June 24th, 2021 - The social partners held the first official meeting to draft a new Labor Law in Croatia, one in a series expected in the coming weeks and months.

Poslovni reports, State Secretary Dragan Jelic said that the negotiations would last until the end of this year. Before the end of the year, the first version of the agreed law is expected, which will pass the parliamentary procedure in two readings. The new Labor Law should enter into force on July 1, 2022, i.e., in a year, and the first meeting is just the beginning of the upcoming marathon.

After the meeting, Jelic said that the discussion was constructive and concrete, and they agreed on the methodology according to which they will work. In any case, the existing Labor Law will not be amended. Still, a new, more modern law will be drafted, incorporating innovations that have appeared in teleworking, remote work, additional work, and platform work, which is quite popular. However, as soon as a new law is passed, it is likely that all the old and painful topics that both employers and unions have highlighted in all previous openings of the "workers' constitution" will be opened.

It is too early to say exactly how everything will look because certain topics will be opened in separate working groups. For example, on the first day, they did not touch on severance pay, which will be for permanent employees, but also people working part-time. There is a common view that there is too much work to be done, but there are different opinions that its share will decrease.

"The impression is that different attitudes stand out at the beginning, but we will try to bring them closer with a quality discussion. We, as the proposer of the law, have the final word, but we will not do anything overnight and on our knees ", promised the State Secretary of the Minister of Labor.

Regarding teleworking and work from home, obligations related to safety at work will be defined, for such work will require the mutual consent of the employee and the employer and an addendum to the existing employment contract.

"In this year and a half, working from home has worked relatively well, some have signed an addendum to the contract, some have not, there have been some disputes over the cost of working from home, but this has been resolved in agreement with the union. Employers demand that compensation for work expenses from home be tax-free. We will see ", pointed out Jelic.

When it comes to the practice of working from home so far, Sever told reporters that there were problems. The workers, he says, were unilaterally instructed to work from home, some complaining that their employers took away their vacation days, did not recognize expenses, did not respect working hours, and were expected to be constantly available for work.

When it comes to fixed-term work, Sever reads that employers would like to transfer a good part of the uncertainty from the existing form of fixed-term work to permanent work, but the unions will not agree to that. They are also categorically against the spread of additional work, which would be harmful to workers' health.

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