New Rights to Improve Work-Life Balance, Flexible Work Arrangements and Transparent Working Conditions

Law no. 283/2022 for the amendment and completion of the Labor Code (“Law no. 283/2022”) is to enter into force, bringing important changes in the matter of labor relations.

The rules set out standards for paternity, parental and carers’ leave and establish additional rights, such as the right to request flexible working arrangements, which will help people develop their careers and family life without having to sacrifice either.

Key details include new rights for employees, such as:

• the right to be informed, prior to employment, about new aspects regarding the employment relationship, including the employer’s bearing of private medical insurance, additional contributions to the employee’s optional pension or occupational pension;
• the right to request a transfer to a vacant position that provides the employee more favorable working conditions, in case the employee meets certain conditions;
• the right to request the employer in certain cases to additionally present, in writing, the reasons on which the dismissal decision was based;
• the right to be absent from work for a maximum period of 10 working days in a calendar year, if unforeseen situations occure;
• the right to benefit from carer’s leave with a duration of 5 working days in a calendar year.

NEW: Notable changes to the Labor Code:

• the duration of the work can be expressed only in hours/week without the need to specify it in hours/day;
• it is expressly prohibited to overlap the work schedules of employees who have individual employment contracts with the same employer or with different employers;
• it is expressly regulated the right of employees to paternity leave and the correlative obligation of the employer to grant this right, regardless of the period of activity provided or the length of service of the employee;
• establishing a new probationary period is prohibited if, within 12 months, a new individual employment contract is concluded between the same parties for the same position and with the same duties;
• when determining the duration of annual leave, there are also considered periods of activity: the periods of temporary incapacity for work, those related to maternity leave, paternity leave, maternal risk leave, leave for caring for a sick child, carer’s leave and the period of absence from the workplace in unforeseen situations determined by a family emergency;
• it is expressly regulated the “Carer’s leave” as the leave granted to employees to provide care or personal support to a relative or a person who lives in the same household as the employee and who needs care or support as a result of a serious medical problem.

Employers should continue to monitor developments to remain compliant while reviewing the potential impact of the amendments on their policies and practices.