The National Assembly adopted the Act Amending the Employment Relationships Act (ZDR-1D) at its session on 7 November 2023. Most of the amendments contained in the Act entered into force on the first day after the publication of the Act in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, i.e. on 16 November 2023. The amendments contained in this Act are important for both employees and employers in the public and private sectors respectively. The key changes are presented below.
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Amendments to the content of the employment contract
Every employment contract concluded after 16 November 2023 must contain, in addition to the previously mandatory elements set out in Article 31 of the ZDR-1, a provision on the payment of bonuses, the payment interval, the payday, and the manner of payment of the salary, as well as a provision on any training provided by the employer.
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Amendments aimed at the reconciliation of professional and family life
The Act provides for a number of changes that will make it easier for workers to balance their leisure time, family time, and professional commitments.
Care for a family member
With this amendment, a worker who is caring for a child up to eight years of age or providing care for a family member for health reasons may propose to the employer to conclude a fixed-term part-time employment contract. The employer must give a written and reasoned decision on such a request within 15 days of receiving it. If a worker already has an open-ended contract of employment (employment contract of indefinite duration) with the employer, his rights, obligations, and responsibilities under such contract shall be suspended for the duration of the fixed-term contract.
Care leave
Up to five days of care leave per calendar year shall be granted to a worker whose member of the family with whom he lives in the same household has significant health care needs, but only in cases when he is not entitled to time off work under the health insurance regulations. The employee must inform the employer of the reason for being absent before the absence itself takes place. An employee may exercise such a right by making a declaration stating the reasons for the entitlement to such absence (specifying the person entitled to care and the reasons for it) and attaching supporting documents to said declaration.
Working from home
The worker has the right to propose to the employer that an employment contract be concluded for working from home to reconcile work and private life. The employer must notify the worker of his reasoned decision in writing within 15 days at the latest.
Different allocation of working time
Every worker has the right to propose to the employer a different allocation of working time to meet the need for reconciliation between work and his private life. The employer must give a reasoned response to the proposal in writing within 15 days of receiving such a request. The needs of the work process need to be considered when making a decision.
Right to disconnect
The amendment to the law gave employers one year to introduce measures to enable workers to exercise their right to disconnect and to inscribe such measures into collective agreements. This right allows workers not to be at the employer’s disposal while exercising the right to rest or during a period of justified absence from work. The employer must inform the workers of the measures. The employer must also communicate the measures to the trade union before they are adopted or, in the absence of a trade union, to the works council or the works councillor, or, if neither of these is organised at the employer, to the employees in the manner customary for the employer.
Victims of domestic violence
A worker who is a victim of domestic violence may, for the duration of the employment, propose the conclusion of a part-time employment contract for the duration of the period during which the protection, legal proceedings, and remedying for addressing the effects of domestic violence are being arranged, to meet the needs of reconciliation of professional and private life. The employer must give the employee written reasons for his decision on the proposal within 15 days of receiving such a request. A worker who works part-time on the above basis is entitled to remuneration for the work at the rate of the actual working hours but has all the other rights (including social security rights) and obligations under the employment relationship as a full-time worker.
Workers who are victims of domestic violence are also entitled to additional five working days of paid leave per calendar year to deal with legal proceedings and the consequences of domestic violence. The employee must inform the employer at least three working days before the leave is taken. Together with the notification, he shall submit a certificate from the social work centre stating that a domestic violence risk assessment has been carried out, proof that a report has been filed with the police, and proof that protection and other procedures have been arranged.
Workers who are victims of domestic violence are entitled to special protection in the employment relationship. The employer must make it easier for such a worker to reconcile his professional obligations with his obligations arising from the organisation of protection, legal and other procedures, and the elimination of the consequences of domestic violence. It is also necessary to obtain the prior written consent of the worker if the employer wishes them to work overtime, irregularly distributed or temporarily allocated hours, or to be assigned to night work.
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Amendments concerning termination of an employment contract for reasons of misconduct
Written warning
According to the amendments to the law, before terminating an employment contract on an ordinary basis for reasons of misconduct, the employer must give the employee a written warning of the obligations to be fulfilled no later than 60 days from the discovery of the breach and no later than 6 months from the occurrence of the breach. The written warning must clearly state that if the employee breaches his obligations under the employment relationship again within 6 months of receiving such a warning there is a possibility of terminating the employee contract. Collective agreements may regulate the period from receiving the written warning differently, but it may not exceed 18 months.
Opportunity to defend himself
The employer must, at the written request of the employee, which may be made within three working days of receiving the written warning, allow the employee to defend himself in respect of the breaches for which the warning was given. The employer must give the worker the right to make a statement within no less than three working days and no more than 30 days from the date on which the worker gives his intention to make a statement. In the defence proceedings, the worker can authorise the trade union or the works council, a works councillor, or any other person, authorised by the worker, if the latter is not a member of a trade union.
Decision on the written warning
The decision to give a written warning before the ordinary cancelation of an employment contract for reasons of misconduct must be taken within eight days of the worker’s defence for the alleged misconduct. It must be in writing, reasoned, and served to the worker. The employer does not need to give the worker the opportunity to make a statement if, in the circumstances of the case, it would be unreasonable to expect the employee to do so.
Withholding the effect of a dismissal
On 8 November 2024, an amendment will enter into force allowing the suspension of the effect of cancellation of the contract of employment on grounds of dismissal if the employee is a workers’ representative. The suspension of the effects of the cancellation of the contract is extended until the decision of the court of first instance or for an additional six months if the workers’ representative claims in court proceedings that the termination of the contract is unlawful. In such a case, the employer shall be entitled to prohibit the worker from carrying out work unrelated to the worker’s function as employee representative but shall be obliged to provide the worker with compensation equal to 80 % of the worker’s salary during that period.
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Amendments concerning the transfer of untaken leave
The amendment to the law has extended the period during which the right to take annual leave may be exercised. If an employee does not take annual leave for reasons of sickness, injury, maternity leave, or childcare leave, the period for transferring forward annual leave has been extended until 31 March of the year following the year to which the annual leave may be carried into. The amendment was adopted following the judgment of the Supreme Court VIII Ips 23/2022.
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Changes concerning agency workers
The ZDR-1D introduces a higher minimum compensation for the time of early termination of the contract with the user or for the time when the employer does not provide the worker with work. According to the amendment, the compensation cannot be lower than 80% of the worker’s wage.
Life situations contain many specifics and peculiarities for which it is advisable for an employer who will, for example, be coordinating employment contracts or for an employee who will have specific questions to contact a qualified lawyer.