Employers in need of action

The amendment to the Labour Code, which has been keeping the interest of legal practitioners at a fever pitch for the past period, has been adopted by the Parliament and thus it is expected to be promulgated in the Hungarian Gazette soon. The amendment in question, it is perhaps not an exaggeration to say, results in the greatest changes of the Labour Code since its entry into force in 2012.

It can be stated in advance that the amendments were adopted with the aim of protecting employees and maintaining employments, so they mainly result in employers being forced to take action.

Essentially, the operation of every employer under the scope of the Labour Code is fundamentally affected by the amended provisions, as they modify the everyday procedure taking into account both administrative and actual legal-related aspects.

Although most of the relevant professional articles highlight the compliance with EU directives, significant amendments have also been adopted, so basically three affected areas can be distinguished:

1. rules with family protection aims;
2. expansion of the employer’s notification obligations;
3. new provisions on the termination of employments.

In the case of all three categories, a significant number of amendments was adopted, which will be reviewed below and in separate summaries.

Although a significant part of the provisions will enter into force within a few weeks, given the significant number of amending provisions and the upcoming Christmas period, in practice employers cannot be expected to immediately adapt their entire daily life to the new rules.

Accordingly, with regard to the entry into force of the provisions and the affected areas, the obligations defined in point 2 above shall be fulfilled primarily, taking into account practical aspects.

In the course of expanding the employer’s notification obligations, all employers will be required to review

• the notification as per Section 46 of the Labour Code, the notification handed over with regard to working abroad;
• the notification regarding the working time frame, and
• the content of notification on the positions available at the employer.

The deadlines available for the handover of the notification as per Section 46 of the Labour Code are strict, so the employer shall issue the completed notification

• in case employments established following January 1, 2023, within seven days from the beginning of the employment;
• in the case of previously established employments – at the request of the employee – within three months from the date of entry into force.

In addition, in the event of any modifications in the future, the employer is obliged to inform the employees thereof in writing without delay, at the latest on the day when the modification takes effect.

However, with attention to the coherent documentation of the employer and for the sake of transparency later on, we recommend all employers to have a documentation package in accordance with the new legal provisions be developed, which can be applied to both new and existing employees.

In addition to the above, it will of course be necessary to review the employer’s daily business process based on the additional provisions of the amendment, thus

• on the one hand, the harmonization of family protection practices and internal rules is essential,
• on the other hand, significant amendments were also adopted regarding the termination of employments, based on which in case of notices or notices with immediate effect being due next year we recommend legal consultation in all cases before delivering any of them.

For the sake of efficiency, we are preparing a separate summary for the above two questions. However, in the meantime, please feel free to contact our Firm with any questions or for additional information, we are readily at your kind disposal.

We kindly draw your attention to the fact that the summary recorded above is of a general and informative nature.