[Croatia] Working from home will require both employer and worker consent

On June 24th the social partners held the first official meeting to draft a new abour law in Croatia. It is one of a series expected in the coming weeks and months, Total Croatia News reports.

State Secretary Dragan Jelic said that the negotiations would last until the end of 2021. Before the end of the year, the first version of the agreed law is expected. It will pass the parliamentary procedure in two readings. The new labour law should come into force a year from now, on July 1, 2022, and the first meeting is only the beginning of the marathon to come, according to Poslovni. (Link via original reporting)

After the meeting, the state secretary said that the discussion was constructive and concrete and that an agreement on the working methodology has been reached. As things stand, the existing labour law will not be amended. However, a new, more modern law will reportedly be drafted, incorporating innovations that have appeared in teleworking, remote work, additional work and platform work, which has become popular. 

However, once a new law is passed, it is considered likely that old and sensitive topics that both employers and unions have highlighted in all previous openings of the "workers' constitution" will be reopened.

It is said to be too early to say exactly how everything will play out because certain topics will be addressed in separate working groups. On the first day, the subject of severance pay - which will be for permanent employees but also people working part-time - was not explored. There is a common view that there is much work to be done.

"The impression is that different attitudes stand out at the beginning, but we will try to bring them closer with a quality discussion. We, as the proposer of the law, have the final word, but we will not do anything overnight and on our knees," the State Secretary of the Minister of Labor said.

Regarding teleworking and work from home; obligations related to safety at work will be defined; such work will require the mutual consent of the employee and the employer and an addendum to the existing employment contract.

"In this year and a half, working from home has worked relatively well, some have signed an addendum to the contract, some have not, there have been some disputes over the cost of working from home, but this has been resolved in agreement with the union. Employers demand that compensation for work expenses from home be tax-free. We will see," Mr Jelic said.

Regarding the practice of working from home at present, SNH head, Maja Sever told reporters that there were problems. The workers, she said, were unilaterally instructed to work from home, some complaining that their employers took away their vacation days, did not recognise expenses, did not respect working hours and expected constant availability for work.

When it comes to fixed-term work, Sever says that employers would like to transfer a good part of the uncertainty from the existing form of fixed-term work to permanent work but the unions will not agree to that. They are also categorically against the spread of additional work, which would be harmful to workers' health.

On June 24th the social partners held the first official meeting to draft a new abour law in Croatia. It is one of a series expected in the coming weeks and months, Total Croatia News reports.

State Secretary Dragan Jelic said that the negotiations would last until the end of 2021. Before the end of the year, the first version of the agreed law is expected. It will pass the parliamentary procedure in two readings. The new labour law should come into force a year from now, on July 1, 2022, and the first meeting is only the beginning of the marathon to come, according to Poslovni. (Link via original reporting)

After the meeting, the state secretary said that the discussion was constructive and concrete and that an agreement on the working methodology has been reached. As things stand, the existing labour law will not be amended. However, a new, more modern law will reportedly be drafted, incorporating innovations that have appeared in teleworking, remote work, additional work and platform work, which has become popular. 

However, once a new law is passed, it is considered likely that old and sensitive topics that both employers and unions have highlighted in all previous openings of the "workers' constitution" will be reopened.

It is said to be too early to say exactly how everything will play out because certain topics will be addressed in separate working groups. On the first day, the subject of severance pay - which will be for permanent employees but also people working part-time - was not explored. There is a common view that there is much work to be done.

"The impression is that different attitudes stand out at the beginning, but we will try to bring them closer with a quality discussion. We, as the proposer of the law, have the final word, but we will not do anything overnight and on our knees," the State Secretary of the Minister of Labor said.

Regarding teleworking and work from home; obligations related to safety at work will be defined; such work will require the mutual consent of the employee and the employer and an addendum to the existing employment contract.

"In this year and a half, working from home has worked relatively well, some have signed an addendum to the contract, some have not, there have been some disputes over the cost of working from home, but this has been resolved in agreement with the union. Employers demand that compensation for work expenses from home be tax-free. We will see," Mr Jelic said.

Regarding the practice of working from home at present, SNH head, Maja Sever told reporters that there were problems. The workers, she said, were unilaterally instructed to work from home, some complaining that their employers took away their vacation days, did not recognise expenses, did not respect working hours and expected constant availability for work.

When it comes to fixed-term work, Sever says that employers would like to transfer a good part of the uncertainty from the existing form of fixed-term work to permanent work but the unions will not agree to that. They are also categorically against the spread of additional work, which would be harmful to workers' health.