06.10.2023
WORKING TIME FOR REMOTE WORK
Comment from the specialist
The term "working time" means the time established by law, another regulatory act, a collective labor agreement or an individual labor contract, during which the worker or employee is obliged to be available to the employer on the territory of the enterprise or in another place determined by him.
During this time, the worker or employee carries out various types of work and fulfills duties according to his profession, specialty and qualification in accordance with the clauses of the individual employment contract, the rules for the internal labor rules of the enterprise and the collective labor agreement. The employer is obliged to promptly provide the necessary conditions for the performance of labor duties.
Working time is one of the measures of any type of work and represents a period of time during which work is carried out. It is an inherent measure of a number of rights and obligations of the worker or employee, which are directly or indirectly related to the amount of work performed.
Bulgarian labor legislation regulates various forms of working time in order to ensure more flexible employment opportunities, as well as maximum use of the opportunities for employment under several employment contracts.
With the planned amendments to the labor legislation regulating remote work, it is planned to introduce specific norms related to the regulation of working hours in this mode of work. What are they and how will they be applied, comments Dr. Todor Kapitanov, an expert in labor law.
Changes related to reporting of work done and control of working hours are proposed. It is regulated that the working hours of the worker and the employee who performs remote work are established in the individual employment contract in accordance with the requirements of the Labor Code, the collective labor agreement and the rules for the internal labor order in the enterprise.
When organizing working hours, it is expressly required to observe the minimum amounts of inter-day and weekly rest established by law. The right is reserved for the worker or the employee who performs remote work to organize his own working hours (subject to the agreed working hours and the breaks provided for in the Labor Code) so that he is available and works at the time in which the employer is in a communication relationship with third parties. These changes guarantee the right to rest in accordance with the general requirements of labor legislation, preserving the possibility of flexibility in the organization of work on the part of the worker or employee.
The proposed changes do not cancel the requirement that the actual time worked be reflected monthly in a document according to a model approved by the employer. In this case, the worker or the employee performing remote work is responsible for the reliability of the data. In view of the increasingly widespread use of information systems for the organization and reporting of work, an alternative possibility to report the actual time worked through an automated system is regulated.
In this way, an opportunity is provided to reduce the administrative burden, as the accounting of the time worked will not require the filling of a separate document by the worker or the employee and, accordingly, the processing of the information by the employer, and for this it will be possible to use the information systems.
In this case, the employer is obliged, upon request, to provide the worker or the employee who works remotely with access to the data in the system for the working time worked by him. Security is created for the worker or employee, who will have information about the reported working time, which is related to his labor and insurance rights.
05.10.2023
NEW CHANGES TO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
Development and introduction of a new list of vocations for vocational education and training, which will provide training in broad-spectrum professions with the possibility of upgrading the acquired vocational qualification, provides for changes to the Law on Vocational Education and Training, submitted to parliament.
The bill provides for four degrees of professional qualification, and they are required:
The possibility of distance training in an electronic environment for persons over 16 years of age, at the discretion of the director of the institution and in the presence of a technical ability.
In order to increase the opportunities for mobility and employment of the acquired professional qualification, the accumulation of loans is replaced by the accumulation and transfer of units of results from learning in vocational education and in vocational training.
The proposed legal provisions for the accumulation and transfer of units of the results of learning in vocational education and training are an opportunity for persons who have reached individual units of learning results, to accumulate them to recognize qualification by profession or by part of a profession, and to transfer them from One profession in another of the same field of education, thus ensuring flexibility and patency in the qualification system, writes in the reasons for the bill.
Many of the qualification courses organized for persons over 16 are for the acquisition of professional qualification by part of the profession. Therefore, the law provides for opportunities for qualifying for part of the profession to be defined in the state educational standard. It is regulated that vocational training in part of a profession should include the achievement of at least three units of learning results, with at least one unit of learning results being from specific vocational training.
04.10.2023
NEARLY 6,250 UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE TRAININGS
The Executive Director of the Employment Agency Smilen Valov signed contracts with social partners for the implementation of projects under the National Employment Action Plan in 2023.
The projects will provide an opportunity for 6,246 unemployed persons to participate in training for the acquisition of a professional qualification and/or key competence, and at least 35% of them will be included in employment afterwards.
The trainings are aimed at vulnerable groups on the labor market - unemployed up to 29 years or over 50 years old, long-term unemployed, persons with low or unsought professional qualifications and a lack of key competences, including those with low education , as well as to persons outside the labor force, discouraged persons or persons granted temporary protection status. A comprehensive approach will be applied to them, including the provision of training, internships and employment for a period of no less than 3 months in the primary labor market or in subsidized jobs, and the funding will be shared between the state and employers.
Despite the significant changes in the economic and social situation as a result of the negative processes in the world economy and the conflict in Ukraine, the expectations are that the planned trainings will fully meet the current needs of business personnel in its development.
In 2023, the projects will be implemented not only in large, but also in small settlements throughout the country. The trainings are for a wide range of professions - builders, cooks, salespeople, office assistants, computer operators, tailors, social assistants, welders, cashiers, tour guides, electricians and many others and are in response to specific needs stated by employers from the real and public sector.
The skills possessed by the workforce are increasingly important for employers, which is why it is envisaged that a large part of the unemployed persons included in the projects will undergo training and acquire public and civic competences or initiative and entrepreneurship, learning skills or digital competence.
The projects of the social partners to be implemented in 2023 are:
Project "AIM FORWARD" of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria - provides for the inclusion of 840 unemployed persons in training for the acquisition of key competences and professional training in 16 professions, of which at least 298 persons will be included in employment.
In the activities of the project "KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR WORK - 2" of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, it is planned to include 896 unemployed persons in training in 17 professions and acquisition of personal, social competence and competence to acquire learning skills. 320 persons will be provided with employment in the profession acquired through the project training.
According to the project "PROVIDING QUALITY LABOR" of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, trainings on "Personal skills for employment" will be held for 380 persons and "Models for dialogue in an intercultural environment" for 160 persons. A total of 885 unemployed people will acquire professional qualifications in 16 different professions, and 316 of them will be provided with employment in the profession acquired by the training.
The activities of the "PROSPERITY" project of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry envisage the inclusion of 888 unemployed persons in training in 12 professions and the acquisition of digital, personal, social, civic, entrepreneurial competence or competence to acquire learning skills. 312 persons will be provided with employment in the profession acquired through the project training.
The "CHANCE FOR GREEN AND ECOLOGICAL EMPLOYMENT" project of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria includes training for 969 persons in six professions. Employment will be ensured for at least 64.4% of the unemployed persons included in the project trainings, and the employment will be in accordance with the acquired qualification under the project.
Under the PROJECT "HORIZONTI 8" of the Confederation of Labor "PODKREPA", trainings will be held on the key competence "Personal competence, social competence and competence to acquire learning skills" on the topic "Teamwork skills" for 488 persons, on the topic "Personal and social competence and acquisition of learning skills" for 120 persons and on the topic "Skills for competitive inclusion in the labor market" for 273 persons. A total of 881 persons will acquire qualifications in 19 professions. After the successful completion of the training, employment will be provided to 355 persons.
PROJECT "OPPORTUNITY FOR DEVELOPMENT" of the Union for Business Initiative will give 136 unemployed people the opportunity to undergo training in the key competence "Digital Competence". The persons included will have the opportunity to undergo professional training in one of the 25 professions foreseen. This will give a chance to at least 325 of the 813 trained persons to be placed in suitable jobs requested by employers - project partners.
04.10.2023
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AGAINST AGREED COMPENSATION
What are the requirements for termination of employment at the initiative of the employer against agreed compensation?
According to Art. 331, para. 1 of the Labor Code, the employer may, on his own initiative, offer the worker or employee termination of the employment contract against compensation. If the worker or employee does not make a written decision on the proposal within 7 days, it is considered that it has not been accepted. In para. 2 of Art. 331 of the Labor Code provides that if the worker or employee accepts the offer under para. 1, the employer owes him compensation in the amount of not less than four times the amount of the last received monthly gross remuneration, unless the parties have agreed on a larger amount of compensation. That is, negotiating the amount of compensation depends on the will of both parties. The law does not provide an upper limit for compensation. If the compensation is not paid within one month from the date of termination of the employment contract, the reason for its termination shall be deemed to have expired.
The provision of Art. 228 of the Labor Code regulates that the gross remuneration for determining benefits under Section III of Chapter X of the Labor Code is the gross remuneration received by the worker or employee for the month preceding the month in which the basis for the corresponding compensation arose, or the last monthly gross remuneration received by the worker or employee, unless otherwise provided.
According to Art. 17, para. 1 of the Ordinance on the structure and organization of the salary in the gross remuneration for determining benefits under Art. 228 of the Labor Code (that is, also for the compensation under Art. 331, para. 2 of the Labor Code, unless otherwise agreed) include: 1. the basic salary for the time worked; 2. the remuneration above the basic salary, determined according to the applied labor payment systems; 3. the additional labor remunerations determined by the ordinance, by another normative act, by a collective or individual labor contract or by an internal act of the employer, which are of a permanent nature; 4. the additional labor remuneration in case of internal replacement under Art. 259 of the Labor Code; 5. the remuneration in accordance with Art. 266, para. 1 of the Labor Code; 6. the remuneration paid during downtime or due to production necessity, under Art. 267, para. 1 and 3 of the Labor Code; 7. the remuneration pursuant to Art. 268, para. 2 and 3 of the Labor Code.
03.10.2023
THE EMPLOYMENT RECORD BOOK EXPIRES AFTER A YEAR
After one year, the paper work book will finally disappear, the National Assembly adopted the changes to the Labor Code in the second reading.
For a period of up to one year, the National Revenue Agency will have to upgrade its register, and within this year workers will continue to present their paper book to employers and institutions.
An electronic register of employment maintained by the National Revenue Agency will also be created, in which all data from the employment book will be entered.
Thus, workers will have full access to their employment record, and employers will be able to automate internal processes through human resource management systems, automatically sending data to the registry.
The parents, guardians and guardians of workers and employees under the age of 18 have the right to access the relevant unified electronic labor record until the child turns 18, the deputies wrote.
The worker or employee has the right to information about the history of accesses to his unified electronic labor record, except for the cases of access by the authorities of pre-trial proceedings in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code and the State Agency for National Security.
Employers have the right to information about their employed workers and employees entered by previous employers, with the exception of the amount of wages and benefits that the worker or employee received from previous employers.
When, after June 1, 2025, the employment record is lost or destroyed, the relevant Directorate "Labor Inspection" shall issue a new one and enter data on the work experience acquired before June 1, 2025, based on a written application-declaration of the worker or employee, to which are attached certificates from the employers where he worked, as well as other original documents containing these data, the National Assembly also votes.
02.10.2023
CHECK OUT THE NEW TRANSLATION ACCOUNTS TO THE NRA
The new bank accounts are published on the NRA website, which will make payments to the revenue agency as of today, October 2, 2023.
When ordering the closed accounts after that date, the servicing bank will return the taxpayers' money to the account from which they made the transfer.
Each of the new bank accounts is intended for repayment of a certain obligation: taxes, state social security contributions, health insurance contributions, additional compulsory pension contributions, forced collection of public receivables.
Citizens and companies from all over the country will pay the relevant type of obligation on the specified account, regardless of which NRA structure they are registered at a permanent address or management address, reminds the revenue agency.
Citizens and companies can continue to repay their obligations without fees by using the physical POS terminals in the offices of the Revenue Agency, as well as the virtual POS (the e-service for payment) in the NRA Electronic Services Portal.
02.10.2023
IS THERE RESISTANCE IN OUR COUNTRY AGAINST RETRAINING?
About 37,000 Bulgarians have completed or are currently attending vocational qualification and retraining courses in the centers licensed by the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training.
About 1/3 of those visiting vocational training centers want to start their own business, says Luba Krasteva, chief expert at the National Agency for Vocational Education and Training.
The motivation of people of active age to retrain in order to keep their jobs is not enough, experts report.
"If we do not retrain, there is a risk of falling far behind, into the group of the permanently unemployed," warns Tsvetan Spasov, head of the OP "Development of Human Resources" at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
A huge resource has been set aside for training in digital skills to catch up, leading to a slight rise in unemployment, he points out, giving the example of a group of 150,000 low-skilled people struggling to find work and having a long history of registration in the labor offices.
The national campaign "Time to update" in the summer has shown that technology has already entered our manufacturing enterprises.
Woodworking companies are no longer looking for carpenters, but programmers. In sugar factories, only 4-5 years ago, 16 people were required to work in 2 shifts to fold about 2,000 candy boxes, now one woman folds 24,000 boxes in 8 hours.
We are no longer in the years of classic professions that we work all our lives, Tsvetan Spasov also points out. According to him, until the Bulgarian does not understand that he must be flexible, whatever the administration does, it is difficult to change the statistics, which are not positive at the moment.
Things are not as bleak as they seem according to the statistics. Vocational training centers are already quite popular both among employers and non-governmental organizations, believes Antoaneta Katsarova, director of "Vocational Training" at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce. According to her, Bulgarian workers and employees have enough opportunities to develop their skills.
Katsarova is adamant that with the introduction of robotization in production, unattractive labor will decrease, and by retraining, people will retain their ability to work servicing machines of a new generation.
"What will change is people becoming more highly skilled, not unemployed. These robots are created by people, people service them, people control these processes."
"There is a psychological barrier to be overcome in the entire population - it turns out that the more qualified a person is, the more he is qualified. Those who are not qualified have no desire. In the older generation there is a perception - I have studied, I have graduated, this is what I will be working on all my life. This is partly where the resistance to upgrade qualifications, to obtain a new one comes from. With the younger generation, this approach has been greatly changed," emphasizes Katsarova.
People, especially those with lower education, in villages, older people still do not believe that training and education make them more competitive in the labor market, commented Zornitsa Slavova from the Institute for Market Economy.
According to the National Employment Action Plan, training in digital skills is planned for half a million people - the most large-scale training in history, she notes.
There is still a huge shortage of suitable personnel. This is a major factor for employers not to expand their operations. They must train them, that is, education does not provide the necessary skills for a person to be directly employed, adds Slavova. "The employer must educate and train him."
29.09.2023
WHICH EMPLOYERS SHOULD PAY WAGES BY TRANSFER OR PAYMENT ACCOUNT ONLY?
The Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2023 was published in Issue 66 of the State Gazette of 01.08.2023, which also provides for some changes in the Law on the Limitation of Cash Payments and the Labor Code. With these changes, a new obligation was introduced for employers with 100 or more employees to pay their wages only by transfer or deposit to a payment account in a bank in the country specified by the employee. The changes are in effect from 01.09.2023 and are aimed at increasing transparency in the payment of remuneration and preventing the evasion and non-payment of due taxes and social security contributions through cash payments.
What do the changes in the Law on the Limitation of Cash Payments provide?
Until now, the law did not apply to labor remuneration. After the changes, an exception to this principle was introduced, provided for in Art. 3, para. 1, item 3 of the Law on Limiting Cash Payments, binding only employers who have 100 or more employees. It follows that small enterprises and micro-enterprises are excluded from the scope of the law.
The new obligation will not apply to labor remuneration received under contracts for short-term seasonal agricultural work in accordance with Art. 114a of the Labor Code. It is justified and logical, since the duration of the contract under Art. 114a of the Labor Code, is at least one day and no more than 90 days in a calendar year.
Payments within the scope of the analyzed provision refer only to labor remuneration within the meaning of the Labor Code (chapter twelve of the Labor Code), but not to other types of payments that the employer pays in connection with and on the occasion of labor relations. An example of such payments would be travel allowances, compensation amounts for housing rent, relocation benefits for the worker or employee, etc. similar.
Next, the obligation applies to payments that are made only on the territory of the country. This is because the territorial scope of the Law on the Limitation of Cash Payments is limited to the territory of the country.
Regarding the requirement that payments be made by transfer or deposit to a payment account, the instructions of the Ministry of Finance (Ex. No. UK-3 of 04.04.2011) should be taken into account, which state that these payments can be not only through banks, but also through other providers of payment services on a payment account (electronic money companies and payment institutions within the meaning of the Act on Payment Services and Payment Systems, the European Central Bank and national central banks).
What are the changes in other regulations?
In connection with the amendment of the Law on Limitation of Cash Payments and for the purpose of synchronizing the legislation, a change was introduced in the Labor Code. The new paragraph 4 of Art. 270 of the Labor Code, stipulates that employers with 100 or more employees must pay the labor remuneration only by transfer or deposit to a payment account in a bank specified by the worker or employee in the country. The previous order stipulated that the remuneration should be paid by bank transfer only with the consent of the worker or employee.
In addition to this and with the aim of providing easier access to banking services for users of payment services - with the new Art. 120a of the Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems, natural persons are given the opportunity to open a payment account for basic operations, which will be serviced free of charge when funds from labor remuneration are received and stored on it.
What are the penalties for failure to comply with the new legal obligation?
In case of violations of the restrictive regime introduced by law for cash payments, the authorities of the National Revenue Agency are authorized to draw up acts for establishing administrative violations of a person who committed or allowed the commission of a violation (the payer of the amount or another person who allowed the payment to be made Cash). A person who has allowed the offense to be committed would be any person who, by action or omission, has allowed the payment of an amount in cash to be made. The penalty is a fine in the amount of 25 percent of the total amount of the payment made - if it is a natural person, or with a property sanction in the amount of 50 percent of the total amount of the payment made - if it is a legal entity (Article 5 of the Law on Limitation of Cash Payments). Increased penalties are provided for repeated violations.
With the changes made, the legislator has set goals related to increasing the collection of revenues in the state budget and transparency in relations between employers and employees. Whether these objectives will be achieved is subject to subsequent analysis and practice after the implementation of the new regulations. Consultancy Center - Berkovitsa recommends that employers from the region, who are obliged to comply with the mentioned legislative changes, comply with the new requirements and introduce changes in their internal policies and rules for the payment of labor remunerations.
29.09.2023
REPORT: INFLATION EATS SAVINGS
Gross financial assets of Bulgarian households increased by a modest 2.6% in 2022, far below the record pandemic-induced increase in the previous year (29%).
This is according to Allianz's Global Wealth Report, which tracks the state of household assets and liabilities in nearly 60 countries.
The main driver in our country was bank deposits, which grew by 10%. The insurance/retirement savings asset class, on the other hand, lost -3.0% in value, while equities were unchanged (-0.1%). Changing saving behavior plays an important role in this. While in 2021 new savings grew and most of them were invested in the capital markets, in 2022 the old patterns returned: savers reduced their purchases of securities to zero (after buying €20 billion worth of securities in the previous year) and used all fresh savings, which fell by 86%, on bank deposits, reaching 28%. Compared to pre-pandemic 2019, financial assets are 40.3% higher, but only in nominal terms. Adjusted for inflation, growth has halved – by 19.2% over three years. Liabilities growth remained high at 11.1% (10.1% for 2021).
However, thanks to high nominal growth, the debt-to-GDP ratio fell by 2 percentage points to 27.4%; it is now 7 percentage points below its peak in 2009. In the end, net financial assets increased by just 0.8%. With net financial assets per capita of 14,510 euros, Bulgaria remains in 35th position in the ranking of the richest countries.
A difficult year
2022 was a weak year for savers. Following the worst-case scenario, asset prices across the board fell. The result was a 2.7% decline in global financial assets of private households, the largest since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. However, the growth rates of the three main asset classes differed significantly. While securities (-7.3%) and insurance/retirement savings posted strong declines, bank deposits recorded steady growth of 6.0%. Overall, €6.6 trillion worth of financial assets were lost, and total financial assets stood at €233 trillion at the end of 2022. The decline was most pronounced in North America (-6.2%), followed by Western Europe (- 4.8%). Asia, on the other hand, excluding Japan, continues to post strong growth rates. China's financial assets grew significantly, registering a growth of 6.9%. Compared to the previous year (+13.3%) and the long-term average for the last 20 years (+15.9%), this is a rather disappointing development – the lockdowns have had their say.
No nominal profits
Despite bitter losses in nominal terms, at the end of last year global household financial assets were nearly 19% above pre-Covid-19 levels. Adjusted for inflation, almost two-thirds of nominal growth fell victim to price increases, reducing real growth to a paltry 6.6% over three years. While most regions can at least maintain some real wealth growth, the situation in Western Europe is different: all nominal gains were wiped out and real wealth fell by 2.6% in 2019.
"For many years, savers have been complaining about zero interest rates," commented Ludovic Subran, chief economist at Allianz. "But the real enemy of savers is inflation, and not just its surge during Covid-19. Globally, three-quarters of the nominal growth in financial assets over the past 20 years has been eaten up by inflation. This emphasizes the need for prudent saving and high financial literacy. Inflation is a beast that is hard to beat. Without incentives and subsidies for long-term saving, most savers may struggle.”
No good prospects
After the downturn in 2022, global financial assets should return to growth in 2023. For now, this is primarily supported by positive stock market developments. Overall, Allianz expects global financial assets to increase by around 6%, taking into account the further "normalization" of saving behaviour. Given a global inflation rate of around 6% in 2023, savers should be spared another year of real losses on their financial assets.
"The medium-term outlook is quite mixed," said Patricia Pelayo Romero, co-author of the report. "There is no good monetary and economic outlook. Over the next three years, average growth in financial assets is likely to be between 4% and 5%, assuming average stock market returns. But like weather becoming more extreme amid climate change, more market volatility is to be expected in the new geopolitical and economic landscape. The 'normal' years may soon become the exception."
Tightening seat belts
The reversal of interest rates was also felt in the liabilities of private households. After global private debt rose by 7.8% in 2021, growth weakened significantly to 5.7% last year. The sharpest decline was recorded in China: last year's growth of 5.4% was the lowest ever. Overall, global household debt stood at €55.8 trillion by the end of 2022. With the gap between debt and economic growth widening to 3.9 percentage points, the global debt-to-GDP ratio (liabilities as a percentage of GDP) declined significantly – by more than 2 percentage points – up to 66.1% in 2022.
This means that the global private household debt ratio is back to roughly the same level as it was at the turn of the millennium – a remarkable level of stability that hardly fits into the widespread narrative of a world drowning in debt. However, there have been major changes in the state of global debt. First of all, stability characterizes development in advanced economies. On the other hand, most emerging markets have seen a sharp rise in debt ratios over the past two decades. China tops the list with a ratio that has more than tripled to 61%.
28.09.2023
"PLACE OF WORK" AND "WORKPLACE " AND OTHER ISSUES WHEN WORKING REMOTELY
Comment from the specialist
To date, changes have been proposed to amend and supplement the Labor Code, which aim at greater flexibility and security in remote work, including in relation to the organization of health and safety working conditions, reporting of work and control of working hours.
The proposed changes became the subject of increased public interest and media discussion. The main emphasis in this polemic was placed on the texts that supplement the regulations regarding the definition of "place of work" and "workplace" in remote work or so-called remote work. Dr. Todor Kapitanov, an expert in labor law, explains the difference between the two concepts.
By agreeing in the employment contract the specific place of work from which the remote work will be carried out, certainty is created in the relations between the parties. Thus, neither party will have the right to unilaterally change the agreed place of remote work. This provides an opportunity for the employer to guarantee safe and healthy working conditions and to control the performance of the work.
What does this mean in practice and do we understand that 'place of work' and 'workplace' are two different concepts in employment law?
According to the current legislation, "place of work" is "the headquarters of the enterprise with which the employment contract was concluded, unless otherwise agreed or does not follow from the nature of the work".
Specifying the "place of work" is a mandatory requirement and part of the minimum content of any employment contract. This fundamental position is not changed by the proposed amendment to the norms, according to which the place of remote work is determined with the individual employment contract, when it is different from the employer's headquarters.
Determining the place of work, at least in terms of whether it is in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or outside it, has an important practical meaning, especially if the work is carried out from abroad and for long periods of time.
It is the proposal to agree on the place of work, if it is different from the employer's headquarters, which means in practice the freedom to agree on a different place from which to carry out the remote work. On the other hand, if the remote work takes place on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, with the headquarters of the company being in the city of Sofia, and the remote work will predominantly be carried out, for example, from an apartment or villa in the city of Varna, this must be recorded in the individual employment contract.
This change does not limit either the employee or the employer. On the contrary, it gives greater freedom for both parties and at the same time guarantees stability for the employer where he can look for his worker and how to demand from him the correct operation of the equipment and the performance of the work duties from this place.
Another is the content of the concept of "workplace" and it should not be confused with the concept of "place of work" in teleworking. The workplace according to the current legislation is "a room, workshop, room, location of a machine, facility or other similar territorially determined place in the enterprise, where the worker or employee, on the instructions of the employer, performs his work in fulfillment of the obligations under the employment relationship, as well as a place, determined by a user enterprise. In the case of home work and remote work, the workplace is the worker's or employee's home or any other premises of his choice outside the enterprise."
With the new proposal in the Labor Code, a change is also made to the term "workplace when working remotely" - it will be understood not as the entire home of the worker, but a certain "place in a room in the home of the worker or employee or in another room according to him choice outside the establishment where the work is carried out'.
In other words, if the worker has chosen to work from his living room at home, this will be the workplace that must be technically secured and secured, so that the employer or the Labor Inspectorate can carry out inspections in this room if necessary.
In this way, the ambiguity will also disappear if an accident happens at home while we are working remotely, whether it will be work-related or domestic.
New requirements for information systems when working remotely
Through the planned change to the regulation regarding remote work in the Labor Code in Bulgaria, the requirements for the use of information systems by the employer for assigning and reporting the work will also be regulated, including and regarding the implemented systems for algorithmic management of work processes.
The implementation of information systems for algorithmic management (and so-called artificial intelligence) raises concerns about excessive control by employers and limiting human intervention in essential decisions that affect the labor rights of workers and employees.
What are the planned changes in the law and in what way would they guarantee the observance of the rights and interests of workers, specifically those of them who will work remotely under the new conditions?
In order to ensure the rights of workers and employees when using automated management systems, an obligation is provided for the employer to provide employees with information about the data collected and processed in connection with the work.
In this way, workers and employees will be familiar with the established control mechanisms and the volume of information that their employer collects and processes, as well as the way of making automated decisions related to the assignment, reporting and control of work. The necessary information should be provided to employees in writing.
The right of the worker or employee to request a review of the automated decisions made by the algorithmic management system that affect his rights is also regulated. When a request for reconsideration is filed, the employer or an official designated by the employer will have an obligation to review the decision of the algorithmic management system and notify the worker or employee of the final decision. In this way, the obligation of human control over all important automated decisions affecting the rights of workers is regulated.
Information and communication technologies used for official purposes are characterized by greater flexibility in terms of time, place and way of performing work. Carrying out work using modern technology allows employers to make contact with workers at any time. This may lead to a violation of statutory rest periods for workers.
Modern means of communication, on the other hand, should be used in a way that guarantees the combination of professional and personal life and provides an opportunity for workers to spend their free time to the fullest with their families. The development of market relations and the membership of Bulgaria in the European Union are related to the closer integration of national enterprises in the common internal market, including the participation in the chains of suppliers and contractors.
The freedom to provide services includes the right of enterprises to provide services in another Member State, for which purpose they temporarily post their workers. The legislation of the European Union regulates the main requirements regarding the terms and conditions for the posting of workers for temporary work for the purpose of providing services in another Member State other than the one in which they normally work.
