Amendments to the Labor Code

In the event of a declared state of emergency, employers are vested with the authority to unilaterally assign temporary home-based work and/or remote work to an employee without requiring their prior consent. Such assignment shall modify solely the place of performance of work, without altering any other terms and conditions of the underlying employment contract.

This measure must be executed via a formal written order issued by the employer, which shall specify the conditions pursuant to Article 107c, Paragraph 2 of the Labor Code (LC), namely:

• The location of the workplace;
• The labor remuneration;
• The procedure for assigning and reporting the work performed;
• The methodology for the supply of materials and the delivery of finished output;
• The consumable expenses incurred for the workplace and the reimbursement thereof;
• Other terms and conditions relating to the specific operational requirements for the performance of home-based work.

and/or Article 107i, Paragraph 2 of the LC, which encompass:

Matters concerning the operational, technical, and other types of equipment for the workplace; obligations and expenses related to its maintenance; other conditions for the delivery, replacement, and maintenance of the equipment; and the procedure for the acquisition of individual equipment components by the employee.

Another statutory mechanism made available to employers during a declared state of emergency is the authority to issue an order suspending the operations of the enterprise, a part thereof, or individual employees for the entire duration or a fraction of the period until the state of emergency is officially revoked. In such instances, the employee retains the right to receive their gross labor remuneration.

It must be noted that where the operations of the enterprise or a part thereof are suspended by virtue of an order issued by a competent state authority during a declared state of emergency, the employer is legally obligated to deny employees access to their physical workplaces for the exact duration specified in said order.

A further option available to the employer for the entire duration or a part of the declared state of emergency is to establish part-time hours within the enterprise or an operational unit thereof for employees who otherwise work on a full-time basis.

Under a state of emergency and upon the suspension of operations of the enterprise, a part thereof, or individual employees, the employer may exercise the right to grant paid annual leave to the employee without their consent. This provision likewise applies to any employee who has not yet accrued the statutory 8 months of labor service.

Concurrently, during a declared state of emergency, the employer is under a mandatory obligation to authorize the use of paid annual leave or unpaid leave upon a formal request submitted by:

• A pregnant employee, or an employee in an advanced stage of in-vitro treatment;
• A mother or adoptive mother of a child up to 12 years of age, or of a child with a disability regardless of age;
• An employee who is a single father or adoptive father of a child up to 12 years of age, or of a child with a disability regardless of age;
• An employee under 18 years of age;
• An employee with a permanently reduced working capacity of 50 percent or more;
• An employee entitled to protection against dismissal pursuant to Article 333, Paragraph 1, Items 2 and 3 of the LC.

The period during which this leave is utilized shall be recognized as labor service (length of service).

Amendments to the Social Insurance Code for Companies

The National Social Security Institute (NSSI) shall transfer 60 percent of the amount of the insurance income for the month of January 2020 for insured persons under Article 4, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Social Insurance Code (SIC) from contributors (employers). This measure is envisioned for the duration of the Act on Measures and Actions During the State of Emergency, but for a period not exceeding 3 (three) months. The specific criteria to be met by the contributors are anticipated to be established by an act of the Council of Ministers.

Eligible contributors shall receive the disbursed funds within 5 (five) business days following a formal notification from the Employment Agency to the NSSI, subject to prior approval by the Agency.

The law explicitly provides that in the event of a failure to pay the full labor remuneration to the employees, the contributor/employer shall be legally required to reimburse the NSSI for the funds disbursed.

Both a decree of the Council of Ministers defining the eligibility criteria and the subsequent administrative procedures—including orders and application templates approved by the Employment Agency and the NSSI for applying for and granting the funds—are currently pending.

Author:

Attorney-at-Law Iva Nikolova