27.10.2022
PERMISSION TO USE UNPAID LEAVE
The employer, at the request of the worker or employee, may allow him to take unpaid leave. Here we must pay attention that Art. 160 of the Labor Code provides a legal possibility for the use of unpaid leave, but it is not a subjective right of the worker or employee and its use is with the permission of the employer. The use of unpaid leave does not depend on whether the worker or employee has used the due paid annual leave. In addition, the use of unpaid leave does not depend on the length of service of the worker or employee.
In para. 2 of the same article, however, the legislator obliges the employer to allow a one-time use of unpaid leave, up to one year, to an employee who has a legal relationship with an institution of the European Union, except in cases under Art. 120a, with the United Nations, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or with other international governmental organizations. The right to use this leave is one-time and cannot be used again, including when changing the employer. The employer is obliged to release the worker or employee only if the described prerequisites are met, and only the persons for whom the above requirements are met have the right to such leave.
The worker or the employee, in order to use the leave under Art. 160 para. 2, must submit to the employer, together with the request for leave, evidence that he actually meets the requirements for the use of this type of leave.
The use of unpaid leave takes place at the initiative of the employee by submitting a written request to the employer. The application must necessarily contain the beginning of the use and the duration of the leave, specified in working days. In order to give his consent and authorize the use of the leave, the employer issues a written leave order.
The unpaid leave under Art. 160 of the Labor Code is considered an internship of up to 30 working days in one calendar year, and more than 30 working days only if this is provided for in the Labor Code, another law or a normative act of the Council of Ministers.
27.10.2022
400 BGN ARE GIVEN EACH FOR HEATING
We are about to approve an additional BGN 20 million from the budget of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy for the payment of a one-time financial aid for heating in the amount of BGN 400. This was stated by acting Prime Minister Galab Donev before the start of yesterday's government meeting.
Later, Social Affairs Minister Lazar Lazarov explained that the Council of Ministers had decided to support the most vulnerable and socially weak members of society and gave details of who will receive the new heating aid. We expect 50,000 people to be assisted with additional support for heating in the amount of BGN 400, announced the Acting Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policies at a briefing in the Council of Ministers.
Lazarov added that the right to such support will be available to people who submitted documents within the deadline, but were refused heating aid for the upcoming winter season due to exceeding the determined differentiated income by up to BGN 40 or due to failure to meet the requirement for 6-monthly mandatory registration as unemployed in the "Labor Office" directorates. They do not need to be resubmitted.
The right to support will also be available to people who meet the criteria, but have not submitted documents within the deadline set for this - October 31, 2022. They will be able to submit their documents within 14 days of the promulgation of the decree in the State Gazette.
He reported that the government also provides targeted heating allowances, and this year changes were made to the eligibility conditions for those entitled to benefit from targeted heating allowances. The changes in the amounts of pensions, which were obtained as a result of their increase in July and October, were reflected, so that people do not fall out of targeted social assistance, explained Lazarov.
In parallel, an unprecedented step has been taken, namely an increase in the amount of heating aid by more than 20 percent, thus fully reflecting changes in inflation. At the moment, this assistance is in the amount of BGN 623.55 and is granted once, so that people can make a choice in heating alternatives, noted Minister Lazarov. He pointed out that there continues to be a regulated market for the price of electricity, so that people have the opportunity to make the best choice that satisfies them in relation to their heating.
An additional element in this direction is the agreement concluded between the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Agency for Social Assistance and the Ministry of Agriculture, which, in the person of the state forestry farms, provide firewood to the persons entitled to assistance for heating, at prices which are extremely low, so that public funds cannot be used to support speculation or other types of unregulated practices.
The deadline for providing these aids and applying for them is until October 31. At the moment, more than 360 thousand applications have been submitted, I expect them to increase by the end of the month, Lazarov announced and added that about 285 thousand are those for whom aid has been granted. The persons have already received them and the others who are in the process of processing will also be included in the disbursement of benefits next month, he said.
27.10.2022
WORKING CONDITIONS FUND PROGRAM
Do you have to carry out repair work on an existing building stock, related to improving the working conditions of the staff?
"Working Conditions" Fund is a legal entity created under the Ministry of labor and social policy in accordance with the Health and Safety Working Conditions Act.
"Working Conditions" Fund at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has developed a program for co-financing activities in the field of improvement of working conditions for Bulgarian employers.
What should we know about the Program?
Who is the program aimed at?
The Fund accepts applications from registered persons - companies and companies entered in the Commercial Register with an independent EIC. The right to apply for project financing from the "Working Conditions" Fund is for individuals/sole traders/ and legal entities employers who meet the following requirements:
At the time of applying for financing, they provide work for workers and employees under employment contracts concluded with them;
They paid the due insurance contributions regularly and without interruption;
They have declared to the relevant "Regional Labor Inspection" directorate the location, type and nature of activity, number of workers, working conditions, risk factors and the measures taken to ensure the prevention of accidents and accidents;
They have appointed or designated at least one official with appropriate education or qualification, created a specialized office or contracted with other individuals or legal entities to organize the implementation of activities related to the protection and prevention of occupational risks;
Have provided service to their workers and employees from the occupational medicine service;
They have established a committee (group) on working conditions,
Have independent registration under Bulstat/EIC/.
Funds from the Fund are provided free of charge after a completed project for financing up to 30 percent of the value of the project to improve working conditions in individual enterprises - companies, companies and registered entities with independent registration under Bulstat/EIC and with specific practical applicability.
Conditions for participation:
Regularly paid insurance contributions,
Maximum term for project implementation up to 12 months,
Registered employment contracts of engaged personnel,
Lack of obligations in accordance with Art. 87 of the Tax and Insurance Procedural Code,
Existing own or leased building stock.
Activities and funding
Funds from the Fund are provided free of charge after a completed project for financing up to 30 percent of the value of the project to improve working conditions in individual enterprises - companies, companies and registered entities with independent registration under Bulstat/EIC and with specific practical applicability.
Eligible project activities:
The activities related to improving the working conditions and recreation of the employed staff through repairs and improvements in existing own or rented building stock, securing machines and equipment, creating conditions for ignoring the risks in the working environment, optimizing the factors affecting work are permissible.
The maximum amount of funding from the Fund is up to 30 percent of the approved and actually incurred project costs, but no more than BGN 100,000 excluding VAT for small, medium and large enterprises.
The maximum amount of funds invested in the project is BGN 330,000 excluding VAT.
Berkovitsa Consultancy Center has presented you with an opportunity for a project application and we can discuss your specific needs by offering other suitable projects and programs for your business.
26.10.2022
MORE FREE EXAMINATIONS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN WITHOUT HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS
Pregnant women who are uninsured will have the right to more health care during pregnancy, according to changes in Ordinance No. 26 for the provision of obstetric care to uninsured women.
They will be entitled to up to four preventive examinations during pregnancy outside the scope of compulsory health insurance. These examinations will include determination of due date, measurement of fetal blood pressure and heart tones, ultrasound, as well as blood tests.
Examinations and tests will be carried out by medical facilities for specialized outpatient medical care in obstetrics and gynecology and by medical diagnostic laboratories - independent or within the structure of medical facilities for outpatient care.
The woman without health insurance has the right to freely choose the medical facility where the examinations will be performed, the regulation also states. These changes will take effect on January 1, 2023.
The number of women giving birth whose pregnancy was not adequately monitored by a specialist amounts to about 7,000 each year. At least one-third of severe illnesses in premature babies are due to preventable complications from untreated maternal infections during pregnancy.
26.10.2022
AN EMPLOYER MUST GIVE NOTICE IF HE LAYS OFF MORE THAN 10 PEOPLE
In the current Labor Code (LC) there is a special norm entitled "Right to information and consultations in cases of mass dismissal". It is dedicated to the cases in which a special procedure must be carried out before larger dismissals are carried out.
Thus, it is explicitly stated that if the employer intends to undertake mass dismissals, he is obliged to start consultations with the representatives of the trade union organizations and the representatives of the workers and employees "in due time, but not later than 45 days before their execution". CT also states that he is also obliged to "make efforts to reach an agreement with them in order to avoid or limit mass dismissals and to mitigate their consequences".
The Code also defines what it means by "mass redundancies". These are dismissals on one or more grounds, carried out at the discretion of the employer and for reasons unrelated to the specific worker or employee, when the number of dismissals is at least 10 in enterprises where the list of employees in the month preceding the mass dismissal is more than 20 and less than 100 workers and employees for a period of 30 days. The specific case also falls into this hypothesis, which means that the procedure develops if more than 10 people are fired at the same time.
Such are the cases when the dismissed are "at least 10 percent of the number of workers and employees in enterprises where the list of employees in the month preceding the mass dismissal is at least 100, but not more than 300 workers and employees ". The same applies when the dismissed are at least 30 in enterprises where the list of employees in the month preceding the mass dismissal is at least 300 or more workers and employees for a period of 30 days.
The order and manner of conducting consultations in case of mass dismissal are determined by the employer, the representatives of the trade union organizations and the representatives of the workers and employees. It is expressly stated that regardless of whether the employer or another legal entity made the decision that led to mass dismissals, the employer is obliged to provide written information to the trade union organizations and the representatives of the workers and employees before the start of the consultations. This information must contain the reasons for the planned redundancies, as well as the number of employees who will be made redundant and the main economic activities, occupational groups and positions to which they relate. The number of employed workers and employees from the main economic activities, groups of professions and positions in the enterprise, the specific indicators for applying the criteria for the selection of the workers and employees who will be dismissed, the period during which the dismissals will take place, and the benefits due are indicated , related to layoffs.
After providing this information within three working days, the employer is obliged to send a copy of it to the relevant division of the Employment Agency. In the event of non-fulfillment of the employer's obligation, trade unions and employee representatives have the right to notify the Executive Agency "Main Labor Inspectorate" of non-compliance with labor legislation.
The intended mass dismissals are carried out no earlier than 30 days after notifying the Employment Agency, regardless of the notice period.
25.10.2022
THE EXPENSES OF ONE FAMILY IN ROMANIA HAVE INCREASED BY 20%
The value of the minimum consumer basket for a family of two adults and two children in Romania in September 2022 was 8,659 lei (3,431 BGN) per month compared to 7,233 lei (2,866 BGN) in September 2021, i.e. 19.7 percent more, indicate data from the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation Romania and "Sindex" Romania, cited by Agerpress.
According to the report "The minimum monthly consumer basket for a decent life for the population of Romania" the value of the basket for a family of two adults and one child is 7112 lei (2818 BGN) per month, for two adults without children - 5322 lei (2110 BGN) per month, and for a single adult - 3275 lei (1298 BGN) per month.
The recalculation of the value of the basket was made on the basis of the price indices announced by the National Statistical Institute for the month of September 2022, compared to September 2021.
The idea of a minimum consumer basket for a decent life includes a set of necessary periodic expenses to cover the needs of a family of a certain structure.
Apart from the immediate needs for survival - such as shelter and food - the minimum basket for a decent life also covers a series of comprehensive current needs such as clothing, personal hygiene, education, health care, transport, communication, recreation, as well as some unforeseen expenses such as family events, health problems and others, indicate the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation Romania and "Sindex" Romania.
"The increase in the total value of the consumer basket is determined by the significant increase in spending on the following heads: Food (+18.8 percent), Clothing and shoes (+20.9 percent), Housing (+31.2 percent), Expenditure on housing (+34.0 percent)," the report noted.
The data also show that spending on household and hygiene products increased by 6.7 percent, on education and culture - by 8.4 percent, and on health care - by 9.1 percent.
24.10.2022
EUROSTAT: ANNUAL INFLATION IN BULGARIA WITH GROWTH UP TO 15.6% IN SEPTEMBER
Annual inflation in the European Union, as measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, accelerated in September to 10.9 percent from 10.1 percent in August. A year earlier - in September 2021 - inflation in the Union was at a level of 3.6 percent.
At the same time, inflation in the Eurozone in September reached 9.9 percent compared to the same month in 2021, when it was only 3.4 percent. In August, the annual change in consumer prices in the monetary union amounted to 9.1 percent. This is shown by the latest data of the European statistical agency Eurostat, published on its website.
In September, compared to August, the growth rates of consumer prices in both the EU and the Eurozone registered an increase of 1.2 percent.
In Bulgaria, the annual inflation according to the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices rose to 15.6 percent in September, which is 0.6 percentage points more than the August values of the indicator. In September 2021, again on an annualized basis, native consumer price inflation was at 4 percent.
In September compared to August, Bulgarian inflation increased by 0.7 percent.
On October 17, the National Statistical Institute reported that the annual inflation in our country in September reached 18.7 percent.
The lowest annual rates of price growth were recorded in France (6.2 per cent), Malta (7.4 per cent) and Finland (8.4 per cent). At the other end of the scale, with the highest annual levels of the indicator are Estonia (24.1 percent), Lithuania (22.5 percent) and Latvia (22 percent). Compared to August, annual inflation in September fell in six member states, maintained its level in one, and increased in twenty.
In September, energy prices (+4.19 percentage points), followed by those of food, alcohol and tobacco (+2.47 pp), services (+1, 80 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+1.47 points).
24.10.2022
UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS CAN WE RECEIVE "BONUSES" TO THE SALARY?
First of all, let's clarify that the salary is a monetary remuneration of the employee from the employer for work and work already performed. The salary is agreed upon between the employee and the employer when entering into an employment relationship, that is, when entering a job and concluding an employment contract. The employment contract also stipulates the periodicity of salary payment, which is most often at the beginning or end of each current month.
The salary is the basic remuneration for the worker, and to it can be added other, additional incentives for the worker such as bonuses in the form of vouchers for food and other purchases, private health insurance, in addition to the mandatory health insurance paid by the employer, and others.
Additional material incentive (АMI) in the form of one-time remuneration, monthly, quarterly and/or annual bonuses is part of the gross salary of the worker or employee and represents an additional remuneration (so-called "bonus") beyond the basic salary.
In the internal rules for the organization of the company's salary, the amounts and the method of distribution of the additional material incentive to the workers or employees should be determined. Funds for additional material incentives can be paid monthly, quarterly, annually or for another calendar period and in most cases are distributed among individual employees in proportion to the time worked during the year.
In the internal rules for the organization of the salary, there are often also scenarios in which the worker or employee does not receive or receives an additional material incentive in a reduced amount, when he did not observe the labor discipline.
It should be borne in mind that the determination of workers or employees who are entitled to additional material incentives is related to the individual judgment of the employer.
In cases where bonuses are paid monthly, the amount being different depending on the achieved labor results, they represent remunerations above the basic salary, determined according to the applied labor remuneration systems, i.e. they are included in the gross labor remuneration to determine the remuneration for paid annual leave or benefits under some of the articles in the Labor Code.
21.10.2022
EUROSTAT REPORTS A DECLINE IN YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT FOR 2021
The youth unemployment rate (people aged 15 to 29) in the EU has fallen to 13 percent in 2021, down from 13.3 percent in 2020, Eurostat reports.
The Covid crisis and related measures have disproportionately affected young people in terms of unemployment, most notably in 2020 when the youth unemployment rate rose by 1.4 percentage points and the overall unemployment rate by 0.4 percentage points point. In 2021, however, youth unemployment fell slightly more (-0.3 percentage points from 2020) than the general unemployment rate (-0.1 percentage points from 7.1 to 7 percent in 2021).
Excluding the regions for which the data is for 2019 (mostly in Germany), the lowest unemployment rate in 2021 was recorded in the eastern regions of the EU: four regions in the Czech Republic, including the South West, which has the low registered unemployment among Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) level 2 regions - 3.7 per cent, three regions in Hungary (including Budapest Metropolitan Region - 4.8 per cent) and Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland (4 per cent).
The highest unemployment rate was recorded in Southern Europe. In 23 regions, 30 percent or more of the workforce aged 15 to 29 were unemployed. At the top of the ranking are six peripheral or remote regions with over 40 percent youth unemployment: Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta (56 percent), Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla (41.9 percent) - both in Spain, Greek Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (45.1 percent) and Western Macedonia (42.3 percent), Mayotte (43 percent) in France and Sicily (40.1 percent) in Italy.
The youth unemployment rate (13 per cent) was almost double the overall unemployment rate (7 per cent) in 2021 and higher than the overall unemployment rate (for people aged 15-74) in each of the 192 Level 2 regions of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes for which data are available.
In nearly half (46.4 percent) of these 192 regions, the youth unemployment rate was at least twice as high as the overall unemployment rate. The highest ratio between these two indicators is registered in Vest, Romania, where youth unemployment is 3.5 times higher than general unemployment. A relatively high ratio (2.8 or 2.9 times higher) was reported in Basilicata and Molise in southern Italy and the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium.
Regarding the level of total unemployment in the regions of level 2 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes in 2021, the highest level was reported in the southern and outermost regions of the EU. Regional unemployment at a level of at least 14.5 percent was recorded in nine out of 13 regions of Greece (the exceptions being the metropolitan region of Attica, the Peloponnese, the Ionian Islands and the North Aegean), eight regions in Spain, four remote regions of France and four regions from southern Italy.
The lowest level was recorded in Central Moravia and Prague in the Czech Republic, Central Transdanubia and Western Transdanubia in Hungary, Warsaw Metropolitan, Wielkopolska and Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland - all with unemployment rates in the range of 2.1 to 2.3 percent.
21.10.2022
EXPERTS: POVERTY IS A KEY FACTOR KEEPING YOUNG PEOPLE OUT OF THE LABOR MARKET
Poverty plays a key role in keeping young people in Bulgaria out of the labor market and education, writes an analysis by the Institute for Market Economy. The report of the Institute for Market Economy aims to build the profile of young people in Bulgaria who are neither working nor studying (NEETs).
Unsurprisingly, inactive youth themselves are low-income, but the majority of them live in poor households, creating significant barriers to their activation. The observation is similar in the income distribution - while the working or studying youth follow the income structure of the population as a whole, the inactive ones are close to and below the poverty line.
Bulgaria is among the five countries with the highest share of NEETs in the European Union, which is why there is apparently a need to refocus policies towards them, according to the Institute for Market Economy.
The most important factor that separates active from inactive youth is education – among NEETs there is a much higher proportion of those with primary and lower education, which blocks their access to the labor market.
As the trend is towards increasing the demand for highly educated specialists even for many of the jobs in agriculture and the low segments of industry, we can claim that the realization of the labor market of people with low education will become more and more difficult, it is written in the report.
The Roma are overrepresented among the inactive youth, as among the youth of Bulgarian-Turkish origin there is a much larger share of secondary and higher education graduates. This means that solving the problem of inactive youth is related to the integration of the Roma, experts point out.
The analysis does not establish a great dependence between the state of health and non-participation in education, training and employment among Bulgarian youth - differences are present, but they are not significant. However, there are regional imbalances, with the inactive youth having a significantly larger share in the South-Central and South-East regions of the country.
The data show that housework and childcare are a brake on women's active participation in the labor market. Although a direct relationship between motherhood, care and retention outside the labor market cannot be established, inactive women live in households with significantly more children, and in general more people, which leads to the conclusion that for a significant part of them work in the home is the determining factor for inactivity, the report says.
Currently, most of the efforts to activate inactive youth fall on the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, and in particular the Employment Agency. Part of the problems that keep young people inactive, however, are rather the competences of institutions that deal with health and education policies, or other types of social care. Therefore, closer cooperation between institutions is needed, including through data exchange and profiling of the individual needs of unemployed youth, the Institute for Market Economy recommends.
A significant proportion of inactive youth have dropped out of school after the primary and lower secondary phases, which blocks their access to higher education and limits their access to most segments of the labor market. Accordingly, placing additional emphasis on retention in school can be seen as a de facto prevention of inactivity later in life. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, measures were taken in this direction, but after the normalization of education, they should be restored and even strengthened, the report says.
The integration of inactive women needs specific measures. The importance of women's role in the family environment and childcare means that an appropriate solution for a significant number of them would be a wider advocacy of remote or part-time work. Of particular importance in some parts of the country, and especially in the capital, is access to childcare - kindergartens and nurseries, experts report.
