In its recent judgment, the Hungarian Supreme Court addressed the question whether the immediate termination is lawful if it refers to several minor infringements of the employee already sanctioned by the employer prior to the termination. In our short article we analyse the decision of the Supreme Court and the relevant judicial practice.
The non-compete agreement may provide protection of the legitimate economic interests of the employer even after the termination of employment relationship. However, the Hungarian Labour Code lays down strict requirements for the agreement. In our article we analyse a recent decision of the Supreme Court about the importance of the precise determination of the compensation, so you as an employer can conclude a valid non-compete agreement.
Our Colleague, Anita Vereb made a presentation at the debate meeting of the Hungarian Labour Law Association called „The right to freedom of expression in the employment relationship” about the court practice of employee opinions published on social media platforms.
In the recent weeks, a number of questions have been arisen whether the employer may know the data contained by the „immunity card”, which aim is to certify immunity to coronavirus. Is the employer entitled to request information from the employee regarding the immunity card or store the information concerning its employee? In this article we answer the above questions on the basis of the information („Information”) of Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
In its recent decision, the Curia dealt with questions, which may affect many employer in Hungary. Whether the non-compete clause of an employment contract, obliging the employee to pay a fixed amount damages in case of breach of the non-competition agreement, is valid? We analyse the decision in our short article.
In its recent decision, the Curia dealt with the issue concerning what are the consequences if you fail to put in writing the employment contract which contains a probationary period clause. Is the probationary period clause valid or invalid in that case? We analyse the decision in our short article and answer the question above.
From September 2020 the rules, which regulate the status of the adult educators and the organisation of adult educations have changed. There are significantly more educations, which are considered as adult education and performing an adult education entails a lot more obligation. The changes affect almost every employer who organises certain kind of educations for its employees. We summarize the most important changes concerning the adult education.
The parties usually establish the employment relationship for an unlimited period. However, in certain cases, for various reasons, like business or organisational considerations, it seems to be better to conclude a fixed-term labour contract. In this article we summarize what you as an employer shall consider in Hungary in case you would hire someone for a fixed period.
What are the main risks if you employ your staff at different employer, within or outside the company group? Is that a new legal relationship, is remuneration payable for that, or the “good old” labour contract can cover this situation? In a recent judgement the Hungarian Supreme Court Curia addressed these questions. In our short article we analyse the judgement and summarize what you as an employer should consider if you would like to temporary reassign your employee.
In a judgement published recently, the Curia examined the question whether it may be the justified reason of the extraordinary dismissal if the employee operates a webpage closely related to one of the activities of the employer. In our short article we summarize the decision of the Curia and shortly analyse what lessons you as an employer can learn from this case.
In the difficult economic situation triggered by the coronavirus in several European countries the state takes over the payment of certain part of the employees’ salaries. Based on the government decree published on Good Friday, and already modified on 21st April, finally there is a possibility in Hungary as well to request support from the State in case of employment in reduced working time. In this article we summarize the characteristics of the support and the most important eligibility criteria.
The coronavirus is already having its unfortunate impacts in the whole world and there is almost no sector which has not been rocked by the effects of the virus. In this rather difficult situation, it is questionable for the employer how to manage their resources and how to protect their employees. The decree of the government effective from 19th March 2020 gives certain tools to the employers which may help them to optimize their operations and to defend their employees. In our short article we summarize these measures.
The coronavirus has appeared in Hungary as well: when writing this article 9 infected and 67 quarantined persons are registered. Because of the virus, the employers may have headaches, too since often it is not obvious how the situation shall be handled from labour law perspective. In this short article we explain the relevant legal provisions by presenting some typical cases.
In its recently published decision, the Hungarian Data Protection Authority (NAIH) has dealt with the questions of the usage of the corporate email account for private purposes and the monitoring of the e-mail account. As the topic can affect every employer, who provides an e-mail account for its employees for working purposes, we summarize the most important conclusions of the decision in our short article.
How to balance between the employer’s business interests and the employee’s right to freedom of expression? Can the employer restrict the employee’s freedom of expression and terminate his employment because of a blogpost? The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) addressed these questions in his fresh judgement brought in the case of a Hungarian applicant. In this short article we summarize the facts of the case and the findings of the Court.
During this summer, the Hungarian Supreme Court (Curia) made a judgement in a case, where the central question was whether the monitoring of the employee’s own cell phone used for job-related purposes by the employer was lawful. Although the legal framework was slightly modified lately because of the entering into force of the GDPR, the case can offer important lessons. Read our short article if you would like to know whether you can monitor your employee’s cell phone which he uses for job related purposes.
Are you negotiating on salary with a new colleague in Hungary? Even if salary is subject to free negotiation, a higher salary for the same work can cause a tension in wage levels. In our short article we summarize the fresh decision of the Curia which can serve as a compass in relation with the applicability of the equal pay principle.
In a fresh judgement of the Curia the main question was how to define the working place in the labour contract. At first sight, this seems quite simple and it might be surprising why such a question needed to be decided by the highest forum. However, from our article summarizing the decisions of the Curia you will see that even a simple question can be misunderstood and can cost a fortune for the employer.
Can the executive employee undertake a non-competition obligation after the termination of the employment for free? It seems that the Hungarian Supreme Court finds the limits of party autonomy elsewhere than the legislator. We summarise the merits of the judgment in our article.
In his fresh article the Guardian reported that a Japanese lady logged 159 hours of overtime in one month which lead to her death. In Japan this is not an isolated case, they even have a word for the death from overwork called ‘karoshi’. Of course, this is an extreme situation and European work culture is different. Nevertheless, it is worth to read the 4 must-knows about the legal conditions of overtime work in Hungary.
Nowadays we cannot imagine a workplace without Internet and e-mailing. Besides the countless benefits of these tools, the use of digital technology also carries significant risks for employers. Given that the Hungarian labour law is left behind by the faster-than-light developing new digital word, employers have to keep the pace in order to avoid future labour disputes. In this short article we tell you the five most important reasons why your company should have an Internet and E-mail policy.
In a very fresh judgement, the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights ruled that employers can monitor their employees’ messages only within certain limits. This judgement gave me the idea to collect 5 areas of the employment relationship where personal data of employees may be collected and processed and thus the principles of the GDPR such as lawfulness or purpose limitation should be taken into account.
In Hungary, executives are a special group among the employees with a special labour-law regime. In this article we summarise the must-knows before hiring an executive officer under the Hungarian labour law regime as an employee.
I bet you know the situation when your employee calls in sick but you suspect that he is not actually ill. You are between a rock and a hard place. If you are not sympathetic with a truly ill employee, you will be the worst boss ever. But if you do not take actions against the employee who is not truly ill, workplace productivity and employee morale may suffer. Here is what you can and cannot do with sick-leave abusers in Hungary.
Recently, more and more clients complain about employees who are resigning orally or without giving the necessary notice period. Unlawful resignation causes uncertainties, inconvenience or in the worst case, serious damages to the employer. In this short article, we collected the four must-knows about unlawful employee resignation in Hungary.
Learn from others' mistake by reading the summary of a very fresh decision of the Supreme Court about an ordinary dismissal.
Based on recent surveys among employers, empathy, compromising skills and flexibility are the main advantages of hiring female employees, while pregnancy and child-related parental leave cause the vast majority of labour issues in Hungary. Since expectant female workers and mothers enjoy special protection under the Hungarian Labour Code we sum up the must-knows for employers in this domain.
Wage costs represent significant part of the corporate expenditures. While employers are interested in decreasing these amounts, it is hardly reconcilable with employees’ interests to achieve higher salary. Given that salary is one of the most important motivating force, besides complying with the Labour Code, employers should avoid demotivating their workforce. In this short summary we gathered 5 tips how you can reduce your company’s labour costs without demotivating your employees and violating the Labour Code.
Wrongful termination of an employment contract is the most common trigger for lawsuits arising out of labour relationships. The following guide summarizes the most important rules of firing an employee in Hungary in order to help you to reduce your company’s exposure for unlawful firings and lower the risks of a costly labour litigation.
One of the simplest ways to communicate basic yet important information and policies to employees is through the employee handbook. While a well-written employee handbook serves to proactively confirm company policies and it can be also a litigation prevention tool, not too many employers have one. In this short article we tell you what exactly an employee handbook is, why you should have one and some tips about what to include in your employee handbook.