14.03.2024
HOW COMPANIES GET MONEY TO HIRE THE UNEMPLOYED
From March 8, the Employment Agency started accepting applications for the "Starting a job - Component 3 "Employment" project, which is part of a comprehensive package of measures aimed at the labor integration of unemployed and inactive persons with an emphasis on persons in a disadvantaged position.
A total of 14,400 people are expected to be employed under the project, and its duration is until the end of 2026, the agency announced.
Employers can now submit requests from 08:30 a.m. for the project in an electronic environment and within just one month - until 11:59 p.m. on 04/07/2024 (Sunday) inclusive. The electronic application that must be completed is available on the official website of the Employment Agency.
After the expiration of this one-month period, the Employment Agency will rank the requests in the order of their arrival and, if there is a remaining financial resource, the project will be open for applications for a new period, information about which will be published in due course.
The target groups that can be included in the project "Starting work - Component 3 "Employment" are inactive and unemployed persons, incl. inactive and unemployed persons in a disadvantaged position and inactive and unemployed persons with permanent disabilities (with an established degree of reduced working capacity/type and degree of disability 75% and over 75%).
The period of subsidized employment of the persons employed within the project is determined based on their belonging to one of the following categories:
- unemployed and inactive persons - for a period of up to 6 months;
- unemployed and inactive disadvantaged persons - for a period of up to 12 months;
- unemployed and inactive persons with permanent disabilities - for a period of up to 24 months.
Funds that will be reimbursed to project employers are in the form of unit costs (standard unit cost table). And employers who retain the employment of a person employed by them after the expiry of the relevant period of sustainable employment will receive additional one-time incentives in the form of a standard table per unit of expenditure.
Requests for vacancies can be submitted by employers from the real sector, incl. municipalities and municipal enterprises. In order to achieve the main goal of the project to the maximum extent, additional conditions have been set that must be met by the applicant employers in order to be approved for participation.
Thresholds of the maximum permissible number of vacancies that can be claimed by an employer will be applied under the project - depending on the percentage of registered unemployment in the municipality in whose territory the jobs are opened.
Employers and persons wishing to join the project "Starting a job - Component 3 "Employment" can get more detailed information in all labor offices in the country, as well as on the official website of the Employment Agency or here.
13.03.2024
REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF UNDER-MINOR WORKERS
The Labor Inspectorate indicated that, based on its control activity, the results indicate an increase in the number of permits for the employment of minors for the first seven months of 2023. In the reference, it is specified that their number is 10,459, with an increase not only compared to the same period in 2022, when there were 8,422, but also before the Covid crisis, when in 2019 they were 7,397.
The most permits are granted in Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Dobrich, Sofia city, Sofia region, Blagoevgrad, etc. Minors are mostly employed in hotels, restaurants and trade.
What are the requirements of the law regarding the age for hiring persons in an employment relationship and how the procedure should be applied?
According to the law in Bulgaria, the statutory minimum age for starting work is 16 years. The employment of children from 15 to 16 years of age is allowed to carry out work that is light and not dangerous or harmful to health.
It is envisaged that for each person under the age of 18, the employer submits to the Regional Directorate "Labor Inspection" an application for obtaining a work permit, attaching the following documents in detail:
It is important to specify that, exceptionally, children under 14 years of age may be employed in circus and film productions, as well as the arts, but under reduced conditions and in accordance with the requirements for their proper physical, mental and moral development.
Minors work under a reduced regime, and the working hours for these workers and employees are 35 hours a week and seven hours a day in a five-day work week. Their daily and weekly working hours also include the time for acquiring a professional qualification and for its improvement, when it is carried out in the process of work.
They are also prohibited from performing night and overtime work. The law guarantees them that they will receive at least the national minimum wage, even though they work fewer hours. As it became clear from the necessary documentation mentioned above, which employers should provide to the Labor Inspectorate, persons under the age of 18 enter work after a thorough medical examination and a medical conclusion that they are fit for the job.
Labor inspectors exercise control over the employment of under-18s, and workplaces where they are employed can be inspected to determine whether working conditions pose a risk to their health.
If a violation is established, that the employer has hired a minor without permission from the Labor Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office is notified and criminal proceedings are initiated. The labor inspectorate reminds that starting work without permission from the control authority is considered a crime under Bulgarian legislation.
In the event that employment without a permit from the Labor Inspectorate is found, the control body draws up an act of the employer, when it is a legal entity, issues a criminal decree and sends the materials to the relevant prosecutor's office to establish the commission of a crime.
A review of the practice of the courts shows that, although rare, effective judgments have been issued against employers for employing minors.
Over the years, the procedure for issuing employment permits to persons under the age of 18 has been simplified.
Currently, the employer should present: job description, risk assessment results, safety measures and medical report. For persons aged 15 to 16 and distribution of working hours.
The labor inspectorate grants or refuses a permit within seven days.
The refusals are related to work that is harmful to the physical and mental health of minors, as well as to activities on which the life and health of people depend, such as lifeguards.
Reference:
Ordinance No. 6 of July 24, 2006 on the terms and conditions for issuing work permits to persons under the age of 18
13.03.2024
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE ENTERPRISES ARE CHANGING
New criteria that must be met by an enterprise to be defined as micro, small, medium or large, provide for changes to the Accounting Act, uploaded for public consultation.
The reason for the change is dictated by the significant inflationary processes in 2021 and 2022 and the reported growth of inflation in the period from 2013 to 2023, it is written in the reasons for the bill.
Under the Accounting Directive, enterprises and groups are categorized as 'micro', 'small', 'medium' and 'large' according to which two of three size indicators they fulfill. Two of these indicators are financial - book value of assets and net sales revenue, and the third is the average number of employees. The European Commission is obliged to review the financial indicators every five years and, if appropriate, to amend them, taking into account inflation.
In view of inflation, the amount of financial indicators is estimated to be adjusted by 25%.
Thus, according to the changes, micro-enterprises are those which, as of December 31 of the current reporting period, do not exceed at least two of the following indicators: the balance sheet value of assets is BGN 900,000 compared to BGN 700,000 now, and net sales revenue is BGN 1.8 million at BGN 1.4 million now.
Those enterprises where the two indicators do not exceed BGN 10 million and BGN 20 million will be considered small. Medium will be those in which the assets do not exceed 50 million BGN, and the revenues 100 million BGN, and large, those that exceed them, it is written in the draft law.
Enterprises and enterprise groups determine their category for 2024 in accordance with the new requirements according to their indicators as of December 31, 2023, so 2024 will be considered the first reporting period.
The law is scheduled to enter into force on July 6 of this year.
The bill introduces an obligation for enterprises to draw up a sustainability report.
It will be drawn up by large enterprises and by small and medium-sized enterprises (except micro-enterprises) whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on the regulated market in an EU Member State (public interest enterprises), as well as by parent enterprises of large groups of enterprises.
An obligation is also provided for subsidiaries and branches of enterprises regulated by the legislation of a third country to publish such a report under certain conditions.
An obligation to prepare an activity report containing a sustainability report is set to enter into force for the accounting year 2024 for large enterprises that are public interest enterprises and which, on 31 December of the accounting period, exceed the average number criterion in the financial year of 500 employees, as well as public interest enterprises that are parent enterprises of a large group which, as of December 31, exceeds on a consolidated basis the criterion for an average number of employees during the financial year of 500 people. For the remaining enterprises within the scope of the directive, the obligation arises gradually in the following reporting years, until 2028.
12.03.2024
IN ROMANIA, IT IS CHEAPER THAN IN BULGARIA, DESPITE THE INCREASE IN PRICES
The prices of basic foods in Romania have increased by 40 percent in the last three years. This is shown by the data of the National Statistical Institute, quoted by Digi24. The media noted that for eggs, chicken, oil, potatoes, flour and sugar, people are paying almost twice as much compared to 2021.
While Romania's National Institute of Statistics reports an 83 percent increase in the price of potatoes, people say a kilogram of the vegetable now costs them two or three times more. In a hypermarket in Bucharest, for example, the price starts from nearly 3.3 lei (BGN 1.31) and can reach almost 5 lei (BGN 2), BTA found. The price in the markets varies around 4 lei (BGN 1.6). In 2021, a kilogram of potatoes was 1.77 lei (0.70 BGN cents).
The same situation occurs with other basic food products, notes Digi24, referring to the data of the National Statistical Institute. Chicken meat has increased in price by 81 percent in 3 years, tomatoes - by 55 percent. And if three years ago Romanians paid about 50 lei (BGN 20) for a basket full of a kilogram of chicken, one kilogram of tomatoes, one kilogram of potatoes, one sugar, a package of flour, a bottle of oil, one juice and 10 eggs, now the bill exceeds 80 lei (BGN 31).
According to local economists, the increase in prices also comes from the fact that by importing a lot of food, Romania also "imports" inflation from the countries where the goods come from.
"Romania still produces enough to fully ensure domestic consumption of only two food products: eggs and sheep meat. For the rest, we are in the hands of imports," commented Christian Paun, professor of economics.
Recently, a team from the television show "Agro Journal" on Digi24 TV made a comparison of prices between Romania and Bulgaria and found that salaries are lower in our country, but food products are more expensive.
The journalistic check in one of the large chain stores in Sofia showed that a bottle of oil is BGN 2.50, a kilogram of sugar - BGN 2.59, two kilograms of flour - BGN 3.49.
For comparison, in a large supermarket in Bucharest, 2 packages of flour are sold for 5.70 lei (2.28 BGN), a bottle of oil costs 5.99 lei (2.39 BGN), and a kilogram of sugar is 4.45 lei (BGN 1.78).
11.03.2024
IN SOME SECTORS, THEY ARE MASSIVELY EMPLOYED ON THE MINIMUM WAGE
The minimum wage is below the means of subsistence. With a high level of discouraged unemployed and negative demographic processes, for 1 working person there are on average 1.5 unemployed people for support. This means that in Bulgaria those working on the minimum wage can fall into the risk zone and be considered poor. This is stated in an analysis of the Economic and Social Council.
According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute, there are 440,320 persons, or 19% of the total number of those employed on a labor and service legal basis, employed on the minimum basic salary for the first nine months of 2023. There is a stronger presence in the private sector, where they represent 23.3% of those employed in the sector, while in the public sector they are 5.8%. The stable retention of around ¼ of those employed on the minimum wage in the private sector is impressive, while the share of those employed in the public sector will decrease by half in the period 2018-2023, the analysis states.
According to its authors, those working on the minimum wage cover the category of low-paid workers and hence make up a significant share of the working poor in Bulgaria. At the same time, those employed on the minimum basic wage are only part of the category of "low-wage workers". The scope is expanded following the definition of employed with pay equal to two-thirds or less of the national median gross hourly wage. If we look at the latest up-to-date minimum wage data (September 2023), there is a concentration of minimum wage earners in certain economic activities. Thus, sectors such as construction, agriculture, trade, transport, administrative and auxiliary activities report a high share of those employed on the minimum wage (or more than ¼ of those employed in the sector), while in other sectors this share is insignificant (e.g. creation and distribution of information, government, education, electricity production and distribution). A characteristic feature of these industries is the presence of a wide gray sector, lack of insurance and non-compliance with labor legislation, which as a rule presupposes the reproduction of poverty in the post-employment period, the Economic and Social Council points out.
They note from there that the net amount of the minimum wage for the country in recent years has remained above the poverty line, but does not correlate with the cost of living.
The government took the first step by adopting an official poverty line based on the SILK (Eurostat) methodology. However, it must be followed by the second, equally important step – the adoption of a methodology/mechanism for updating the minimum payments, for which a working group was created at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
The mode of work and the form of employment are criteria that significantly influence the formation of the working poor category. The risk of poverty for permanent contract workers (8.6% in 2022) is four times lower than for temporary workers (34.7% in 2022 at risk of poverty with temporary work), reports the Council.
According to the analysis, the underemployment factor in Bulgaria has no significant impact on poverty, since according to official statistics, only 2-3% of employed persons are part-time. Part-time employment is not attractive because of the low level of pay. As paradoxical as it may sound, instead of striving to limit working hours, there is definitely an attitude in our country towards a voluntary increase in working hours, as long as this leads to slightly higher incomes in absolute terms.
The risk of in-work poverty varies with household structure. The presence of children, pensioners and people with special needs in the household increases the risk of a household with working members falling below the poverty line. The risk of poverty is highest in households with one worker and dependent children (22.0% working poor in this type of household). A high share of the working poor (12.1%) is also found in Bulgarian households, composed of a) a single worker and b) two or more workers with dependent children. The lowest concentration of working poor in Bulgaria is found in households with two or more working people without children (5.2%). Relative to households of two workers but with dependent family members, there is twice the level of reported working poor.
The Economic and Social Council finds a direct link between low levels of education and skills and low-paid employment and an increased risk of poverty, as many of these jobs are insecure and generally of low quality. They also open the so-called low-wage labor trap - i.e. individuals find themselves in a situation where they choose between unemployment and low pay. On the one hand, the availability of low-wage jobs can provide opportunities for job seekers, but they also lead to low levels of productivity and underutilization of workers' skills, limiting the economic growth and prosperity of the state. The latest available data are for 2018 and they show that in Bulgaria the total level of low-paid workers equals 21.4%, or about 670 thousand persons.
The relative share of the poor before social transfers remained stable in the period from 2018 to 2022, varying between 41.7% and 44.2% in different age groups and by gender. The rise in the poverty rate from 22.9% to 44.2% when social transfers are subtracted shows that this tool prevents low-paid workers from falling into the category of the working poor - especially housing or childcare benefits, plus minimum income guarantee schemes .
The relative share of the poor by region ranges from 12.9% to 33.9%, the analysis states. The leading factors for poverty by region are employment, the share of graduates and minority groups. The large differences in poverty at the regional level relative to the national poverty line, as well as the different factors that exacerbate poverty in individual regions, suggest policies that take these differences into account - especially with regard to labor market and education policies. The highest relative share of the poor relative to the poverty line for the district is in the districts of Stara Zagora - 33.9%, Dobrich - 27.0%, Lovech - 26.8%, and Pernik - 25.5%. The relative share of the poor is lowest in the districts of Shumen - 12.9%, Veliko Tarnovo - 15.8%, Silistra - 16.1%, and Targovishte - 16.2%. Compared to 2021, the areas remain relatively repetitive over the period considered.
The Economic and Social Council reports that there are significant differences in the poverty profile in cities and in villages. Urban poverty has a distinct monetary character, while poverty in villages is primarily associated with access to the labor market, education, healthcare, etc. social services. In villages, natural consumption continues to form a significant part of total consumption at the expense of income from wages or entrepreneurship.
In Bulgaria, the total level of low-paid workers equals 21.4%, or about 670 thousand persons. Gender ratios for low-paid work are largely reversed from the picture in the EU. In Bulgaria, men (23.6%) more often fall into the category of low-paid workers (compared to 19.2% of women), and there are no significant distortions in terms of age differences.
08.03.2024
BGN 88 MILLION IN THE BUDGET FOR ACTIVE LABOR MARKET POLICIES
BGN 88 million are provided in the state budget for 2024 for the so-called active policies of the labor market - this is provided for by the draft of the National Employment Action Plan, which is yet to be approved by the government.
The funds are BGN 15 million more than last year. They will provide employment to 9,900 unemployed people, and another 8,600 people will be included in various trainings.
The National Employment Action Plan is adopted each year by the government after consultation with business and trade unions. It sets out the parameters of all national programs and projects for training and employment financed by the state budget.
Among them are the well-known "Start your career" for young graduates, "Beautiful Bulgaria", "Help for retirement" and others. The remunerations of those included in the various measures are also determined. For example, for 2024, those included in "Start in the career" will receive BGN 1,100 per month, and under the National Program "Activation of inactive persons" the salary will be BGN 1,140 for hired Roma mediators and youth mediators in the municipalities, and BGN 1,280 - for employed psychologists.
BGN 15 per day is the stipend for the training time of unemployed persons who participate in training for literacy, acquisition of a professional qualification or key competences. They receive up to BGN 20 per day for transport costs. Funds for starting an independent business activity by unemployed persons who have registered a micro-enterprise are up to BGN 5,000 according to the approved business project.
07.03.2024
PROBLEMS ARE COMING IN THE LABOR MARKET
While only a year ago we were wondering whether the Bulgarian labor market was heading towards an overheating phase, by the end of 2023 the trends point more towards stagnation. Unemployment remains low, but along with it the demand for labor is gradually decreasing, and structural problems remain unsolved, the Institute for Market Economy points out.
According to their analysis, after the labor market crisis of spring 2020, which followed the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic and restrictive measures for business, travel and social life in general, unemployment in Bulgaria follows its usual seasonal dynamics - with peaks in the winter months and distinctly lower unemployment in the summer, thanks to the activity of the tourism sector and agriculture.
As of mid-2021, the unemployment rate has remained in the range of 4 - 5.5%, which corresponds to between 140 and 160 thousand persons registered at the labor offices - a significantly lower number even compared to the period before the pandemic. Unemployment in the country appears to have reached its natural low, with those who are employable having found jobs, and almost all who are not making it permanently into the inactive pool. It is significant that, despite the high declared labor shortage, the rest of the unemployed do not manage to realize themselves - they either have inappropriate education and skills compared to the demand, or are in regions where the demand is low.
Part of the reason for this is the profile of a large proportion of the unemployed. The number of people under the age of 29 registered at the labor offices has decreased significantly – to 15-18 thousand people in the various months of 2023, compared to over 40 thousand at the peak of the pandemic. The decline in the case of the permanently unemployed is weaker - up to 35 thousand people. To the extent that these two groups encounter particular difficulties in finding employment, the probability that they will leave the group of the unemployed in the near future seems relatively small, the Institute for Market Economy points out.
In 2023, a visible decline in vacancies registered in the labor offices begins. On the one hand, the annual spring labor demand peak is weaker and shorter compared to 2021 and 2022, and consequently the demand for workers throughout the summer and fall remains at significantly lower levels. This is especially clear in the last two months of 2023, when registered vacancies fall even below the level of the period of the strictest restrictive measures. This, on the one hand, may reflect reduced expectations by employers of the potential for expansion in 2024 and, on the other hand, an adjustment to the inability to fill jobs.
According to economists, the current state of the labor market is most clearly described by the Beveridge curve, which is a comparison of the unemployment rate with the number of vacancies relative to the total size of the labor force. The resulting indicator serves to determine the moment of the business cycle through the dynamics of the labor market, with recessions characterized by high unemployment and lower demand for labor, and periods of economic growth - by low unemployment, many vacancies and, accordingly, high competition for workers.
According to this approach, the last months of 2023 are characterized by both low supply and low demand for labor – in other words, the labor market stagnates. It is too early to say whether the trend is sustainable, as a more certain indicator of this will be the demand for labor in the first months of 2024. However, the cooling of the labor market has serious consequences both for the expected dynamics of wages in the short term, as well as for economic activity in general. Shrinking competition for workers potentially reduces pressure on employers to raise wages, especially given the drop in demand in the high-tech sector. The slowdown in employment growth, in turn, threatens to miss the growth potential of the economy due to the inability of companies to realize their expansion plans.
The new picture of the labor market from mid-2023 is largely foreshadowed. The changes mostly represent the final normalization after the shock caused by covid and the revival after the lifting of restrictions. Against this background, however, the long-term structural problems come to the fore again - the low levels of education and skills of people outside of employment, regional inequalities, weak retraining and activation policies. This, in turn, puts on the agenda the urgent need for reforms of labor market-related systems, so that these problems are addressed in order to overcome the risk of stagnation and therefore missed economic growth due to missing or otherwise unskilled workers, the Institute for Market Economy concludes.
06.03.2024
PAYING OVERTIME WHEN WORKING ABROAD
It is not uncommon in practice for a worker or employee to perform tasks abroad under a contract with another company. To achieve the goals, the worker is sent to the respective countries, where he works for some time (for example, two weeks), after which he returns for a certain period to Bulgaria and then leaves again for the next business trip.
Usually, in these situations, the worker or employee receives, in addition to the travel allowance and additional hourly remuneration for the work he performs, as well as for the travel time from Bulgaria to the respective country and back.
Those working in such conditions often have claims for additional compensation in the form of days off for the time during which they traveled, as well as for the work they did on Saturdays there, to use after they return to Bulgaria.
Is there any reason for employers to recognize this claim and provide the compensation that workers claim?
In order to give an accurate answer to these questions, first of all, it should be analyzed whether the worker or the employee is working overtime.
According to Bulgarian legislation, travel time on a business trip does not constitute part of working time. Therefore, in respect of travel days, there is no basis for granting the claim.
According to the legal provisions, an additional agreement is signed with the seconded worker or employee, which includes determining the length of the working day and working week, the daily, inter-day and weekly rest, as well as the days of public holidays in the host country.
In practice, if the host company works according to a schedule that causes the employee in question to work on Saturday, a day off (for example, Saturday), he most likely rests, for example, on Sunday and Monday. In such situations, the Bulgarian employer should have information about the exact number of hours worked in order to additionally calculate the hourly remuneration. If some of these hours are overtime, they should be paid at increased overtime pay.
In Bulgarian labor legislation, there is only one case of compensating overtime with rest, and that is when there is overtime on the two days of the interweek break.
The law indicates that for overtime work on the two days of the weekly rest, when calculating the working hours per day, the worker or employee has the right, in addition to increased pay for this work, and a continuous rest period in the following working week in the amount of not less than 24 hours.
Reference:
Art. 2, para. 2, item 5 of the Ordinance on the terms and conditions for secondment and dispatch of workers and employees within the framework of the provision of services
Art. 153, para. 4 of the Labor Code
01.03.2024
THE LABOR MARKET IN BULGARIA HAS THE WORST FORECAST IN THE EU
The working age population between 20 and 64 in our country will decrease by one third by 2050. According to this indicator, our country has the worst forecast in the entire European Union. This is shown in the latest report of the Allianz Trade company (Allianz Trade, formerly Euler Hermes).
The main reasons are the demographic crisis and migration, as Bulgaria is one of the main "donors" of labor to other countries in the EU.
According to the data in the report, about 50 percent of the migrants to the labor market in the EU since the beginning of the 21st century came precisely from Bulgaria, Romania and Poland. Therefore, the forecast for the contraction of the working-age population in Poland is 26 percent by 2050, and for Romania - by 22 percent. It is also expected to decrease dramatically in countries such as Lithuania and Latvia. Among the main possibilities for improving the prospects in Bulgaria and the rest of the countries of the group, the analysts predictably point to an improvement in working conditions and an increase in wages, which would reduce the flow of migrants abroad.
Due to the serious demographic problems of the Old Continent, the experts of "Allianz Trade" expect a deepening of the shortage of qualified labor in almost all EU countries, and by 2050, the average population between the ages of 20 and 64 will decrease by 20 percent. They consider several possible scenarios for countering the negatives in the four largest economies – Germany, France, Italy and Spain – using different combinations of instruments – changes to labor market policies, productivity gains and attracting migrants.
The analysis shows that none of the four countries can find a sustainable solution if they rely only on the inflow of labor from outside. In such a scenario, they would need between 100,000 and 500,000 migrants per year. Specifically, Germany would need about 482,000 people, Italy – 414,000, Spain – 338,000, and France – 115,000.
The situation appears most complex in Germany, where even with an increase in the retirement age to 68 and targeted efforts to increase the participation of women and pensioners in the labor market, estimates show that 200,000 migrants will be sought annually. Spain and Italy have a larger reserve of population that is not currently employed in the labor market. If it is successfully attracted and activated, an additional 89,000 and 131,000 migrants per year would be needed respectively. The prospects are most favorable in France, where such measures would be sufficient to solve the problem even without the need for additional labor from outside.
However, Allianz Trade experts emphasize that attracting migrants will be an increasingly difficult process due to the deepening demographic crisis in more and more countries in Europe, as well as the emergence of the same problems in large economies in Asia and Latin America. Given the fact that only in Africa is the population between the ages of 20 and 39 not declining, the fight for skilled labor will become increasingly competitive everywhere in the world, they warn.
In this unfavorable context, among the possible measures and solutions indicated in the report are an increase in real working hours in some European countries and an improvement in the integration and qualification of migrants, including achieving a higher degree of engagement of women among them. A good example of this is Sweden, where the prospects for preserving the workforce and, accordingly, the stability of the economy at the moment seem most optimistic.
29.02.2024
HOW TO REACT WHEN THEY CHANGE OUR JOB
In today's society, where the dynamics of the labor market and the business environment are in constant change, understanding and respecting the rights and obligations of both employers and employees plays a key role in maintaining fair and balanced employment relations. In this context, one of the main principles that regulate the relationship between employers and workers is the principle of modification of the employment relationship.
This principle, which is enshrined in the Labor Code, requires the express and written consent of all participants for any change that affects their employment status. Let us consider the importance of this principle and what are its applications in practice.
According to the current legislation, the general principle when amending the employment relationship is to do so with the express consent of the parties, which must be expressed in writing. Regardless of whether it is for a fixed or indefinite period, the employer must offer the change to the employee in writing by means of a supplementary agreement or a new contract, with the employee certifying his possible consent by his signature.
One of the key points in this context is the mandatory content of the employment contract, which includes the place of work, the title of the position and the nature of the work. Changing any of these items requires the employee's written consent. For example, if the employer offers the employee a change of workplace or job title, it is necessary for the employee to agree in writing to these changes.
However, according to the Labor Code, it is not considered a change in the employment relationship when the worker is transferred to another workplace in the same enterprise without changing the place of work, the position and the amount of the basic salary. This means that if a worker is moved from one building to another without changing other aspects of his work, no express consent is required for this change.
For example, if a worker or employee in a large corporation that has several offices in different parts of the city works as an administrator in the company's office in the city center. At some point, due to changes in the organization of the work space, the company decided to move some of the workers or employees from the central office to newly rented premises in another district, but without changing their positions or salaries.
According to the Labor Code, this change in the workplace, without affecting other aspects of his work, is not considered a change in the employment relationship. Here, the express consent of the worker or employee is not required for this change, as the basic parameters of his position and remuneration are preserved. In this way, he can be transferred to the new office without having to sign a new employment contract or additional agreement.
Understanding the principles and requirements when changing the employment relationship is essential to maintaining a fair and balanced working relationship between employers and employees. Requiring express consent and written form of changes ensures clarity and protection for all participants in the work process.
Reference:
Art. 66, para. 1, Art. 118, Art. 119, Art. 120, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Labor Code
