From 1 July 2012, a new Labour Code is expected to
come into force, including rules for applying the new Code to
existing employment contracts.
The Code has not yet completed all the formalities
required for it to become law: it has been passed by Parliament and
the final text has been signed by the Speaker but it has not yet
been signed by the President or published in the Official Gazette.
It is, however, available on the Parliament website.
The new Code will apply to employment contracts
concluded before it comes into force, with certain qualifications
and exceptions:
Notice is governed by the rules in effect when
the notice is communicated to the other party
Internal policies and undertakings will be
treated for the first time as creating binding obligations, with
retroactive effect for those adopted before the new Code comes into
effect
Transfers of undertakings with an effective
date of transfer after 15 July 2012 will be subject to the new
Code
Place of work may no longer be agreed by the
parties to be 'variable' after 1 July 2012. Any contract
specifying a place of work will be replaced by law with the site
where the employee habitually performs his/her duties
Extension of probationary periods is only
permitted for employment contracts concluded after 1 July 2012
Study contracts and post-employment restrictive
covenants will only be subject to the new Code in
agreements concluded after it comes into force
Disciplinary procedures will be regulated by
the rules in force when the misconduct was committed
Termination of employment will be regulated by
the law in force when the termination notice is communicated to the
other party
Working hours calculated using a
'timeframe' will be subject to the Code in force when the
timeframe began
Overtime will be subject to a limit for 225
hours in the calendar year 2012
Pay in lieu of holiday can, under the New
Code, only be paid up to 31 December 2012 for leave accrued by
young mothers during the first six months of the unpaid maternity
leave
Liability for damages in connection with
employment will be determined by the Code in force when the act or
omission causing the damage occurs (or, if this is not known, when
the damage is suffered)
Collective bargainingagreements concluded by a trade union which, under
the new Code, is not eligible to bargain collectively will be
automatically repealed on 1 January 2013
Claims issued after 1 July 2012 will be
subject to the new Code, but claims issued before then will
not.
Law: consolidated statute on employment and
labour relations, promulgated as Act I of 2012 on the Labour
Code
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron
McKenna's free online information service. To register for
Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance
only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now
articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to
give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates
to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication
and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent
developments.
The original publication date for this article was
29/06/2012.
Specific Questions relating to this article should be addressed directly to the author.
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