Text file: 10363.txt
author: Ana Sols
downvotes: 1
end consideration date: 2019-10-09
id: '10363'
number comments: 4
number views: 604
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities\n\
  The Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia (hereafter: IRSD) carries out\
  \ inspections in the field of labour relations, occupational safety and health and\
  \ social protection.\nThe IRSD is a body within the Ministry of Labour, Family,\
  \ Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The general principles of inspection,\
  \ the organisation of inspectorates, the position, rights and duties of inspectors,\
  \ their powers, the inspection procedure, inspection measures and other issues related\
  \ to inspection are regulated by the Labour Inspection Act (hereinafter: LIA-1)\
  \ and the Inspection Control Act (hereinafter: ICA).\nPursuant to Article 2 of the\
  \ LIA-1, the IRSD performs inspection control tasks over the implementation of laws,\
  \ regulations, collective agreements and general acts in the fields of occupational\
  \ safety and health, labour relations, minimum wage, labour market and employment,\
  \ labour and employment of foreigners, workers' participation in management and\
  \ strikes, unless otherwise provided by law. The Inspectorate also inspects the\
  \ implementation of other laws and regulations, where these so provide.  \nThe IRSD\
  \ is also the offence authority under the Offences Act.\nIn their work, IRSD inspectors\
  \ strive to be present in the field as often as possible, while endeavouring to\
  \ complete inspections as quickly as possible, without unnecessarily prolonging\
  \ or delaying proceedings, but not to the detriment of the legality of the operation.\
  \ In carrying out direct inspection or in exercising their powers, they shall intervene\
  \ in the activities of legal and natural persons only to the extent strictly necessary\
  \ to ensure the effectiveness of the inspection. They decide to sanction offenders\
  \ in particular in cases where they find that safety is at risk or that the fundamental\
  \ rights of workers are at stake, especially in cases where employers continue to\
  \ commit violations despite a warning from the inspector. When imposing measures,\
  \ they take into account the gravity of the infringement and therefore impose more\
  \ favourable measures if they consider that this achieves the purpose of the sanction.\n\
  One of the IRSD's objectives is to be able to act primarily as a preventive measure\
  \ in the future. But in order to achieve this objective, the IRSD must first of\
  \ all also take action against employers who deliberately break the law by consistently\
  \ exercising its role as an offence authority in the event of offences being detected,\
  \ including by means of a range of fines, and aiming to ensure that such measures\
  \ are primarily a warning to employers so that they do not go unpunished in the\
  \ event of infringements. Nevertheless, inspectors also try to act preventively\
  \ by warning and advising.\nThe Labour Relations Act (hereinafter: \"LRA-1\"), which\
  \ essentially (also on the basis of EU directives) regulates employment relationships,\
  \ which are concluded by means of an employment contract between an employee and\
  \ an employer, and, among other things, determines the manner in which rights, obligations\
  \ and liabilities arising from the employment relationship are exercised and protected.\
  \ Article 135 of the ZDR-1 thus provides that, in relation to the payment of wages\
  \ and other remuneration shown in the written pay slip, the employee may seek judicial\
  \ enforcement against the employer. At the same time, however, Article 200(4) of\
  \ the ZDR-1 provides that the employee may therefore enforce monetary claims arising\
  \ out of the employment relationship directly before the competent labour court,\
  \ without first having to assert the right or remedy the breach in writing with\
  \ the employer.\nIn 2018, inspectors carried out 12,928 inspections, of which 6,879\
  \ were in the field of labour relations monitoring,\nIn all three areas of the Inspectorate's\
  \ work, inspectors identified 24,363 different infringements in 2018, issuing 10,481\
  \ administrative and infringement measures, 35 suspected offence reports and criminal\
  \ charges. Fines amounting to \u20AC3,833,344.66 were issued.\nIn the field of labour\
  \ relations, 5,050 new reports were received in 2018, only slightly fewer than in\
  \ the previous calendar year (5,573), and inspectors found 10,103 breaches of labour\
  \ law during their inspections.\nSince 2009, inspectors have found the highest proportion\
  \ of infringements in the area of pay for work. In 2018, inspectors found 5,538\
  \ breaches of pay for work, accounting for more than 50% of all breaches in the\
  \ field of labour relations monitoring. Among all pay violations, the most notable\
  \ were payday violations (2,332 violations), which are not only cases of non-payment\
  \ of wages but also often cases where wages are not paid on time. There were also\
  \ a large number of infringements concerning annual leave entitlements (1 926 infringements).\n\
  The second highest number of infringements in the field of employment relations\
  \ is related to employment in the broad sense (1 288 infringements), followed by\
  \ infringements relating to labour and social security records (935 infringements)\
  \ and infringements relating to working time and the provision of breaks and rest\
  \ periods (674 infringements). Infringements of the Law on Labour and Social Security\
  \ Records (hereinafter: LSSR) are more frequently detected than infringements concerning\
  \ working time and rest periods, which does not reflect the actual situation of\
  \ compliance with the provisions in these segments.\nThe supervision of the implementation\
  \ of the HPA-1, by-laws, collective agreements and general acts of the employer\
  \ regulating labour relations is carried out by the IRSD in accordance with the\
  \ regulations governing inspection supervision. They issue regulatory and prohibition\
  \ decisions in respect of breaches of these regulations. Decisions of labour inspectors\
  \ are administrative decisions, which are subject to the system of legal remedies\
  \ regulated by the Law on General Administrative Procedure and the Law on Administrative\
  \ Disputes.\nThe supervisory and judicial authorities have different tasks and competences\
  \ in the performance of their duties. For example, when a right is violated and\
  \ there is a dispute as to the exercise or extent of the exercise of that right,\
  \ the Labour Court has the exclusive competence to decide on such disputes on the\
  \ basis of the Labour and Social Courts Act and the principles of litigation which\
  \ are more appropriate for the enforcement of such rights.\nIn the light of the\
  \ above, we consider that the current regime regarding the competence of the IRSD\
  \ for labour is adequate and there are no compelling reasons to change it. Notwithstanding\
  \ the above, further efforts will be made to create the conditions for more effective\
  \ work of the IRSD, both in terms of the legislative framework and the organisational\
  \ aspect, while also taking into account all international and European legal norms.\
  \ We would also point out that legal protection must be guaranteed for all parties\
  \ to the proceedings, both in the administrative and in the infringement procedure."
response date: 2019-11-19
response due date: null
sent date: 2019-09-06
title: Increased powers for labour inspections
upvotes: 24
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/10363
