Text file: 1060.txt
author: Anti NWO
downvotes: 9
end consideration date: 2010-10-07
id: '1060'
number comments: 21
number views: 12807
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs\nWe have\
  \ received your request to provide an appropriate response to the citizen's proposal\
  \ submitted via the www.predlagam.vladi.si online tool. The petitioner considers\
  \ that unemployed persons should be given the possibility to refuse a job offered\
  \ by the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia (hereafter: the Service)\
  \ for any reason, or that it should be specified under which conditions a job can\
  \ be refused and that these conditions should be communicated to all unemployed\
  \ persons who are referred for interviews. The proposal is based on the fact that\
  \ everyone has different reasons for refusing a job offer; it also lists these reasons\
  \ by way of example. He further proposes, inter alia, to allow conscientious objection\
  \ on religious or other grounds for refusing a job offer, as he considers that it\
  \ is not right to force people to attend all the interviews to which they are referred\
  \ by the institution. According to the petitioner, such a regulation would satisfy\
  \ both the persons registered with the institute and the employers, since the latter\
  \ would interview interested people, and the current regulation violates his constitutional\
  \ rights under Articles 34, 35, 37, 46 and, in particular, 49 of the Constitution\
  \ of the Republic of Slovenia.\nAccordingly, we provide you below with a brief analysis\
  \ of the existing regulation in the area, an analysis of the proposal itself and\
  \ our position on the proposal received:\n Analysis of the status quo\nThe obligation\
  \ of an unemployed person to accept suitable or appropriate employment is one of\
  \ the fundamental obligations of an unemployed person, which derives from the employment\
  \ plan as an agreement between the unemployed person and the institution on all\
  \ the activities envisaged for the unemployed person in the search for employment\
  \ and participation in active employment policy measures. Pursuant to the provisions\
  \ of the Regulation on more detailed rules for the fulfilment of the obligations\
  \ of unemployed persons and on the determination of the time of termination and\
  \ reduction of the right to unemployment benefit (Official Journal of the RS, No\
  \ 56/07; hereinafter referred to as the 'Regulation'), when a person is registered\
  \ in the register of unemployed persons, the institution shall, in accordance with\
  \ Article 17(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2000, enter the person in the unemployment\
  \ register.The person concerned shall be offered suitable employment before the\
  \ establishment of an employment plan, provided that suitable employment is available.\
  \ If no such employment is available, then, after three months have elapsed from\
  \ the date of entry in the register of unemployed persons, the institution may refer\
  \ the unemployed person to suitable employment in a job (i.e. a job requiring one\
  \ level of lower professional education), provided that there are no unemployed\
  \ persons for whom such employment would be suitable. Furthermore, after six months\
  \ from the date of entry in the register of unemployed persons, the institution\
  \ may refer such an unemployed person to a suitable job requiring two levels of\
  \ lower professional education, provided that there are no unemployed persons for\
  \ whom such a job would be suitable.\nAccording to Article 21(1) of the Regulation,\
  \ the unemployed person must:\n accept a referral for suitable employment, accept\
  \ a referral for suitable employment at one lower level after three months from\
  \ the date of entry in the register of unemployed persons, or at two lower levels\
  \ after six months from that entry, accept a referral for suitable employment, report\
  \ to the employer certifying the referral and deliver it, certified, to the institution\
  \ within three days from the date specified thereon, and, when arranging employment,\
  \ endeavour to obtain the employment to which he or she is referred.\nIf the unemployed\
  \ person is also a recipient of unemployment benefit, he/she must, pursuant to Article\
  \ 21(2) of the Regulation:\n accept a referral for suitable employment, accept a\
  \ referral for suitable employment in a job one level below after three months from\
  \ the date of entry in the register of unemployed persons, or in a job two levels\
  \ below after six months from that entry, accept a referral for suitable work under\
  \ a subcontract or a contract for the commissioning of author's work corresponding\
  \ to up to one level below the unemployed person's level and type of professional\
  \ qualification, accept a referral for suitable temporary or occasional humanitarian\
  \ or other similar work corresponding to up to one level below the level and type\
  \ of professional training of the unemployed person, report in accordance with the\
  \ referral to the employer who certifies it and deliver it, certified, to the institution\
  \ within three days of the date specified thereon, and, when arranging employment,\
  \ endeavour to obtain the job to which he or she is referred. \nIn accordance with\
  \ Article 21(3) of the Rules of Procedure, an unemployed person who is a recipient\
  \ of social assistance shall:\n accept a referral for suitable employment, accept\
  \ a referral for suitable employment in one step down after three months from the\
  \ date of entry in the register of unemployed persons, or in two steps down after\
  \ six months from that entry, accept a referral for each job, accept a referral\
  \ for suitable work under a sub-contract or a contract for the commissioning of\
  \ work, and suitable temporary or occasional humanitarian or other similar work\
  \ of a maximum duration of 56 hours per month, report to the employer certifying\
  \ the referral in accordance with the referral and deliver it, certified, to the\
  \ institution within three days of the date specified thereon, and, when arranging\
  \ employment, endeavour to obtain the job to which he or she is referred. \nArticle\
  \ 22 of the Regulations further provides for the possibility of refusing a referral\
  \ or employment or work on grounds of psychophysical unfitness or conscientious\
  \ objection (the latter only in the case of referral to any employment and suitable\
  \ work).\nOn the basis of the above-mentioned arrangement, the Institute agrees\
  \ with each unemployed person on his/her obligations in an individual employment\
  \ plan, which (inter alia) specifies the suitable and appropriate jobs for that\
  \ unemployed person and his/her employment objectives, which are taken into account\
  \ when referring that person to jobs. In addition, by signing the Job Placement\
  \ Plan, the unemployed person undertakes to independently and actively monitor vacancies\
  \ and to apply for suitable or suitable jobs in a timely manner. The fulfilment\
  \ of the obligations set out in the Job Plan is checked by the Employment Service\
  \ at each counselling interview and the Job Plan is updated accordingly. In the\
  \ event of non-fulfilment of the agreed commitments, the Employment Service will\
  \ take action. Each referral or notification of a vacancy is systematically recorded\
  \ in the Institute's information system, and the information on the candidates referred\
  \ and notified is also communicated by the Institute to the employers. This enables\
  \ the Job Centre to always know for certain whether the referred unemployed person\
  \ has attended an interview and/or has submitted a job application. At the same\
  \ time as informing the employer of the candidates referred, the Job Centre also\
  \ asks for feedback from the employer and, in cases where the feedback indicates\
  \ that the person has not made an effort to obtain a job, takes action in accordance\
  \ with the law. During the counselling interviews, the Job Centre also verifies\
  \ the fulfilment of the agreed obligation to search for a job on his/her own; it\
  \ thus requires the unemployed person to submit a notebook with information on jobs\
  \ and employers and copies of applications, on the basis of which the Job Centre\
  \ verifies (especially if the person is claiming job search costs) the fulfilment\
  \ of the said obligation by the unemployed person.  The Jobseeker's Centre refers\
  \ unemployed persons to employers only after further prior verification of the person's\
  \ competences, including motivation. In order to assess the candidate's readiness\
  \ to accept a job, the Job Centre often cooperates with employers in presenting\
  \ the requirements and conditions for filling the vacancy.\nWe would like to add\
  \ that as of 1 January 2011, the new Act on Labour Market Regulation (Official Gazette\
  \ of the Republic of Slovenia, No 80/10; hereafter: the LMA) will apply, which changes\
  \ the institution of suitable employment so that employment corresponding to the\
  \ type and up to one level below the level of education of the unemployed person\
  \ in relation to the corresponding employment will be considered as such. In our\
  \ view, this will significantly reduce the gap between the 'level' of the job to\
  \ which the unemployed person was posted and the actual qualifications of the unemployed\
  \ person, as compared to the previous regime, where the suitable employment could\
  \ be considered to be employment corresponding to a job classification up to a maximum\
  \ of two levels below the grade of the relevant collective agreement. Furthermore,\
  \ the ALMP will give even more weight than before to training and education of jobseekers\
  \ and introduce additional measures under active employment policy to help jobseekers\
  \ achieve their primary objective - re-employment. The LSA also provides for the\
  \ possibility to refuse to provide employment to employers who do not comply with\
  \ labour law and fail to pay wages or social security contributions to employees,\
  \ dismiss them in breach of the regulations or otherwise flagrantly violate the\
  \ rights of workers at work. The Institute will, after obtaining information about\
  \ such employers from the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia, by consulting\
  \ the official records of the Tax Administration or on the basis of workers' notifications\
  \ of the abovementioned violations, enter them in the register of employers with\
  \ negative references (Article 27 of the Labour Code) and will not provide them\
  \ with workers for the advertised vacancy.\n Analysis of the proposal and reasons\
  \ for its (in)appropriateness\nWe reject the proposal as it would mean that a regime\
  \ under which an unemployed person would have the possibility to refuse an offer\
  \ of employment or work for any reason (as also mentioned in the examples given\
  \ by the proposer) would be too far removed from the current regime and would also\
  \ be in conflict with the interests of the individual in relation to the interests\
  \ of the State in this area. In our view, the way in which the unemployed person\
  \ is treated by the institution is entirely appropriate in terms of its aim and\
  \ purpose. In determining the obligations of unemployed persons or jobseekers, the\
  \ first and foremost consideration is given to the situation and competences of\
  \ the unemployed person, whom the institution seeks, in accordance with the rules\
  \ laid down, to reintegrate into the labour market as quickly as possible or, by\
  \ means of active employment policy measures, to prepare him or her so that, when\
  \ he or she has the possibility of being reemployed again, either through the intervention\
  \ of the institution or through the person himself or herself, he or she will be\
  \ sufficiently qualified to continue a successful career. Furthermore, the obligation\
  \ of the unemployed person to accept a specific job or work offered by the institution\
  \ is a counterbalance both to the cash transfers from unemployment and to the free\
  \ preparation and assistance to the unemployed person in reintegrating into the\
  \ labour market, it being stressed that the institution cannot, of course, guarantee\
  \ all jobseekers a suitable job in the occupation for which they have been trained.\n\
  Accordingly, we cannot agree with the applicant's allegation of a violation of his\
  \ constitutionally guaranteed rights (the applicant explicitly refers to the right\
  \ to personal dignity and security, the protection of privacy and personality rights,\
  \ the protection of the secrecy of letters and other communications, the right to\
  \ conscientious objection and the right to freedom of work); the Institute, in its\
  \ work with unemployed persons, respects and acts in accordance with the legislation\
  \ adopted by both the executive and the legislature, which, pending any decision\
  \ to the contrary in the constitutional judicial review procedure, is deemed to\
  \ be in conformity with constitutional principles and rights.  "
response date: 2010-10-25
response due date: null
sent date: 2010-09-07
title: Right to refuse to work
upvotes: 12
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/1060
