On October 4, 2022, the National Council of the Slovak Republic approved a draft law amending and supplementing Act No. 311/2001 Coll. Labor Code, as amended, and amending and supplementing certain laws. The amendment introduces numerous and significant changes to the Labor Code that affect several rights and obligations of employers when establishing, changing, and terminating employment relationships. The changes will also affect the posting of employees, work performed under agreements outside of employment relationships, and introduce a new institution of paternity leave. As part of the supplementary proposals during the legislative process, an amendment was also proposed to the right of a trade union operating at an employer to approach an employee in an appropriate manner to offer them membership. The originally intended date of effect of the amendment (October 1, 2022) has been postponed, and the amended version of the Labor Code will take effect on November 1, 2022. We are also preparing a free webinar on the amendment to the Labor Code—you can find information about it at the end of this article.
Contents of the article:
- Delivery
- Forms of providing information
Basic principles
The main objective of the amendment to the Labor Code is to transpose European directives, specifically:
- Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union,
- Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and persons with caring responsibilities, repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU.
In light of European legislation, the proposed amendment aims to increase the predictability and transparency of working conditions so that employees know exactly when, to what extent and under what conditions they will perform their work. The institution of paternity leave, which ensures a work-life balance, should also contribute to equality between men and women and the possibility of creating a bond between fathers and children from an early age.
Delivery of
Documents relating to the establishment, changes and termination of employment or the rights and obligations of an employee arising from an employment contract or, where applicable, from an agreement on work performed outside of employment shall be delivered by the employer to the employee primarily at the workplace, at his or her home or wherever he or she can be found. If this is not possible, the document may be delivered by post as a registered letter.
However, the Labor Code does not regulate the length of time a letter can be held at the post office, which in practice has led to a number of cases where the content of the document itself was not disputed, but the method of delivery or assessment of whether the employer unreasonably shortened the period for storing the letter.
For this reason, it is proposed to regulate the length of the storage period for letters directly in the law. Under the new rules, the employer may not set a collection period for a letter shorter than ten days.
Amendment of the employment contract
The amendment adds to the Labor Code a missing but commonly applied procedure whereby, in the event of an amendment to the employment contract, the employer is obliged to issue the employee with a written copy of the amendment to the employment contract.
Essential elements of the employment contract
The current wording of Section 43 of the Labor Code regulates the essential, regular, and incidental requirements of an employment contract. From the effective date of the amendment to the Labor Code, an employment contract must contain, in addition to the identification details of the employee and employer, only the essential requirements, i.e.:
- the type of work and its brief description,
- place of work (municipality, part of a municipality or other specified place) or places of work, if there are several, or a rule that the place of work is determined by the employee,
- date of commencement of work,
- remuneration conditions.
As regards the regular components of the employment contract, the employer will now have the choice of whether to include them in the employment contract as additional conditions within the meaning of Section 44 of the Labor Code or, in accordance with the newly introduced provision of Section 47a, to provide the employee with written information on their working conditions and terms of employment, including the following information:
- the method of determining the place of work or the determination of the main place of work if several places of work are agreed in the employment contract,
- the stipulated weekly working hours, information on the method and rules for scheduling working hours, including the expected working days and the compensatory period pursuant to Sections 86, 87, and 87a, the scope and timing of breaks at work, uninterrupted daily rest, and uninterrupted weekly rest, rules on overtime work, including wage bonuses for overtime work,
- annual leave entitlement or the method of determining it,
- payability and payment of wages, including pay dates,
- rules on termination of employment, length of notice period or method of determining it if not known at the time of providing the information, time limit for bringing an action to determine the invalidity of the termination of employment,
- the right to vocational training provided by the employer, if provided, and its scope
It remains the case that the employment contract may include other terms and conditions that are of interest to the parties, in particular additional material benefits.
Requirements for employment contracts and written information from the employer when work is performed outside the territory of the Slovak Republic.
In the case of work performed outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, the employer shall agree with the employee in the employment contract on so-called special essential requirements, which include the place and time of work in the country or countries outside the territory of the Slovak Republic. In connection with work performed outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, the employer is obliged to provide the employee with written information prior to departure for work concerning:
- the currency in which the wage or part thereof will be paid,
- information on other benefits related to the performance of work in a country or countries outside the territory of the Slovak Republic in cash or in kind,
- information on whether the repatriation of the employee is ensured and the conditions applicable thereto.
Repatriation refers to the conditions for the return of the employee from abroad.
The employer is only obliged to provide this information if it is not already contained in the employment contract itself and if the period of work in a country or countries outside the territory of the Slovak Republic exceeds four consecutive weeks.
Form of providing information
As can be seen, the amendment to the Labor Code introduces a number of information obligations for employers. For this reason, the legislator has decided to specify the form of information provided to employees by introducing the provision of §38a:
"The employer shall provide the employee with information which, according to this Act or other labor law regulations, is provided in writing, in paper form; the employer may provide this information in electronic form if the employee has access to the electronic form of the information, can store and print it, and the employer keeps proof of its dispatch or receipt, unless this Act or a special regulation provides otherwise. The same applies to the employer's written response if the employer is required to respond to the employee in writing."
The amendment clarifies that “in writing” means in paper form, while the proposed wording also introduces rules for providing information in electronic form.
Our team of experts in the field of labor law guarantees the provision of effective legal services. If you need advice or assistance with any question in the field of labor law, please do not hesitate to contact us. The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is at your disposal.
Webinar - Amendment to the Labor Code and GDPR
This webinar will cover:
1/ The most significant changes to the Labor Code after the major amendment (2022-2023)
(changes in the legal regulation of the establishment, change and termination of employment, agreements on work performed outside of employment, new obligations of employers, changes in the posting of employees and the introduction of paternity leave).
2/ Labor relations in the context of the GDPR
(HR processes in the processing of personal data, purposes and legal bases for the processing of personal data, issues of consent and legal aspects of the control mechanism in the workplace).
At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to ask the speakers questions.
When: November 30, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Online via the Webex platform
Speakers: Mgr. Andrea Domény (Hronček & Partners), Mgr. Anna Kopkášová (Hronček & Partners), Barbora Plavcová Gombárska (Top privacy)
Price: free
The webinar is organized by Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. and Top privacy s.r.o.
Participation in the webinar is free of charge and limited to a certain number of participants.
Register for the webinar to get an overview of the amendment to the Labor Code and the GDPR and take advantage of the opportunity to ask any questions you may have in these areas.
You can register now using our form. Join the event on LinkedIn or Facebook and don't miss any news about the webinar. We look forward to seeing you there!
