The employment relation shall be established by an employment contract which shall be concluded between an employee and an employer. The employment contract shall be considered concluded when signed by the employee and the director or entrepreneur. The employment contract instead of directors or entrepreneurs may sign and employees who are authorized by them, while employee must conclude employment contract in person.
Employer and employee may conclude an employment contract either for a indefinite or definite period of time and if in the employment contract has not been determined the period of time of its validity, it shall be considered that such a contract has been concluded for an indefinite period.
The obligation of the employer and employee is to conclude the employment contract exclusively in writing before the beginning of work of the employee. Should an employer fail to conclude the employment contract with an employee before his beginning of work, it shall be considered that the employee has established the employment relation for an indefinite period of time – as of the day of taking the job.
An employee shall realise the rights and duties deriving from employment relation as of the day of beginning of work. Should an employee fail to begin working on the day specified by the employment contract, it shall be considered that he has not established the employment relation, unless he was prevented from beginning to work due to justifiable reasons, or unless the employer and the employee agree otherwise.
Mandatory elements of the employment contract
By its scope, the employment contracts can be divided into two basic groups:
- contracts which have been concluded with the employer where the labor relations aren’t regulated by the general act (labour rule book or collective agreement), and
- employment contracts which have been concluded with the employer where a general act is adopted and where the rights, obligations and responsibilities of employees have been regulated by general act.
By the provisions of Article 33 the Labour law establishes framework of the minimum of the mandatory elements that every contract in itself should contain, no matter what the content of the employment contract as a legal act is not strictly defined by a legal regulation.
According to the provisions of Article 33 of the Labour law the mandatory elements of the employment contract are:
- Name and seat of the employer
- Personal name of the employee, permanent or temporary residence of the employee
- Type and level of qualification, or education of the employee, which are necessary for carrying out the activities for which the employment contract is concluded
- Name and description of activities the employee shall perform;
Place of work - Type of employment (for an indefinite or definite period of time)
- Duration of the employment contract for a definite period of time, and the reasons why such employment was concluded
- Date of commencement of work
- Working hours (full-time, part-time or reduced)
- Pecuniary amount of basic earnings at the date of conclusion of the employment contract
- Elements for determining basic earnings, work performance, compensation of earnings, increased earnings and other income of the employee
- Deadlines for payment of salaries and other income to which the employee is entitled
- Duration of daily and weekly working hours.
The employment contract does not have to contain elements as follows:
- Elements for determining basic earnings, work performance, compensation of earnings, increased earnings and other income of the employee
- Deadlines for payment of salaries and other income to which the employee is entitled
- Duration of daily and weekly working hours.
if they are determined by the Labour law, collective agreement, labour rule book, or any other act of the employer in accordance with the Labour law, in which case the contract must specify the act in which such rights were determined at the time of conclusion of the employment contract.
The relevant provisions of the Labour law and general act shall apply to the rights and obligations which were not specified by the employment contract.
According to the provisions of Article 34 of the Labor law, an employee shall realise the rights and duties deriving from employment relation as of the day of beginning of work. The obligation to determine the exact day of beginning of work of the employee by the employment contract is important because the employment contract must be concluded prior to its bigining of work, and the day of conclusion may be several days before the day which is set for the begining of work.
Establishment of the day of beginning of work of the employee is of exeptional importance, because from that day perform legal consequences or acquisition of rights, obligations and responsibilities of the employee and the employer, and also such date is important for the relevant organization of mandatory social insurance, which in its registry records such date notes as the day of the begining of insurance.
Naturally, if an employee fail to begin working on the day specified by the employment contract, it shall be considered that he has not established the employment relation. The exception to this rule is a situation where the employee was prevented from beginning to work due to justifiable reasons, or if the employer and the employee have agreed otherwise.
By the Labour law has established the rule that null and void shall be particular provisions of an employment contract which stipulate less favourable conditions of labour than the ones established by law and general act, and/or are based on incorrect information, communicated by the employer, regarding the particular rights, duties and responsibilities of the employee (Article 9) as well as that the nullity of provisions of an employment contract shall be determined before a competent court.
If a general act which regulating labor relations have been adopted by the employer (collective agreement or Labour rule book), then the contract can be more concise and contain only those provisions that concretize its certain specific aspects such as a bar to competition clause, the notice period, which is due to the specific status and importance of the employee to the employer stated in longer duration than that provided for in Article 178, paragraph 2 of the Labour law.
If with the employer don’t exist a general act which regulates the rights, obligations and responsibilities of employees, in this case there is no possibility provided for by Article 33, paragraph 2 of the Labour law (invoking to a collective agreement or the Labour rule book, which is in force), and therefore it is necessary that the employment contract also contains other non-specific provisions such as eg. criterias for determining the length of annual leave, cases and duration of the paid leave, the right to other incomes (Article 119), the determination of the amount of property of greater value with the temporary suspension from work because the employees commited a breach of a work duty which endangers valuable property (Article 165), cases of a breach of a work duty why the employment contract may be canceled to the employee and more.
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