With the State Gazette № 41 have been adopted amendments to the Ordinance on working hours, breaks and holidays. Its purpose is to refine the legislation regarding the calculation on working time in aggregate. The new changes shall be effective from 1 January 2018. They clarify the way in which the regime of aggregated working time will operate. Practically, these rules now detail the procedure for preparing and implementing work schedules, changes to work schedules and the calculation of accomplished work at the end of the aggregated period.

Below are summarized the main changes:

  • new regulations regarding the schedules for calculation on working hours in aggregate – once employers approve preliminary working schedules to be adopted for the aggregated work period, they must now inform employees of these working schedules, prior to when the scheduled work starts.
  • a norm for duration of working hours is introduced – the aggregated working time is now fixed in hours and if at the end of the aggregated working period, the total number of working hours exceeds the statutory working time, the employer must pay the employee overtime.
  •  a new consideration of a ‘working time’ – days off, including annual paid leave or sick leave will no longer be treated as a ‘working time’ and will evoke a recalculation of the respective. The employers will no longer have to pay the additional overtime rates that often occurred when leave was calculated as working time, in addition to the usual hours.
  • non-observance of the work schedule – even if the employee has worked less than the work schedule, the employer will be required to pay them the entire agreed remuneration, unless the employee intentionally does not come to work.

We remain at your disposal in case of questions.

Yours sincerely,

Sb Team