Labor law

The provisions of the Labor Law do not establish specific requirements or obligations for a given position. The employer sets the requirements and obligations for the position, considering the specific nature of the job and relevant regulatory provisions.

Accordingly, in line with Section 40, Paragraph 2, Point 5 of the Labor Law, the employee's profession, position, or specialty (hereafter referred to as "profession") must be indicated in the employment contract according to the Profession Classifier and a general description of the agreed-upon work. The national statistical classification "Profession Classifier" is established by the Cabinet of Ministers' regulations No. 264 of 23.05.2017, "Regulations on the Profession Classifier, corresponding basic tasks, and basic qualification requirements." In these regulations, each profession (trade, position, specialty) included in the Profession Classifier is assigned a specific code, and corresponding basic tasks and qualification requirements for identifying the profession are determined (these are in the regulations' annex).

If the employer uses a job advertisement to attract candidates (including publishing the job ad online), compliance with Section 32 of the Labor Law regarding its content is mandatory. This section outlines the general rules that an employer must follow when creating a job advertisement, namely:

- It must not target only men or only women, except when belonging to a specific gender is an objective and justified prerequisite for performing the job or profession.
- It must not indicate age restrictions, except when, according to the law, individuals of a certain age are prohibited from performing the respective work.
- It must not specify proficiency in a particular foreign language, unless it is justifiably required for performing the job duties.
- It must include:
  4.1. the name and surname of the employer (if a natural person), or the name (firm) and registration number of the legal entity, or the name (firm) and registration number of the recruitment company, if such a company is evaluating and selecting candidates on behalf of the employer;
  4.2. the gross total monthly or annual salary for the respective position, or the range of the expected hourly wage rate.

When selecting a candidate from those who responded to the employer's job advertisement, the employer must also ensure that questions during the job interview relate to the job in question or the candidate's suitability for the job. Questions that are directly or indirectly discriminatory, especially questions about the following, are not permissible:

1) pregnancy;
2) family or marital status;
3) previous criminal convictions, unless this is relevant to the work to be performed;
4) religious beliefs or affiliation with a religious denomination;
5) membership in a political party, workers' union, or other social organization;
6) national or ethnic origin.

Please note that if the employer violates the prohibition of differential treatment when establishing an employment relationship, the candidate has the right to file a claim in court within three months from the date they receive the employer’s refusal to establish an employment relationship, as per Section 34, Paragraph 1 of the Labor Law.

If the employer has discriminated during the selection process (i.e., restricting a person's right to work based on criteria deemed discriminatory), the candidate does not have the right to demand the establishment of an employment relationship by force, as specified in Section 34, Paragraph 2 of the Labor Law. However, the person may claim compensation for damages and moral harm. In case of a dispute, the amount of compensation for moral harm is determined by the court at its discretion.

Before signing the employment contract, or ideally during the interview process, the employer is obligated to familiarize the candidate with the company's collective labor agreement (if such an agreement exists) and the internal work regulations, to the extent that they apply to the intended job, as well as provide any other information essential for concluding the employment contract.

The employment contract must be concluded in writing before the commencement of work.

The employment contract must be in the national language. If the employee is a foreigner who does not have sufficient proficiency in the national language, the employer is required to inform the employee in writing in a language they understand about the terms of the employment contract. The contract is prepared in two copies, one kept by the employee and the other by the employer.

The employment contract must include the following mandatory information:

1. The employee’s name, surname, personal identification number (or date of birth if the foreigner does not have a personal identification number), residence, and the employer’s name, surname (or name of the company), personal identification number (or date of birth if the foreigner does not have a personal identification number) or registration number, and address;
2. The starting date of the employment relationship;
3. The expected duration of the employment relationship (if the contract is for a fixed term);
4. The place of work (if the duties are not tied to a specific location, this must be indicated, or that the employee may work in various places) or that the employee is free to determine their place of work;
5. The employee’s trade, position, or specialty (hereafter referred to as "profession") in accordance with the Profession Classifier and a general description of the agreed-upon work;
6. The amount of remuneration and the payment schedule;
7. The agreed-upon daily or weekly working hours, if the employee’s work schedule is entirely or mostly predictable. If part-time work is agreed upon and the schedule is not entirely or mostly predictable, it must be noted that the work schedule is variable. This should include information about the guaranteed paid working hours within the month, the time period in which the employee can work or is required to work, and the minimum notice period before the commencement of or cancellation of work;
8. The duration of the annual paid leave;
9. The notice period and procedure for terminating the employment contract;
10. The applicable collective agreement and internal work regulations relevant to the employment relationship;
11. The probation period and its duration, if such a probation period is set;
12. The employee’s right to training if the employer provides such training;
13. The social security institutions receiving social contributions related to the employment relationship, and any social security protection provided by the employer if the employer is responsible for such protection.

The information specified in points 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13 can be substituted with references to the relevant provisions contained in laws, the collective agreement, or the internal work regulations. In such cases, the employer must ensure that this information is available to the employees at no cost, is comprehensible and complete, and easily accessible, including via electronic means such as online portals or information systems. The employer must inform the employee in writing about changes to the collective agreement or internal work regulations that directly affect the employee before the changes come into effect

, but no later than on the day the changes take effect.

Additionally, any other information that the contracting parties consider necessary may be included in the employment contract.

The work procedures in a company are determined by internal work regulations, the collective labor agreement, the employment contract, and the employer's directives.

An employer who usually employs no fewer than 10 employees must establish internal work regulations in consultation with employee representatives. These regulations must be adopted no later than two months after the company starts operations.

All employees must be made aware of the adopted work regulations. The employer is obligated to ensure that the text of the work regulations is accessible to all employees, for example, by providing each employee with a copy or by keeping the regulations in a place accessible to employees, such as the personnel department, break room, etc.

According to Article 55, Section 2 of the Labor Law, internal work regulations must specify the following if not covered in the collective labor agreement or employment contract:

1) Start and end of the workday, breaks during work, and the length of the workweek;
2) Organization of working hours within the company;
3) The time, place, and method of salary payment;
4) The general procedure for granting vacations;
5) Occupational safety measures in the company;
6) Employee behavior rules and other provisions related to work procedures in the company.

According to Section 1 of Article 18 of the Labor Law, a collective labor agreement in a company is concluded between the employer and the trade union or authorized representatives of the employees, if the employees are not organized in a trade union. In the collective labor agreement, the parties agree on provisions regulating the content of employment relationships, particularly the organization of wages and occupational safety, the establishment and termination of employment relationships, employee skill development, as well as work procedures, employee social protection, and other matters related to employment relationships, defining their mutual rights and obligations.

When drafting a collective labor agreement, the wording of its provisions must be clear and understandable to all employees, meaning that it should be interpreted uniformly. This implies that the provisions should be described more comprehensively to avoid different interpretations.

In accordance with Section 1 of Article 19 of the Labor Law, a collective labor agreement is concluded for a specified period or for the duration of a particular task. The collective labor agreement comes into force on the day it is signed unless another effective date is specified in the agreement. If no effective period is stated in the collective labor agreement, it is considered to be concluded for one year.

According to the first part of Section 56 of the Labor Law, the employer may specify an employee's job duties within the framework of the employment contract through their directives. In line with this regulation, the employer may only clarify and detail the duties of the employee that are outlined and defined in the employment contract or job description related to the performance of the employee’s responsibilities (agreed primary work).

Additionally, within the framework of the employment contract, the employer may specify work procedures and employee behavior rules within the company through their directives.

In accordance with the third part of Section 56 of the Labor Law, the employer does not have the right to require the employee to perform work not specified in the employment contract, except in cases outlined in Section 57 of the Labor Law. Specifically, the employer has the right to assign the employee to perform work not specified in the employment contract for a period not exceeding one month within a year to address the consequences of force majeure, an accidental event, or other extraordinary circumstances that adversely affect or may affect the regular work operations of the company. In the event of downtime, the employer has the right to assign the employee to perform work not specified in the employment contract for no longer than two months within a year. For performing work not specified in the employment contract, the employer is required to pay appropriate remuneration, which must not be less than the employee’s previous average earnings.

The work schedule must be prepared in writing (either in paper format or electronically).

The fact that the employee has been informed of the schedule must be provable, for example, by presenting the schedule to the employees for their signature, sending the work schedule to the employee's work email, and similar methods.

If the employee is working in shifts, the employer is obligated to inform the employees of the shift schedules no later than one month before they come into effect (as stated in Section 139, Part 5 of the Labor Law).

Additionally, if the employee works under a summarized working time arrangement (as per Section 140, Part 1 of the Labor Law), the employer is required to inform the employee of this in writing, specifying the length of the reporting period, and to inform the employee of the work schedule in a timely manner.

The law does not specify a concrete time interval for "timely notification" of the work schedule. According to the State Labor Inspectorate, the term "timely" should be applied individually to each situation. Depending on the circumstances, the employer may be able to inform the employee of the schedule one month or two weeks in advance, while in other situations, the employer may not be able to adhere to such timeframes due to justified reasons, such as the need to make changes to the schedule due to an employee's illness. The State Labor Inspectorate believes that the relevant timeframe should be reasonable, ensuring that the employee does not face objective obstacles to fulfilling their obligations and performing their duties within the work hours specified in the schedule.

The Labor Law does not specifically outline the format and content of shift or work schedules, nor the procedure for amending them. In cases where summarized working time is organized, Section 140, Part 7 of the Labor Law strictly stipulates that the employer is not allowed to change the employee's work schedule during temporary incapacity or when the employee is unable to work for other justified reasons.

In the opinion of the State Labor Inspectorate, it is advisable to prepare separate written amendments to the schedule for those employees whose work hours need to be adjusted. These amendments should be presented to the affected employees (with the employee acknowledging receipt by signing). The amendments should then be attached to the original schedule as an integral part of it.

According to Section 150, Part 1 of the Labor Law, the annual paid leave is granted each year at a specified time in accordance with:

- a written agreement between the employee and the employer (the employee's written request for leave and the employer's written approval of the leave in the form of a resolution on the employee’s request and issuing an order for the leave), or
- a leave schedule prepared by the employer after consulting with employee representatives.

Thus, if the company has a workers' union or authorized employee representatives, the employer must consult with employee representatives when preparing the leave schedule, seeking their opinion and trying to agree on an option acceptable to both parties.

Once the leave schedule is prepared, all employees must be informed of it or any changes to it, and it must be accessible to every employee. The Labor Law does not specify a particular form in which this accessibility must be ensured; it can be a printed document available in a location accessible to all employees, such as the HR department, or an electronically available document for all employees.

The employer has the right to clarify the procedure for granting leave within the company's internal regulations. For example, the employer can specify internally how the leaves set out in the leave schedule are granted—whether the employee needs to submit a request for the scheduled leave or whether the employer issues an order granting the leave according to the schedule. Thus, if a procedure is established for granting annual paid leave in the company, both the employer and the employee must follow the specified procedure.

According to Section 137, Part 1 of the Labor Law, the employer is required to accurately record each employee's total hours worked, as well as separately track overtime, work performed during the night, hours worked during weekly rest periods, and public holidays, as well as downtime.

Regulations do not specify how to denote an employee’s absence, such as vacation, work absences, etc., in timekeeping documents. Therefore, the employer is free to choose any notation for absences, but it is recommended to include a reference explaining these notations in the internal regulations or timekeeping documents.

In the event that an employee does not come to work and there is no justificatory document for their absence, the timekeeping documents should indicate it as a work absence or unknown absence.

The employer, when calculating and disbursing wages, must prepare documentation for wage calculations and payments.

According to Section 71 of the Labor Law, when paying wages, the employer must issue a wage calculation statement that specifies the amount of wages paid, the withheld taxes, and the mandatory state social insurance contributions, as well as the hours worked, including overtime, night hours, and hours worked on public holidays. Upon receiving an employee's request, the employer is obliged to explain this calculation.

The Accounting Law (effective from January 1, 2022) specifies the minimum retention periods for accounting documents (including documents related to calculated wages for employees) in Section 28, for example:

1. For supporting documents related to calculated wages for employees, compensation for granted leave periods, and compensation for unused annual paid leave, compensation for work-related absences, etc., with a breakdown by years and months for documents dated before January 1, 1999 — 75 years;

2. For the supporting documents mentioned in point 1, dated January 1, 1999, or later, if they include information on wages calculated for employees:

   a) Wages, compensation for work-related absences, etc., with a breakdown by years and months — 10 years;

   b) Compensation for granted leave periods and unused annual paid leave, with a breakdown by years and months — 10 years from the day the employment relationship with the specific company as an employer ends;

3. For other supporting documents — until the day they are needed to fulfill the requirements of Section 6, Part 2 of this law regarding the traceability of business transactions, but no less than five years.

Section 129, Part 1 of the Labor Law stipulates that the employer is obliged, upon the employee's written request or at the request of a state or municipal institution performing its legal functions, to issue a written certificate within three working days. This certificate must detail the duration of the employment relationship between the employer and the employee, the work performed by the employee, the average earnings per day and month, the withheld taxes, the mandatory state social insurance contributions, and the grounds for termination of the employment relationship. 

Part 2 of this section specifies that the requested information in the certificate must be supported by documents available in the current records or archive. There is no legal validity period established for the work certificate.

Documents for terminating employment relationships are:

1. **Employee’s Resignation** (Section 47, Part 1 of the Labor Law, Section 100) or **Employer’s Termination** (Section 47, Part 1 of the Labor Law, one of the subpoints in Part 1 of Section 101);
2. **Other Grounds for Termination** specified in Chapter 27 of the Labor Law, such as the expiration of a fixed-term employment contract according to Section 113 of the Labor Law (which may involve notice—Section 113, Part 2 or without notice via order—Section 113, Part 1), termination of the employment relationship according to Section 114 of the Labor Law, by mutual agreement (written agreement between the employee and employer);
3. **Other Termination Documents**, such as orders (which can be issued for any grounds for termination, including Sections 115 and 116 of the Labor Law, Section 2195 of the Civil Law).

The Cabinet Regulation No. 690 of 13.11.2018 "Regulations on Documents Certifying a Person’s Work or Service Record and Education, which have Archival Value, and Their Retention Periods" sets the retention periods for documents with archival significance.

According to Section 2 of these regulations:

"Documents certifying a person's work record with archival value include:

2.1. Documents on the establishment, amendment, and termination of employment relationships (order documents, employment contracts and their amendments, terminations, and agreements on the termination of employment relationships), and documents of equivalent status and their registers;

In accordance with Section 6 of these regulations:

6. Retention periods for documents:

6.4. Documents listed in Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 of these regulations are retained:

6.4.1. For 90 years from the birth of the individuals mentioned, or 75 years if the birth date is unknown, or if the case contains archived documents about several individuals, or if removing the archived documents from the case requires disproportionate effort;

6.4.2. Permanently if they contain information of historical, public, cultural, or scientific significance;

6.5. Documents whose retention period has expired but are needed as evidence in legal proceedings, as well as for the enforcement and protection of institutional or individual rights and obligations, are retained for 10 years after they are no longer required as evidence."