Changes to agreements on work outside the employment relationship
The forthcoming amendment to the Labour Code brings changes to the regulation of agreements on work activity and agreements on work performance.
Probably the most significant change is the entitlement to paid leave of employees working under an agreement. The method of calculating the entitlement will be identical to that of an employment relationship, i.e., it will depend on the number of hours actually worked. And while in the case of employment agreements the calculation will be based on the actual agreed amount of work, in the case of performance agreements the weekly working time will always be considered to be 10 hours per week.
The employer will be obliged to schedule the weekly working time in writing and to inform the employee of this schedule at least one week before the start of the scheduled period (unless they agree on a different period of notification). At the same time, the maximum period for which compliance with the maximum permissible weekly working time is assessed will also be reduced. This period will now be 26 weeks, and can only be increased to a maximum of 52 weeks by collective agreement.
“Agreement workers” will also now be subject to adjustments to the minimum rest period, and additional payments for working on public holidays, at night, at weekends or in difficult working environments. They will also be subject to all work-related obstacles, so the employer will have to pay wage compensation for visits to the doctor, for example.
