BRATISLAVA, November 15, (WEBNOVINY) — Employers associated in the National Association of Employers (RUZ) are basically against the revision to the Labor Code that regulates terms of employment upon return from parental leave. Employers object that the wording of the revised Labor Code, which the Cabinet passed on Friday, is above the frame of requirements of the European Union and if it is passed by parliament competitiveness of companies operating in Slovakia will weaken again. According to the revision, Employees returning to work after parental leave should work at least under terms that are not less favorable than the terms applied at the time before they quit for parental leave. RUZ demands the Cabinet to withdraw the bill from the legislative proceedings and preserve the current status quo.
Employers believe that the amendment would significantly slash competitiveness of Slovak companies and may even enhance hidden discrimination of women. ”For example, if a woman has more children, parental leave may last up to nine years, which is a very long period in the life of a company,“ underscored RUZ. Employers point out that in some segments like information and communications technologies, development is so dynamic that an obligation to reward employees under the same or even better terms generates disproportional costs and uncertainty in life of the company. “Moreover, this might indirectly lead to limited willingness to employ unmarried or childless women since they will pose a risk of increased costs in the future and uncertainty in planning and management of human resources,“ warns RUZ. Flexibility of employment may disappear and red tape associated with registration of employees may increase.
RUZ also claims that content of the Labor Code exceeds the frame of requirements of European Union’s legislation. “Slovakia sufficiently meets EU requirements with current terms regulating return from maternity leave encompassed in its effective legislation,“ underscore employers. Proposed revision to the Labor Code extends these obligations to nine and more years, which RUZ believes disadvantages employees since in EU countries length of parental leave is much shorter, for example it is four months in Great Britain or six months in Luxembourg and Italy. “Employers expect from officials at the Ministry of Labor that they will not introduce changes that would harm the business environment and will properly consult tabled changes with representatives of employers,“ added RUZ.
On Friday, the Cabinet passed a proposed revision to the Labor Code, which should revise provisions regulating return of employees to work after parental leave. The Labor Ministry submitted the revision to the Labor Code with the aim to incorporate respective European directives in the Slovak legislation. Employers should accept employees after parental leave under terms that would not be less favorable than terms at the time of leaving for maternity or parental leave.
Employees are entitled to the benefit from any improvement that would appear in relation to their employment terms if they did not go for parental leave. “The revision suggests that employees that return from maternity or parental leave should be entitled to claim the same job at the same workplace,“ reads the Cabinet-approved proposal. “
The passed revision to the Labor Code also determines establishment, composition and activities of European employers‘ councils. “Responsibility of a central management for creation of terms and sources required for establishment of the European employers‘ council or other procedure of informing employers and talks with them should be defined,“ stated the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The right of the European employers‘ council to meet the central management at least once a year should also be incorporate in the Labor Code. The central management should present a report informing the European employers‘ council about economic results as well as other expected development of employers at this meeting.
SITA
