A draft bill regarding planned changes to the Labor Code was recently published on the Government Legislation Center website. It is currently being reviewed by various committees and the Council of Ministers. It includes a number of changes related to employment.
Trial period
Under the new draft, the rules for concluding a trial period contract will undergo a fundamental change. Primarily, its duration will generally depend on the intended period of employment. Accordingly, if a fixed-term contract is concluded for less than six months, the trial period contract may last one month. However, if the employee is to be employed for a fixed-term of at least six months but less than 12 months, the trial period contract may last two months. However, it will be possible to extend these periods by one month if justified by the type of work. At the same time, the possibility of extending a trial period contract for the duration of vacation time or other justified absences from work has been introduced. It is worth noting that a trial period contract can only be renewed by the same parties if the employee is hired for a different type of work.
Fixed-term contract
The most significant change appears to be the planned obligation to provide a reason justifying the termination of a contract or a fixed-term employment contract (previously, this only applied to indefinite-term contracts). At the same time, an obligation will be introduced to notify a trade union in writing of the planned termination of an employment contract, as well as the possibility of appealing the termination of a fixed-term employment contract with a request for reinstatement.
Application for change of working conditions
The bill also allows an employee who has been employed by an employer for at least six months to request a change to a permanent or full-time employment contract (this right will be granted once per calendar year). This instrument will be available only to employees working under fixed-term or permanent employment contracts. The employer will be obligated to grant such a request, to the extent possible. They will be required to respond to such a request within one month of receiving it.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
