On October 4, 2022, the National Council of the Slovak Republic approved a bill amending Act No. 311/2001 Coll., the Labor Code, as amended, and amending certain other laws. The amendment introduces numerous and significant changes to the Labor Code, affecting various rights and obligations of employers regarding the establishment, modification, and termination of employment relationships. The changes will also affect the posting of employees, work performed under agreements outside of an employment relationship, and introduce a new institution of paternity leave. As part of supplementary proposals during the legislative process, an amendment was also proposed regarding the right of a trade union operating at an employer’s premises to approach an employee in an appropriate manner for the purpose of offering them membership. The originally intended effective date 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 the article.
Article contents:
- 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 carers, 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, is also intended to contribute to gender equality and the opportunity to form a bond between fathers and children from an early age.
Service of
Documents concerning the establishment, modification, and termination of an employment relationship or the rights and obligations of an employee arising from an employment contract or, where applicable, from an agreement on work performed outside an employment relationship, shall be delivered by the employer to the employee primarily at the workplace, at the employee’s residence, or wherever the employee may be found. If this is not possible, the document may be delivered by a postal service as registered mail.
However, the Labor Code does not regulate the length of time a shipment may 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 in dispute, but the method of delivery was problematic, or rather, the assessment of whether the employer had unreasonably shortened the retention period for the mail.
For this reason, it is proposed to specify the duration of the retention period directly in the law. Under the new provisions, an employer may not set a collection period for a shipment shorter than ten days.
Amendment to the Employment Contract
The amendment adds to the Labor Code a procedure that was previously missing but is applied in practice: in the event of an amendment to the employment contract, the employer is required to provide the employee with a written copy of the amendment to the employment contract.
Requirements of an employment contract
The current wording of Section 43 of the Labor Code regulates the essential, regular, and incidental requirements of an employment contract. Upon the amendment’s entry into force, an employment contract must, in addition to the identification details of the employee and employer, mandatorily contain only the essential requirements, i.e.:
- the type of work and a brief description thereof,
- the place of work (municipality, part of a municipality, or another specified location) or places of work, if there are multiple, or a provision stating that the place of work is determined by the employee,
- the start date,
- and wage terms.
As for the standard components of the employment contract, the employer will now have the option to include them in the employment contract as additional terms within the meaning of Section 44 of the Labor Code or, in accordance with the newly introduced provision of § 47a, provide the employee with written information regarding their working conditions and terms of employment, including the following details:
- the method of determining the place of work or the designation of the primary place of work, if multiple places of work are agreed upon in the employment contract,
- the established weekly working hours, information on the method and rules for scheduling working hours, including the expected working days and the balancing period pursuant to § 86, §§ 87 and 87a, the duration and timing of work breaks, uninterrupted daily rest, and uninterrupted weekly rest, rules for overtime work, including wage premiums for overtime,
- the amount of annual leave or the method for determining it,
- the due date for wages and the payment of wages, including pay dates,
- the rules for termination of employment, the length of the notice period or the method for determining it if it is not known at the time the information is provided, the deadline for filing a lawsuit to declare the termination of employment invalid,
- the right to vocational training provided by the employer, if provided, and its scope
Furthermore, the employment contract may include additional terms of interest to the parties, particularly additional material benefits.
Requirements for the employment contract and written information from the employer regarding work performed outside the territory of the Slovak Republic.
In the case of a place of work 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 duration of work in a 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 required to provide the employee, prior to departure for work, with written information regarding:
- the currency in which the wage or a portion thereof will be paid,
- details of other benefits related to the performance of work in a country or countries outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, whether in cash or in kind,
- details of whether the employee’s repatriation is ensured and what conditions apply to it.
Repatriation refers to any conditions for the employee’s return from abroad.
The employer has this information obligation only if the employment contract itself does not already contain the aforementioned information 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 several information obligations for employers. For this reason, the legislature decided to specify the form of information provided to employees by introducing the provision of Section 38a:
“The employer shall provide the employee with information that, pursuant to this Act or another labor law regulation, 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 save and print it, and the employer retains proof of its transmission 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 labor law experts guarantees the provision of effective legal services. If you need advice or assistance with any labor law issue, please do not hesitate to contact us. The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is at your full disposal.
Webinar - Amendment to the Labor Code and GDPR
This webinar will cover:
1/ The most significant changes to the Labor Code following the major amendment (2022-2023)
(changes in legal regulations regarding the establishment, modification, and termination of employment relationships; agreements on work performed outside of an employment relationship; new employer obligations; changes regarding the posting of employees; and the introduction of paternity leave).
2/ Labor-law relationships in the context of the GDPR
(HR processes in the processing of personal data, purposes and legal bases for processing personal data, issues regarding consent, and legal aspects of the control mechanism in the workplace).
At the end of the webinar, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers.
When: November 30, 2022, at 9:00 AM
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 and limited to a certain number of participants.
Register for the webinar to gain an overview of the Labor Code Amendment and the GDPR, and take advantage of the opportunity to have any of your questions in these areas answered.
You can register now using our form. Join the event on LinkedIn or Facebook and don’t miss any updates about the webinar. We look forward to seeing you there!
