Parental leave will be introduced, paternity leave will be expanded, the provisions on abuse of rights will be supplemented, and employers will face broader information obligations. Yet not everyone is satisfied.<\/p>\n
The implementation of EU Directives 2019\/1152 and 2019\/1158 brings significant changes to the Hungarian Labour Code effective from 1 January 2023.<\/p>\n
These directives aim to promote:<\/p>\n
Let’s take a look at the key changes.<\/p>\n
A primary objective of Directive 2019\/1158 is to ensure equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women in the labour market by facilitating a better balance between the work and family lives of working parents and carers.<\/p>\n
Paternity leave is a period of leave granted to fathers and equivalent co-parents following the birth of a child to enable them to provide care.<\/p>\n
As a result of the amendment:<\/p>\n
Employers may nevertheless choose to grant longer leave periods or continue paying the employee’s full salary.<\/p>\n
The granting of paternity leave may not be postponed, and from January onwards employers may no longer interrupt or recall employees from paternity leave.<\/p>\n
Remarkably, an employee remains entitled to paternity leave even if the child is stillborn or dies.<\/p>\n
Parental leave is a newly introduced legal institution providing leave to parents following the birth or adoption of a child for childcare purposes.<\/p>\n
Until the child reaches the age of three:<\/p>\n
Employees taking parental leave are entitled to 10% of their absence pay.<\/p>\n
Social security contributions must still be paid on an amount equivalent to at least 30% of the minimum wage, even where the actual remuneration falls below that threshold. In addition, the amounts received as child care benefits (GYED and GYES) are deducted from the parental leave payment.<\/p>\n
As with paternity leave:<\/p>\n
Carer’s leave allows employees to provide personal care or support to:<\/p>\n
The entitlement amounts to five working days.<\/p>\n
Since this is not a conventional paid leave entitlement but rather an excused absence:<\/p>\n
The need for care must be certified by the treating physician of the person requiring care.<\/p>\n
From January onwards, employees:<\/p>\n
may submit a written and reasoned request asking their employer to provide:<\/p>\n
a) a different place of work;
\nb) a different working schedule;
\nc) remote working arrangements; or
\nd) part-time employment.<\/p>\n
The employer must respond within 15 days.<\/p>\n
If the request is rejected:<\/p>\n
Where:<\/p>\n
a court may substitute the employer’s consent for the employment contract amendment. The employee must then be employed under the requested conditions, and any losses suffered due to an unlawful refusal must be compensated.<\/p>\n
Employers may refuse or postpone already approved parental leave by up to 60 days<\/strong> if granting the leave during the requested period would seriously disrupt the proper operation of the business due to exceptional economic interests or significant operational reasons.<\/p>\n In such cases, employers are subject to obligations relating to:<\/p>\n The amendments codify established judicial practice.<\/p>\n In addition to incapacity for work (such as illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding, etc.), employees will be exempt from their duty of availability during:<\/p>\n Directive 2019\/1158 provides protection against dismissal where an employee:<\/p>\n The new rules therefore require employers to provide reasons for termination even in situations where no justification would otherwise be required, such as:<\/p>\n For example, if an employer terminates an employee’s employment because they wished to take one of the new forms of leave or sought to amend their employment terms, the employer must provide the reasons for termination within 15 days<\/strong> from 1 January onwards.<\/p>\n EU Member States must ensure protection against discrimination and unfavourable treatment by employers.<\/p>\n An abuse of rights occurs where a legal right is exercised in a manner contrary to its intended purpose. Alongside the principle of good-faith exercise of rights, the prohibition of abuse of rights is a fundamental principle of labour law.<\/p>\n Conduct that may constitute abuse of rights includes behaviour aimed at:<\/p>\n The law also confirms the courts’ authority to substitute a required legal declaration where one party unlawfully refuses to make a declaration required under employment legislation.<\/p>\n Given the inherently hierarchical nature of employment relationships, where employers generally possess broader powers of direction, instruction and supervision, the implementing legislation seeks to strengthen employees’ ability to enforce their rights.<\/p>\n The new provision (Section 7(3) of the Labour Code) provides that:<\/p>\n Member States must ensure that employers provide employees with written information regarding the essential aspects of the employment relationship.<\/p>\n As a result:<\/p>\n The previously required information remains in place, supplemented by the following:<\/p>\n Where foreign assignments are expected to exceed 15 days, employees must additionally be informed within 7 days about:<\/p>\n It is clear that, as a consequence of complying with the above EU directives, the Hungarian Labour Code underwent significant changes in 2023. It is therefore particularly important for both employers and employees to obtain professional legal advice whenever labour law issues arise.<\/p>\n If you still have questions after reading this article, please do not hesitate to contact our firm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Parental leave will be introduced, paternity leave will be expanded, the provisions on abuse of rights will be supplemented, and employers will face broader information obligations. Yet not everyone is satisfied. The implementation of EU Directives 2019\/1152 and 2019\/1158 brings significant changes to the Hungarian Labour Code effective from 1 January 2023. These directives aim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":55447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n
Exemption from Availability and Work Obligations<\/h2>\n
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Termination of Employment<\/h2>\n
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Abuse of Rights<\/h2>\n
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Broader Information Obligations<\/h2>\n
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What Information Must Be Provided?<\/h4>\n
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Employees Working Abroad<\/h4>\n
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Conclusion<\/h2>\n