Guarantees for parents in the new Labour code

The principle of respect of the employee’s family commitments (work-life balance) takes a new meaning in the new Labour Code, which came into force on 1 July 2017, that obliges the employer to take measures to help the employee fulfil his or her family commitments. The employer must consider and give a reasonable response to the requests of the employees. Employee’s actions at work must be considered in order to fully and effectively implement the principle of work-life balance:

• Better possibilities to request working part-time for pregnant women, new or nursing mothers, employees who raise a child aged up to three years, and employees who as single parents raise a child aged up to fourteen years or a child with disability aged up to eighteen years. The employer may refuse to satisfy the request of the employee to temporarily work part time only for valid reasons.
• Better possibilities for remote working: unless the employer proves that it would cause excessive costs due to the production necessity or specifics of the organisation of work, the employer must satisfy the request of an employee to work remotely at least one fifth of the whole working time norm when it is requested by an employee who is a pregnant woman, new or nursing mother, an employee who raises a child aged up to three years, and an employee who as a single parent raises a child aged up to fourteen years or a child with disability aged up to eighteen years.
• More flexible regulation of working time: daily working time duration of 8 hrs withdrawn but working time norm of 40 hrs per week retained. 5 working time arrangements were introduced:

  Fixed length of a working day/shift and fixed number of working days per week;

  Summary working time recording where the working time norm of the accounting period is fulfilled during that period;

  flexible working schedule where the employee must be present at the place of employment during fixed hours of a working day/shift, and can work other hours of that day/shift prior to or after such hours;

  split working day arrangement where the day/shift has a break for resting and eating, with the length of the break longer than the set maximum length of a break for resting and eating;

  individual working time arrangement (e.g. the possibility to work 10 hours per day 4 day and get 1 day free);

  Flexible working schedule and individual working time arrangement are especially convenient for parents raising children or employees who study.

• free time for family needs: at the employee‘s request and subject to the employer‘s consent, free time shall be given during a working day/shift for the meeting of personal needs of the employee. Parties to an employment contract may agree on the transfer of working time to another working day/shift without violating the maximum working time and minimum rest time requirements.
• new types of employment contracts : besides the already well-known types of employment contracts (indefinite-term contract, fixed-term contract, temporary employment contract, seasonal contract), the new Labour Code establishes a whole set of new types of employment contracts - apprenticeship contract, project-based employment contract, workplace-sharing employment contract, and multiple-employer employment contract. Workplace-sharing employment contract is convenient for parents raising children or employees who study.

The new Labour Code also keeps the provisions concerning additional guarantees for parents, raising children (e.g. an employee raising a disabled child under eighteen years of age or two children under twelve shall be given an additional day-off per month and an employee raising three or more children under twelve shall be given two additional days-off per month and the employee shall be paid his/her average wage; the employer can not terminate an employment contract on the initiative of an employer without any fault on the part of an employee who is raising children under the age of 3 years; notice periods are tripled for employees, who are raising a child (adopted child) under the age of fourteen and employees, who are raising a disabled child under the age of eighteen; the employer shall ensure the employee’s right to return, after the special-purpose leave, to the same or equivalent workplace (job) on working conditions not less favourable than previous working conditions including pay, and to make use of all the better conditions including the right to a pay increase to which he would have been entitled had he worked instead of going on leave; etc.).

More favourable access to paternity leave: 30 calendar days paternity leave for fathers allowed at any time from the childbirth until the child becomes 3 months old; in case of a complicated childbirth or multiple births – until the child becomes 6 months old.

New Labour code as well as Labour code which was valid until 1 July 2017 regulates, that parental leave lasting until the child becomes three years of age shall be given, at the family’s choice, to the mother (foster mother), father (foster father), grandmother, grandparent or other relatives who actually raise the child or to the employee who has been appointed as the guardian of the child. The employee may take the leave in full or in parts. Employees that are entitled to this leave may take it in turn.

Life-long learning:

The employee who has enrolled in a non-formal adult education programme shall be given a study leave of up to five working days per year for the participation in the programme. The employee whose employment relations with the employer last for more than five years shall receive at least one half of the employee‘s average wage for the study leave (formal or non-formal) and lasting up to ten working days during one working year, provided that participation in the non-formal adult education programme is related to the development of the employee‘s qualifications.