• Employment relationship
• Termination of employment relationship
• Working time and days of rest, paid holiday, overtime work
• Faulty work
• Obstructions to work, time off and wage compensation in case of obstructions to work
• Agreements on work performed outside employment relationship
• Collective labour relationships

AMENDMENT TO LABOUR CODE

(Act No. 210/2003 Coll., amending and supplementing the Act No. 311/2001 Coll., the Labour Code, as amended)

The aim of this act, by which the Labour Code is amended and supplemented (the "Amendment") is to secure larger flexibility of labour relations in the Slovak Republic, reduce the amount of mandatory (cogent) provisions and create prerequisites for autonomous collective bargaining of social partners in a larger degree. The Amendment responds to comments of the International Labour Organisation on the Labour Code of the Slovak Republic as well as on requirements of application practice.

In compliance with provisions of the Council Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, the Amendment has supplemented the Labour Code by provisions, the aim of which is to eliminate direct or indirect discrimination in labour relations. The Labour Code expressly stipulates that an employer may not inquire about sexual orientation of its employee.

The Amendment has also eliminated the prohibition of employment relationship between husband and wife.

The Amendment eliminates the previously valid administrative intervention of other institutions into labour relations in case of some legal institutes. The Amendment has introduced definitions of terms such as 'pregnant employee' and 'breastfeeding employee' for labour purposes.

The Amendment makes the types of employment relations flexible so that the employer could arrange the fulfilment of tasks depending on the fact whether these tasks are long-term or temporary.

Employment relationship

The employer shall be entitled to establish a fixed term employment relationship and an employment relationship with reduced working time more freely. The fixed term employment may be, in accordance with the Amendment to the Labour Code, agreed, prolonged or renewed for the maximum of three years. At the same time, the Amendment introduces a definition of the term 'renewed fixed term employment' which shall mean employment relationship to be established prior to elapse of 6 months from the termination of the preceding fixed term employment between the same parties.

Furthermore, the Amendment stipulates the following reasons for which the fixed term employment exceeding three years may be prolonged or renewed: (a) substitution of employees, (b) performance of work requiring substantial increase of the number of employees for a transitory period not exceeding eight months in a calendar year, (c) fulfilment of a task specified by the outcome, and also (d) reasons agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement. The fixed term employment may be also prolonged or renewed in the absence of the above stated reasons over three years with certain categories of employees, e.g. executive employees within direct controlling powers of the statutory body, inventive employee in the area of science, research and development, employees of an employer employing not more than 20 employees, etc.

The employment relationship with reduced working time, in which the working time is less than 20 hours per week, may be terminated by a notice given by the employer or the employee for any reason whatsoever, or without giving a reason. A period of notice shall be 15 days and shall commence on the day in which the notice was delivered.

The Amendment has extended contractual freedom of employers who shall have the right to agree several employment relationships with the same employee, however only for activities consisting in works of a different type, whereas it is expressly stipulated that rights and obligations arising from these employment relationships are reviewed separately. With respect to this provision, the Amendment has repealed the institute of additional activity.

Termination of employment relationship

The Amendment has further unified the duration of a notice period, which shall be identical for both employee and employer, being at least two months. Only in case the notice is given to an employee who has worked with the employer for at least 5 years, the period of notice shall be at least three months. The mandatory nature of the provision on the notice period has been thereby changed to non-mandatory, whereas only the minimum duration of the notice period is stipulated by law.

The Amendment has modified reasons for giving a notice by an employer if an employee does not meet the requirements stipulated by legal regulations for performance of the agreed work. The Amendment stipulates that the employer may give a notice to an employee if the election or appointment is the prerequisite of performing the function, also in case the employee abdicates from his/her function or is recalled from his/her function, and thus he ceases to meet requirements for performance of function.

A protected period, within which an employer may not give a notice to an employee, is shortened in such manner that the protected period lasts only from arrival at a place designed for spa treatment, and not from its permission.

An employer may terminate an employment relationship with immediate effects if an employee was in breach of working discipline in a gross manner. The employer may terminate a fixed term employment with immediate effects also without giving a reason, however in such case the employee shall be entitled to compensation of wages in the amount of average monthly earnings for the period within which the employment relationship should have lasted. The Amendment entitles the employee to terminate an employment relationship also if his/her life and health is directly endangered.

In connection with severance pay at the termination of employment relationship, the Amendment stipulates that the employer may give a severance pay if the employment relationship is terminated by a notice for reasons stated in Section 63(1) lett. a) to c) of the Labour Code (i.e. organisational reasons and health reasons), whereas it further stipulates that an employee is entitled to severance pay in the amount equal to at least his/her two average earnings at termination of his/her employment relationship provided that he agrees with the termination of employment relationship prior to the beginning of notice period for reasons stated in Section 63(1) lett. a) to c) of the Labour Code. According to the Amendment, an employee who has worked with the employer for at least 5 years shall be entitled to severance pay in the amount of at least three times his average monthly earnings for the notice period.

In the case of invalid termination of an employment relationship, the Amendment stipulates that the employer shall not be obliged to keep on employing the employee even if he/she insists on being employed by the employer, when the court decides that the employer cannot be fairly required to do so.

An obligation of the employee to observe medical treatment instructed by his/her physician in the period in which he/she is entitled to compensation of wages under a special regulation in the case of temporary incapacity to perform work also belongs to the rights and obligations of the employee.

The prohibition of performance of gainful activity in addition to employment without a prior written consent of the employer is extended also to a gainful activity that is similar to the scope of business activities of the employer.

Working time and days of rest, paid holiday, overtime work

The Amendment defines the term 'days of rest' as any period other than the working time.

The Amendment increases flexibility in distribution of working time. The employer may arrange working time unevenly for a maximum period of four months upon negotiation with the employees' representatives or after agreement with the employee. In case of uneven distribution of working time for a period longer than 4 months but not exceeding 12 months, the agreement with the employees' representatives or the employee himself/herself shall be still required.

In order to increase effectiveness of work and better provision of needs of the employees, it is possible to introduce a flexible working time upon the agreement with the employees' representatives. The Amendment enables to introduce also other forms of flexible distribution of working time than those mentioned in the Labour Code.

The Amendment defines the terms 'work in shifts' and 'employee working in work shifts'.

Continuous daily rest of an employee may be shortened to 8 hours only to the employee older than 18 years in continuous operations, turns works and when performing urgent repair work concerning the averting of a threat endangering lives or health of employees. Work during the days of rest can be ordered only exceptionally, after negotiating with the employees' representatives. The Amendment newly regulates overtime work. The overtime work cannot exceed eight hours per week during a period not exceeding four consecutive months, unless the employer agrees with the employees' representatives on a longer period, however not exceeding 12 consecutive months. It is still possible to order to the employee the overtime work only in the extent not exceeding 150 hours during the calendar year. However, according to the Amendment, the employer may, due to the serious reasons, agree with the employee on overtime work over the above limit however not exceeding 250 hours per calendar year. Such agreement can be reached also without the approval of the National Labour Office and negotiation with the respective collective bargaining body.

The Amendment has introduced the exemption for performance of overtime work by the employee performing risky works, but only in cases expressly stated by the Labour Code and for provision of safe and continuous production process.

With effects from 1 January 2004, the Amendment repeals so-called 'further holiday' that belonged to employees with unevenly distributed working time.

Under the Amendment, a limit for number of hours of overtime work that may be included in the agreed amount of the wage of the employee is 150 hours of overtime work. Above 150 hours of overtime work the employer shall be obliged to provide a wage together with wage surcharge. The Amendment has also supplemented a possibility to agree with a manager in direct controlling authority of the statutory body and a manager being directly managed by this employee that the amount of wage already includes the agreed overtime work. In these cases the employee is not entitled to wage including wage surcharge for overtime work and such employee cannot claim a substitute time-off for this overtime.

Faulty work

The Amendment has widened the definition of 'faulty work' in case of which the employee does not have the right to wage for work in certain cases, by faulty or wrong provision of service.

Obstructions to work, time off and wage compensation in case of obstructions to work

The Amendment has modified the provision under which employers shall provide to employees time-off for the reasons of general interest specified by the Labour Code, if such activity cannot be performed out of the working time. The time-off shall be provided by the employer without the right for compensation of wage, unless the Labour Code, other legal regulation or the collective bargaining agreement stipulates otherwise, or the employer agrees with the employee otherwise.

The enumeration of obligations and other acts of general interest is according to the Amendment mentioned only in examples.

The employer shall be obliged to provide the employee with the time-off for necessarily needed period of time with compensation of wage for participation in recondition stays, in mandatory health inspections, donating blood and apheresis, donating of other biological materials and for participation of employees' representatives in education.

The Amendment also modifies provision of wage compensation at performance of service in armed forces and civil service.

Participation in further education in order to increase the qualification for performance of work agreed in the work contract is not regarded as performance of work for which the employee is entitled to wage. However, the employer has still a possibility to provide to the employee time-off and compensation of wage in the amount of his/her average earnings.

The Amendment also newly determines certain important personal obstructions to work. The Amendment states in which cases of important personal obstructions to work the employee shall have the right for time-off with compensation of wage and in which cases the compensation of wage does not belong to the employee. Marriage of children and parents is no more regarded as important obstruction to work, whereas own marriage of the employee is still regarded as an obstruction to work, however, the employee shall have the right only for one day off without compensation of wage.

The Amendment has introduced the right of the employer to interrupt temporarily the performance of work of the employee for a period not exceeding 1 month, if such employee is suspect from serious breach of working discipline and his/her further performance of work may endanger important interest of the employer.

The Amendment repeals prohibition of determination of overtime work or emergency service for pregnant woman and a woman and a man continuously taking care of a child younger than 1 year. On the other hand, the Amendment states that a pregnant woman, woman or man continuously taking care of a child younger than three years, lonely woman or lonely man continuously taking care of a child younger than 15 years, may be employed by overtime work only with their consent and also the emergency service can be ordered to them only with their consent. Parental leave in case of taking care of a child with a long-term unfavourable state of health is decreased from 7 to 6 years of age of the child. The term 'child with a long-term unfavourable state of health' replaces the terms 'long-term seriously handicapped child requiring a special care' and 'long-term seriously handicapped child requiring a special care extremely demanding', which terms have been used until now.

Agreements on work performed outside employment relationship

With effects from 1 July 2003, a possibility to conclude an agreement on working activity is cancelled. It is still possible to conclude a work performance agreement and an agreement on temporary job of students.

Collective labour relationships

The Amendment stipulates directly in basic principles the right for collective bargaining also for employers by introducing of a right of employers for lock-out, as an institute similar to the strike.

The Amendment also newly regulates participation of employees at the employer by further employees' representatives being the employees' council and employees' confidant. Also, provisions related to the mutual co-operation of the employees' representatives are supplemented.

Newly regulated is the right for information and consultations resulting for the employees' representatives from the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2002/14/ES establishing a general framework for improving information and consultation rights of employees in the European Community, as well as Article 21 of Protocol amending the European Social Charter.

Under the Amendment, the employees' council may operate at the employer, which employs at least 50 employees. At the employers employing less than 50 employees, the employees' confidant may operate. The Amendment has also stipulated provisions related to the manner of election of employees' council, expressly stipulated reasons of termination of function of the employees' confidant, and exactly stated conditions for operation of employees' representatives and their protection.

(Source: (1) Act No. 210/2003 Coll. amending and supplementing the Act No. 311/2001 Coll. Labour Code, as amended, and (2) reasoning report to the Amendment to the Labour Code).

This act became effective on 1 July 2003, except for certain provisions which will become effective on 1 January 2004 or on the day on which the Agreement on Accession of the Slovak Republic to the European Union becomes valid.

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