Information on the employment law measures during the period of emergency

Government decree No. 47/2020 (III. 18.) on the immediate measures necessary to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the national economy

In order to comply with the prohibitions and restrictions imposed during the period of emergency ordered by government decree No. 40/2020. (III. 11.), Act I of 2012 on the Labor Code (hereinafter: Labor Code) shall be applied with the following deviated rules.

1.) Until the 30^th day following the cessation of the emergency, when applying the Labor Code

1. a) the employer may modify the announced working time schedule deviating from the notification rules laid down in section 97 (5) of the Labor Code,

(“Labor Code section 97 (5) The employer may modify the reported working time schedule at least ninety-six hours prior to the commencement of the daily working time in accordance with the business or operating circumstances. The employer may modify the announced working time schedule at the written request of the employee.”)

Comm.: Practically this means that the working time schedule of the employees may be modified even in the last minute.

1. b) the employer may unilaterally assign the employee to work from home and for teleworking,

1. c) the employer may take any necessary and justifiable measures to monitor the health of the employee.

2.) Collective agreement provisions deviating from the previously described provisions may not be applied during the effect of the decree.

3.) The employee and the employer may deviate from the provisions of the Labor Code in a separate agreement.

Comm.: The latter paragraph is particularly important, since this provision may be used to derogate from the rules of the Labor Code by mutual agreement, even to the detriment of the employee, which would otherwise not be possible, or could only be derogated from for the benefit of the employee. By the term “separate agreement”, the legislature presumably meant that, in addition to the employment contract, a special agreement in force for a period of 30 days from the end of the emergency could temporarily lay down rules that the employment contract could have not contained due to the provisions of the Labor Code not allowing the deviation. Of course, this will override the employment contract only for the limited time described above.

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