Significant amendment to Labour Code returns
In August, the government began to discuss a document that will undoubtedly be familiar to some lawmakers and the professional public. A large amendment to the Labour Code, which the Chamber of Deputies in its previous structure did not have time to pass, is back on the table in an adjusted wording, this time without the time constraints posed by the end of the electoral term.
For the media, the most interesting change undoubtedly is the new minimum and guaranteed wage concept. Whereas today, the minimum wage is set by government decree and adjusted occasionally as needed, the new amendment proposes to link the minimum wage to the average wage and adjust it regularly once a year, but only upwards. The amendment hence introduces a mechanism for the automatic increase of the minimum wage.
The method for the determination of the guaranteed wage amount should also change: in accordance with the new amendment, employees working based on agreements on work outside employment should also be entitled to the guaranteed wage.
The regulation of vacation should also undergo major changes. Under the new rules, the assessment of vacation days will derive from an employee’s weekly working hours and will ultimately be expressed in hours. While this change may remove injustice caused to employees working variously long shifts, in the majority of cases, this will only bring an increased administrative burden to employers.
Employers will also not welcome another proposed change relating to the reduction of vacation days. Whereas today, after an employee’s unexcused missed shift, an employer may reduce the employee’s entitlement to vacation by one to three vacation days, in accordance with the new amendment, the employer will be allowed to reduce vacation days only by the number of hours actually missed. Moreover, after employment for a full calendar year, employees will be entitled to at least three weeks of vacation, even after such reductions (compared with the current two-week entitlement).
An absolute novelty is the possibility of two or more employees sharing one job and taking turns in this job within the working hours they agree on, all after agreeing on this with the employer.
The final wording is yet uncertain, while major parts should become effective from 1 July 2019. We just have to wait and see whether the amendment will really carry the potential to rewrite the labour-law textbooks and established practice or whether it will only be another task for employers to prepare themselves for its effectiveness.