Labor law changes with the end of the epidemiological situation

The Hungarian National Assembly passed the Emergency Response Act, which entered into force on 18 June 2020. With a few exceptions, the labor law rules established in the event of an epidemiological emergency expired on 1 July, so it is necessary to return to the application of pre-emergency rules from there.

The following rules are really worth noting:

-  The requirement to communicate the working schedule - the modified working schedule must be notified at least ninety-six hours before the start of the daily working time according to the schedule, so that it does not qualify as extraordinary work.

-    Unilateral ordering of telework / home office: companies that want to continue to employ their employees from home or telework must agree this with their employees. In addition, it may be necessary to review policies for long-term, long-term and regular work from home and carry out a risk assessment of them.

-   During the emergency, employers had the option of unilaterally ordering a working time frame for a period of up to 24 months instead of a maximum of 6 months under the Hungarian Labor Code. The working time frame thus ordered during the emergency is not affected by the cessation of the emergency, but it is not possible to order a working time frame exceeding 6 months after the entry into force of the law (after 18 June). This can be deviated from in one case: in the case of a new job-creating investment, the Minister responsible for employment policy may, if its implementation is in the national economic interest, allow a working time limit of up to 24 months or an accounting period.

The transitional rules for social security tax and contribution reliefs also ended on 1 July.

Exceptions are job retention benefits introduced during emergencies (state supports in the case of reduced working hours and for research and development workers), which can be claimed until 31 August 2020 and can be used until the end of the year.

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