Employment Law Changes Since 2023

Amendments to the Labor Code have been in force since 7 April 2023. They introduced rules for remote work, sobriety checks of employees, new types of leave (caregiver’s leave and leave for force majeure), changes to probationary and fixed-term employment contracts, and expanded employer information duties. If you run a company and employ workers, check whether your workplace rules and documents reflect these provisions.

Scope of the amendments: what changed

The amendment covered three main areas:

• Remote work: a new definition, employer duties and rules for inspections
• Sobriety checks: testing conditions, data processing and sanctions
• Contracts and leave: revised rules for probationary and fixed-term contracts, two new types of leave, flexible working time, additional breaks and expanded information duties

Remote work: definition and forms

What is remote work under the Labor Code?

Remote work is work performed entirely or partly at a place indicated by the employee and agreed with the employer each time, including the employee’s home address, in particular using means of direct communication at a distance.

Remote work on the employer’s order

An employer may order remote work only in three cases:

1. During a state of emergency
2. During a state of epidemic threat or an epidemic
3. When, due to force majeure, the employer cannot ensure safe and hygienic working conditions at the employee’s usual workplace

Condition: Immediately before the order is issued, the employee must submit a declaration that they have suitable premises and technical conditions for remote work. The employer may withdraw the order with at least two days’ notice.

An employee’s request to work remotely

The employer must grant a request for remote work when it is submitted by:

• a pregnant employee,
• an employee raising a child under 4 years old,
• a parent of a child with a disability.

Occasional remote work

At the employee’s request, remote work may be performed occasionally, for up to 24 days per calendar year. You agree the arrangements for inspecting work in this mode directly with the employee.

Employer duties for remote work

If an employee works remotely, you must provide:

• Work materials and tools: including technical equipment necessary to perform remote work
• Coverage of costs: installation, service, use and maintenance of work tools, electricity and telecommunications services
• Coverage of other costs directly related to remote work, if set out in an agreement or order
• Training and technical support necessary to perform the work

Alternative: Instead of providing tools, you may agree with the employee that they will use their own materials. In that case, you pay a lump sum or cash equivalent.

Rules for introducing and inspecting remote work

How to set rules for remote work in the company

The steps are as follows:

1. Agreement with trade unions: if trade unions operate in your company, negotiate the rules with them. You have 30 days from presenting the draft.
2. Agreement with representative organizations: if you cannot reach agreement with all organizations, agree the rules with those representing at least 5% of employees.
3. Employer’s policy: if no agreement is reached, set the rules yourself in an employer’s policy.
4. Consultation with employee representatives: if there are no trade unions in the company, set the policy after consulting employee representatives. Their opinion is not binding.

Inspection of remote work

The employer may inspect remote work at the place and time where it is performed. The inspection covers:

• occupational health and safety,
• compliance with personal data protection procedures.

Limitation: The inspection may not violate the privacy of the employee or other people, or interfere with the use of rooms in the home in accordance with their purpose.

If you identify non-compliance, you have two options:

• require the employee to remedy it within a specified period, or
• withdraw consent to remote work. The employee returns to their previous workplace by the date you specify.

When remote work is not possible

You may not order remote work for work that:

• is particularly dangerous,
• would cause permissible physical-factor limits for residential rooms to be exceeded,
• involves hazardous chemical agents,
• involves exposure to harmful biological agents, radioactive substances or mixtures that produce unpleasant odours, or involves work that creates dust or causes intensive soiling.

Sobriety checks of employees

When may you conduct a check?

A sobriety check is permitted only when necessary to protect the life or health of employees or other people, or to protect property. Only methods that do not require laboratory testing are permitted.

What must you establish before introducing checks?

Set the following matters out in a collective bargaining agreement, work rules or an announcement:

• which groups of employees are subject to checks,
• the type of device used for testing,
• the time and frequency of checks.

Procedure after a positive test result

1. Do not allow the employee to work if the check shows a state after alcohol use or intoxication.
2. Police testing: at the employee’s or employer’s request, the police may perform testing using a non-laboratory method.
3. Blood test: the police order one when non-laboratory testing is not possible or the employee refuses the standard test.

Processing check data

Keep the following in the employee’s personnel file for one year from the date it was collected:

• the date, hour and minute of the test,
• a result indicating a state after alcohol use or intoxication.

Condition: You may process this data only when necessary to protect life, health or property.

Checks for other substances

You may check an employee for substances with effects similar to alcohol under the same rules. A regulation specifies the list of substances and the conditions and methods for testing.

Sanction: If an employee reports to work intoxicated, after using alcohol or after using a substance with similar effects, you may impose a monetary penalty.

Probationary employment contracts: new rules

A probationary period lasts from 1 to 3 months. Its length depends on the planned fixed-term contract:

A second probationary contract with the same employee

• A different type of work: you may enter into another probationary contract.
• The same type of work: you may not enter into another probationary contract; sign a fixed-term or indefinite-term contract instead.

Termination of a fixed-term contract

If you terminate a fixed-term contract, you must meet three requirements:

1. State the reason for termination: the reason must be specific and genuine.
2. Notify a trade union: give written notice of the planned termination to the trade union organization.
3. Be prepared for an appeal: the employee may challenge the termination and request reinstatement.

New leave and flexible working time

Caregiver’s leave

• Duration: 5 days per year
• Pay: unpaid
• Request deadline: at least 3 days before the leave begins
• Include in the request: the name of the person needing care, the reason for care, and the degree of kinship (or their home address if they are not a family member)

Leave for force majeure

• Duration: 2 days or 16 hours per calendar year
• Pay: 50% of remuneration, calculated like holiday pay. Variable components are taken from the month in which the leave occurs, not from the preceding 3 months.
• Request deadline: no later than the day the leave is taken
• Condition: urgent family matters caused by illness or accident that require the employee’s presence

Changes to parental leave

• New duration: 41 weeks for one child or 43 weeks for a multiple birth
• Individual portion: each parent is entitled to 9 weeks of leave that cannot be transferred to the other parent
• Effect: if only one parent takes leave, they may use a maximum of 32 weeks for one child or 34 weeks for a multiple birth

Flexible working time for parents

An employee caring for a child under 8 years old may request flexible work arrangements 14 days before the planned start. The request may be submitted on paper or electronically.

Forms of flexible work arrangements include:

• reduced working time,
• individual working time,
• weekend working time,
• interrupted working time.

Additional breaks at work

Breaks included in working time depend on daily working hours:

Expanded employer information duties

You must still inform employees in writing about their employment conditions, but the scope of the information has expanded.

You must also inform employees about:

• breaks to which they are entitled,
• daily and weekly rest periods,
• daily and weekly working hours,
• rules concerning overtime work.

Form and deadline: You may provide the information electronically, no later than 7 days after the employee is allowed to start work.

What to do now: employer checklist

The amendment has been in force for more than three years. If your company has not yet updated its workplace documents, fill the gaps:

1. Check the work rules: do they include the sobriety-check provisions and new breaks?
2. Introduce a remote work policy, or update the existing one to reflect Labor Code requirements.
3. Update contract templates: probationary periods and the requirement to give a reason for terminating a fixed-term contract.
4. Expand the employment-conditions information: include the new required elements.
5. Prepare a leave procedure: covering caregiver’s leave and leave for force majeure.
6. Set flexible working-time rules if you employ parents of children under 8 years old.

If you have doubts about implementing any of these elements, consult an employment-law specialist.

Frequently asked questions

When may an employer order remote work, and when must an employee’s request be granted? An employer may order remote work in only three situations: during a state of emergency; during a state of epidemic threat or an epidemic; or when force majeure prevents the employer from ensuring safe working conditions at the usual workplace, provided that the employee declares they have suitable premises and technical conditions. The employer must grant a remote-work request submitted by a pregnant employee, an employee raising a child under 4 years old, or a parent of a child with a disability. In these cases, refusal is not an option.

What must an employer provide and pay for in connection with remote work? The employer must provide work materials and tools, including technical equipment, cover the costs of installing, servicing, using and maintaining tools, electricity and telecommunications services, and provide training and technical support. If the employee uses their own equipment, the employer may pay a lump sum or cash equivalent instead of providing the tools. This must be agreed with the employee.

How can an employer lawfully introduce sobriety checks at work? Sobriety checks are permitted only when necessary to protect the life or health of employees or other people, or to protect property. Before introducing them, specify three things in a collective bargaining agreement, work rules or an announcement: which employee groups are checked, the type of testing device, and the time and frequency of checks. After a positive result, do not allow the employee to work; at the employee’s or employer’s request, the police may carry out a test.

What are the new rules for probationary employment contracts after the 2023 changes? The probationary period depends on the planned fixed-term contract: 1 month if the planned contract is shorter than 6 months; 2 months if it is from 6 to less than 12 months; and 3 months if it is 12 months or longer. You may enter into a second probationary contract with the same employee only for a different type of work. For the same type of work, enter into a fixed-term or indefinite-term contract instead.

Which workplace documents and procedures should a company update after the Labor Code amendment? Check and update six areas: work rules (sobriety checks and new breaks); the remote work policy (or introduce one); employment-contract templates (probationary periods and reasons for fixed-term termination); information about employment conditions (expanded with the new elements); the leave procedure (caregiver’s leave and leave for force majeure); and flexible working-time rules for parents of children under 8 years old. The amendment has been in force since April 2023. If the documents have not yet been adapted, fill the gaps as soon as possible.