A new era in employment

The new Labour Law is to enter into force on 1 July 2012, making significant changes in the relationship between employers and employees. One of the changes is that in the future employers can make certain statements electronically.

By the new law employers are entitled to limit the information self-determination and opinion expressing rights of employees, although this limitation has to be proportionate with the performance of work and harmonise with the objective of the employment relationship. In the future employers will have the right to pay different wages for employees doing the same job in different parts of the country. Hungary’s new Labour Code introduces several new forms of employment (e.g. job sharing) and also makes it possible for an employee to be employed by many firms at the same time with one single employment relationship (instead of many part-time employments). Conditions for temporary employment are improved and the regulation of secondment is also simplified. Average wage is not included in the new regulation, employers have to pay an absentee fee for the periods when the employee does not have to work. Warehouse responsibility regulations – which are so important in retail – do not change significantly, but general responsibility regulations change for both employers and employees. Although the new law is to enter into force on 1 July 2012, there are transitional arrangements that will enter into force later. These transitional regulations will be published soon.