision was based on an earlier document and was not influenced by the allegations made public this summer. The opera is selecting a new head of the department, with candidates due to be screened the following week.