EUROPEAN EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE 2020 EDITION INTRODUCTION Our annual Employment In the 2020 edition of our European security contributions were also a hot Law Update aims to help Employment Law Update, we look topic with Cyprus’ Social Insurance organisations with a pan- at the most important legislative Fund and Belgium’s National Social changes from 2019, focusing Security Office strengthening their European presence keep on those that are likely to affect positions following a Supreme Court up-to-date with changes to businesses in the coming year. This decision. We also see some positive legislation and best practice. guide compiles updates from 34 progress on parental leave in Estonia, leading law firms and aims to assist Ireland, the UK, and in Austria ‘daddy organisations with a pan-European month’ has been introduced. In presence in keeping up-to-date Romania, employees undergoing with changes to legislation and best IVF now receive an additional, paid, practice. three-day rest leave per year. We continue to see jurisdictions We do hope that you find the latest across Europe dealing with a variety edition of the update useful. We have of employment law issues, from included contact details for all those implementing changes in relation to who have contributed, so please feel discrete laws to managing political free to contact any of our contributors uncertainty, and introducing or if you have any questions or require preparing for more substantial further information. changes to underlying labour law frameworks. Neil Maclean, Shepherd and There are a number of similarities Wedderburn LLP, Head of across the jurisdictions involved Employment in the update. Regulation on the taxation of independent contractors has been introduced in both the UK This brochure contains a summary of general and Russia. Another common theme principles of law. It is not a substitute for specific legal advice, which should be sought is holiday entitlement including new in relation to any application of the subject acts in Denmark and Finland. Social matter of this brochure. 2 CONTENTS FINLAND PAGE 11 ICELAND NORWAY PAGE 16 PAGE 24 SWEDEN PAGE 32 ESTONIA PAGE 10 DENMARK LATVIA PAGE 9 PAGE 19 RUSSIA PAGE 28 UK PAGE 36 IRELAND PAGE 17 POLAND NETHERLANDS PAGE 25 PAGE 22 LITHUANIA BELGIUM PAGE 20 GERMANY PAGE 5 PAGE 13 UKRAINE AUSTRIA PAGE 35 PAGE 4 FRANCE CZECH PAGE 12 REPUBLIC PAGE 8 HUNGARY SWITZERLAND PAGE 15 PAGE 33 ROMANIA PAGE 27 SLOVENIA PAGE 30 SERBIA PAGE 29 SPAIN PAGE 31 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA PAGE 6 NORTH TURKEY PORTUGAL MACEDONIA PAGE 34 PAGE 26 PAGE 23 CYPRUS GREECE PAGE 7 PAGE 14 ITALY PAGE 18 MONTENEGRO PAGE 21 AUSTRIA Personal holiday entitled to another personal holiday in the after the end of their period of paternity On 22 January 2019, the European current holiday year. The day worked is not leave. Court of Justice ruled that the Austrian considered a holiday and has no effect on During the Daddy Month the employer is legislation under which Good Friday is a their remaining holiday entitlement. not obliged to continue to pay the father. public holiday only for employees who are Recognition of maternity/ The father may, however, be entitled to state members of certain Christian churches, paternity leave benefits under certain circumstances. and consequently only these employees (if On 1 August 2019, an amendment to the required to work on that public holiday) are Maternity Protection Act came into force. entitled to additional payment, constitutes The amendment states that maternity and direct discrimination on the grounds of paternity leave of up to 24 months per child religion. will count towards their years of service for all employment claims where length of As a result of this ruling, the Austrian service is a factor. legislator created a personal holiday for all employees to prevent employers from being Previously, periods of maternity and required to grant a paid public holiday on paternity leave had only been taken into Good Friday to every employee. account for the first child up to a maximum of 10 months and, moreover, only for certain Once per holiday year, employees can entitlements, namely notice period, holiday unilaterally determine one day that will entitlement and continued remuneration in be considered their personal holiday. In the event of sick leave. contrast to a regular holiday, while the employer can ask the employee not to take This amendment applies to all employees a particular day off, the employee is free to whose child was born on or after 1 August deny such a request, even if their presence 2019. at work would be necessary for operational reasons. Daddy Month The Austrian Paternity Leave Act was also The introduction of the personal holiday recently amended. Fathers are now legally did not lead to any increase in the statutory entitled to one month off work following the vacation entitlement of 25 days per year birth of their child, if they are living in the (rising to 30 days for employees with same household as the mother. at least 25 years’ service). Instead, it is deducted from an employee’s existing Employees who take up their right to what holiday entitlement. is known colloquially as ‘Daddy Month’ enjoy special protection against dismissal. If, at the employer’s request, the employee The protection begins with the employee’s carries out work during their personal announcement or a later agreement, but holiday, then the employee is entitled to be at the earliest four months before the remunerated for the work they performed expected date of birth and ends four weeks in addition to their regular (holiday) pay for that day. The employee is not, however, Thomas Angermair Partner T +43 15 33 4795 24 E [email protected] 4 BELGIUM Social security contributions on the NSSO will use the Supreme Court’s New outplacement scheme share-related benefits granted judgment to strengthen its position and will for medical force majeure by a foreign parent company proceed with the levying of social security Until recently, workers who were dismissed Until recently, the National Social Security contributions on benefits granted by a could only claim outplacement support Office (NSSO) accepted that if a foreign parent company to a Belgian subsidiary’s (the provision of assistance to redundant parent company attributed benefits (shares, employees “as the counterpart for the work employees in finding new employment) if restricted stock units (RSUs) etc.) directly to performed”. they were either entitled to a notice period its Belgian subsidiary’s employees without The 2020 social elections of at least 30 weeks (general scheme) or the costs being charged to the latter, or are on their way if they were at least 45 years old with at the latter serving as a ‘point of contact’ to least one year’s service (special scheme). Every four years, Belgian companies must which the Belgian employees could turn (i.e. Recently, a third scheme has been added hold employee elections to select the if the Belgian employees could not claim for employees whose employment ends members of their Works Council and the the payment from their employer), then the due to medical force majeure, invoked by Committee for Prevention and Protection shares or RSUs could be granted without the employer. at Work. The former applies to companies having to pay social security contributions. with at least 50 employees and the latter to It can be invoked without the employer In September 2018, the NSSO caused companies with at least 100 employees. needing to serve notice upon or pay an a ‘minor earthquake’ by substantially indemnity in lieu of notice to the employee The next elections will take place in May broadening its interpretation of ‘salary’ if, after having followed a reintegration 2020. However, for employers, work started subject to social security contributions. As procedure, it has been established that in mid-December 2019, the beginning of a result, benefits in general, and shares the employee is permanently incapable a 150-day procedure that precedes the and RSUs in particular, attributed by a ‘third of performing their job and reintegration election date and during which action is party’ (e.g. a foreign parent company) to the appears impossible or has failed. expected from employers on a regular employees of a Belgian (group) company basis. will be subject to Belgian social security contributions, even if the grant took place With every social election the legislator without the Belgian company ‘intervening’ introduces a number of new features. The in any way. most important ones for the 2020 elections are: This NSSO interpretation followed a Brussels Labour Court of Appeal (CoA) ▪ the right to vote for temporary agency judgment in 2018 concerning commissions workers, subject to certain conditions; granted by a ‘third party’. The CoA stated that since these commissions were ▪ the election procedure will be further granted “as the counterpart for the work digitalised and made GDPR-compliant; performed”, they were subject to social and security contributions, despite the fact that the employee was not entitled to claim this ▪ employees no longer have to attend a remuneration directly from their employer. polling station as they can vote using a laptop or PC via a carrier connected to a In May 2019, the Supreme Court confirmed secure network. the CoA judgment. It is expected that Philippe De Wulf Partner T +32 2 426 14 14 E [email protected] 5 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Interpretation issues in the exception to the preliminary procedure is it reasonable to burden the courts with the Federation of Bosnia whereas financial claims were no longer this number of procedures? and Herzegovina exempt. At the same time, the statute of There were no significant changes to labour limitation period of three years for financial The amendments remain in force despite a regulations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in claims was not amended.