The Act bars anyone convicted of sexual offenses, as well as for manslaughter or murder, from working with children, while employers are required to check the criminal records database annually — but the law names no specific roles.

Legal scholar Kärt Pormeister said the law is too vague as it does not name any particular institutions, only stipulating that a person must not have direct contact with children through their work or professional activities. In her view, that would mean someone previously convicted of a sexual offense could work, for instance, as a cleaner at a school or kindergarten.

"The explanatory memorandum says that a teacher is certainly a person working with children, as is a social pedagogue, and I believe a school doctor or nurse is too, because their clientele consists essentially only of children," Pormeister said.

A cleaner is a good example, the expert said, because, due to the nature of their work or job description, they do not actually require direct work contact with children. "Yes, they come into contact with them, but their job does not directly involve working with children."

However both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs disagree with Pormeister's line. Anna-Liisa Uisk, head of the Justice Ministry's development and criminal statistics unit, said employers are required to assess on a case-by-case basis whether an employee will come into contact with children; that direct contact includes the possibility of face-to-face contact.

"If a person works at an institution while children are also present, incidental contact with children is possible," Uisk said.

Helen Meumers, head of child protection policy at the Social Affairs Ministry, said the law is sufficiently clear as it is. "The law does indeed contain no list of specific services, institutions or positions, but the restriction exists and protection is clearly ensured," Meumers argued.

The Ministry of Justice submitted amendments to the Child Protection Act and Criminal Records Database Act which would let employers check records automatically every month rather than manually once a year, to notify the Social Insurance Board (SKA) when an employee is disbarred, and display ID photos of people barred over sexual offenses if they involved physical contact with minors. The Prosecutor's Office said it supports the intention, but questioned whether photos improve safety, arguing that people using false ID codes are unlikely to be caught this way, and noted that the ministry's own memorandum concedes public sex offender registries have not been shown to reduce reoffending rates. Prosecutors say preventing abuse requires more investment in mental health services, counseling, treatment and specialist training.

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