According to the Labor Relations Law, in 2024, there is the possibility of concluding an Employment Contract for remote work. This is a result of remote work being commonplace for many industries, especially the IT industry. It has been shown that employees are effective and efficient even when not physically present in the office. Therefore, employers, in accordance with their company culture and the capabilities of work processes, allow remote work.

The legislator, in the Labor Relations Law, regulates this possibility in Article 50 with an Employment Contract for remote work. Regardless of whether the employee works from home or from the office, the rules of the Employment Contract regulated by the Labor Relations Law still apply. Thus, several open questions arise regarding this topic.

Employment agreement – mandatory content

According to the Labor Relations Law, the Employment Contract is concluded in written form and kept at the company’s headquarters. On the day of signing the Employment Contract, one copy is given to the employee.

Article 28 regulates the mandatory content of the Employment Contract, which must include the following:

1. Data about the contracting parties, their residence, or headquarters;
2. Date of commencement of work;
3. Job title, or information about the type of work for which the employee is contracting, with a brief description of the work to be performed according to the Employment Contract;
4. Provisions regarding the employer’s obligation to inform the employee about hazardous workplaces and special professional qualifications or knowledge or necessary special medical supervision, in accordance with the law, specifying the special risks that may result from the work according to legal provisions;
5. Place of work. If the exact location is not specified, it is considered that the employee performs the work at the employer’s headquarters;
6. Duration of the employment relationship when a fixed-term contract is concluded;
7. Provision regarding whether it is a full-time or part-time employment relationship;
8. Provision regarding daily or weekly regular working hours and scheduling of working hours;
9. Provision regarding the amount of the basic salary expressed in monetary terms, which belongs to the employee for performing the work according to the law, collective agreement, and the Employment Contract;
10. Provision regarding other allowances due to the employee for performing the work according to the law and collective agreement;
11. Provision regarding annual leave, or the method of determining annual leave;
12. Listing of the employer’s general acts specifying the conditions of the employee’s work.

The Employment Contract may also include other rights and obligations specified by the Labor Relations Law or collective agreement.

Penalties and fines for non-compliance

The legislator has established fines and penalties if companies do not comply with the Labor Relations Law. Accordingly, according to Article 256 of the Labor Relations Law, it is stated that:

• if the Employment Contract does not contain the mandatory information;
• the employee does not receive a copy of the Employment Contract on the day of signing;
• or a copy is not kept at the company’s headquarters,

fines ranging from 200 to 1000 euros are provided for each item separately, depending on the size of the company.

Every company should align its operations with the applicable laws. Through 21 questions from various areas, test yourselves and identify the areas in which your company may not be complying with the laws. At the end, this test will immediately generate a summary amount – an estimate of potential monetary fines – penalties for the answers where you are not in compliance.

Employment agreement for remote work

According to Article 50 of the Labor Relations Law, remote work is regulated as follows:

• Work performed by the employee in their home or in spaces of their choice outside the employer’s premises is considered remote work;
• With the employment contract for remote work, the employer and the employee can agree for the employee to perform work remotely;
• The employer is obliged to provide the employment contract for remote work to the labor inspectorate within three days from the date of concluding the contract;
• Rights, obligations, and conditions depending on the nature of remote work are regulated between the employer and the employee through the employment contract;
• The employee is entitled to compensation for the use of their own work equipment at home. The amount of compensation is determined by the employer and the employee in the employment contract;
• The employer is obliged to provide safe working conditions for remote work;

Although this article is a step forward in regulating this area, there are still several dilemmas it opens up

CHALLENGES: What to consider when signing an Employment contract for remote work?

Safety and health at work, What in case of injury?

In this article, it is defined that working from home includes work performed by the employee in their own home or in spaces of their choice outside the employer’s premises. The legislator specifies that the employer is obliged to provide safe working conditions for remote work.

This means that the employer needs to know where the employee is working and ensure safe working conditions for that place (which could be challenging for activities like working from cafes, the beach, etc.).

The question arises – what in case of an accident? Will this be treated as a work-related injury, and will the responsibility lie with the employer?

According to the Labor Relations Law, in case of inspection, the employer must demonstrate compliance with the law, which would be almost impossible in such a scenario.

Record of working hours, termination due to 3 consecutive absences?

Another aspect to consider is the record of working hours and proving whether the employee has been working or not (if working remotely).

One of the grounds for termination of the Employment Contract without notice is unjustified absence from work for 3 consecutive working days or 5 days in total within one year.

In the case of employees working from home, if the employer does not have a system in place to record working hours remotely, there is exposure. If such a system is not established and the employee does not work for 3 consecutive days, the employer wouldn’t be able to prove it, and accordingly, couldn’t use this ground for termination of the employment relationship.

If the employer terminates the employment relationship due to 3 days of absence from work in any case, they will be subject to potential fines from the competent inspector and additionally, potential legal proceedings and lawsuits from the employee.

With this article, it is regulated that the employee is entitled to compensation for the use of their own work equipment at home, so this aspect should also be determined when entering into such an Employment Contract.

Notification to the labor inspectorate?

Article 50 of the Employment Contract for remote work also specifies that the employer is obliged to provide the employment contract for remote work to the labor inspectorate within three days from the date of concluding the contract. The effectiveness and strictness of this article are also questioned.

In the upcoming amendments to the Labor Relations Law, there are several aspects that need to be considered and regulated.

(designed by Freepik)

What the employer must not do before signing an Employment contract?

Before signing the Employment Contract, the Law imposes several rules as rights and obligations on the employer that must be respected. Failure to comply with these by the employer exposes them to potential fines or legal proceedings.

So:

• The employer, when entering into the employment contract, must not request data about the family or marital status and family planning, or demand submission of other documents and evidence.
• If the work poses a significant risk to the health of the mother and child, the employer must inform the female employee about the risks arising from the work when concluding the employment contract.
• The employer must not condition the conclusion of the employment contract on signing an agreement regarding the termination of the employment relationship.
• The employer must inform the candidate about the job, working conditions, and employee rights before signing the employment contract.

On the other hand, the employee is obliged to provide the employer with evidence of meeting the conditions for performing the work and to inform them of any facts known to them that are significant for the employment relationship. The employee should also report illnesses or other circumstances that may prevent or limit them in fulfilling the obligations of the contract.

What happens after signing the Employment Contract? (registration at the agency – procedure)

The employee cannot start working before the Employment Contract is signed, and before the employer registers them in the mandatory social security system.

This means that signing the Employment Contract does not conclude the process of employing the worker.

Regardless of whether the Employment Contract is for remote work or work at the company’s premises, the employer is required to submit registration/deregistration forms (M1/M2) for the employee in the mandatory social security system (pension and disability insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance).

The registration is submitted electronically or directly to the Agency with:

• attachment of the PPR form (previously submitted);
• authorization of an authorized person with a list of individuals to be registered/deregistered, including their full name, unique master citizen number (EMBG), the contract number, and the date of signing the employment contract.

Registration is done one day before the employee starts working, and for urgent and immediate work, at least one hour before the employee starts working.

You can download the PPR form from the Employment Agency’s website at the following link.

The authorization can also be downloaded from the Employment Agency’s website at the following link.

A certified copy of the registration application or an excerpt from the computer record of the Agency’s information system is provided to the employee within three days from the day they start working.

The data from the Employment Contract is provided to the financial services or collaborators of the employer for proper calculation and payment of salaries.

SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH ONE OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS