Area: Delovno pravno
Competent authority: MDDSZ
EZU URL: .nan
Initiative ID: 9
Initiative accepted and completed: '2011-12-19'
Initiative classified in EZU: .nan
Initiative forwarded in response: '2011-11-28'
Initiative published: '2011-11-28'
Initiative submitted: '2011-11-21'
Response from the competent authority: 'In response to your initiative on simplification
  of the employment contract and the informal economy, we are sending you the following
  position, within the competence of the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs.  Simplification
  of the employment contract:The Employment Relations Act (Official Gazette of the
  Republic of Slovenia, No. 42/2002, 79/2006-ZZZPB-F, 46/2007-OdlUS, 103/2007, 45/2008-ZArb,
  83/2009-OdlUS, hereinafter referred to as the "Employment Relations Act") is based
  on the principle that an employment contract for an indefinite period of time is
  the rule and an employment contract for a definite period of time is the exception,
  which is permissible only in cases listed in a list of cases, under the conditions
  laid down in the law. It follows from the cases listed in Article 52 of the Labour
  Code that a fixed-term employment contract is admissible where the work is of a
  temporary nature, the duration of which can be determined in advance. The treatment
  of fixed-term employment as a form of work which is not entirely equivalent to permanent
  employment and which is defined as an exception also derives from international
  instruments adopted within the framework of the ILO, the Council of Europe and the
  EU. In this connection, it should be noted in particular that ILO Convention No
  158 also expressly obliges the provision of adequate protection against the conclusion
  of fixed-term employment contracts intended to avoid the protection of that Convention.
  The social partners at European level have also, in the Framework Agreement on fixed-term
  work, which is enshrined in the Fixed-Term Work Directive as EU law, proceeded from
  the recognition "that open-ended contracts are and will be the general form of the
  employment relationship between workers and employers. However, fixed-term contracts
  meet the needs of employers as well as workers in certain circumstances." In view
  of the above, we do not consider that there are any compelling reasons to abandon
  the statutory rule on permanent employment.As regards the possibility of part-time
  employment, we would like to clarify that the HRA allows for this form of employment,
  whereby the agreed working time is shorter than the full-time working time applicable
  to the employer (64. In practice, the most common form of employment is part-time,
  but there are no legal obstacles to a person being employed on a different form
  of part-time employment, as long as it is less than full-time. It is also possible
  to have several part-time jobs with different employers, so that the total is full-time.The
  informal economy:The informal economy is a phenomenon that can be found in all countries,
  in all economies and in all political systems. Its negative impacts are significant
  for both employers and employees, as well as for the state, social security, property,
  and human and environmental safety. The impact of the informal economy includes
  loss of tax revenue, loss of social security contributions, unjustified claiming
  of social benefits, higher tax and benefit burdens for companies and workers working
  legally. The informal economy in the Republic of Slovenia is significant, accounting
  for between 17 and 25% of GDP according to various estimates. Given that informal
  work and employment are present in many sectors and environments, the Government
  of the Republic of Slovenia has taken measures to effectively detect and prevent
  these two phenomena and to eliminate their negative consequences. The extent and
  strength of the informal economy in Slovenia has been continuously highlighted in
  recent years by various studies and analyses and by various organisations.  The
  legal basis in the field of illegal work and employment is the Act on Prevention
  of Illegal Work and Employment (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No.
  118/06, 29/2010, hereinafter: the Act). The Act provides, in Article 3(1) and (2),
  for the prevention of illegal work and employment in the informal economy. (1) The
  following shall be considered to be illegal employment: - if a legal person carries
  on an activity which is not entered in the court register or carries on an activity
  which is not specified in the basic act, or if it does not have the documents prescribed
  by law to prove that it fulfils the conditions for carrying on a registered activity
  or an activity specified in the basic act, - if an entrepreneur carries on an activity
  which is not entered in the relevant register, or if it does not have the documents
  prescribed by law on the fulfilment of the conditions for the pursuit of a registered
  activity, - if a legal person or an entrepreneur pursues an activity despite a temporary
  prohibition on the pursuit of the activity, - if a foreign company does not pursue
  an activity in the Republic of Slovenia through branches or pursues an activity
  without the appropriate authorisation, - if an individual pursues an activity or
  work and is not registered or notified as provided for in this or other laws."Illegal
  work and employment can undermine the foundations of the welfare state and make
  it impossible or significantly reduce the scope of certain public services that
  we currently take for granted, such as free education, health services, childcare
  leave, social assistance and assistance to the unemployed, and other public services
  such as libraries, public kindergartens, etc. The payment of taxes and contributions
  enables individuals to access the above-mentioned public services.From an economic
  point of view, undeclared work and employment is also extremely problematic, as
  it creates unfair competition in the market. Companies and sole traders who carry
  out their activities in accordance with the regulations cannot compete with those
  who work illegally, as they are able to offer their customers significantly lower
  prices, which are not burdened by contributions and taxes. On the other hand, they
  offer a service without guarantee and without insurance. Consumers also have no
  right to claim damages and guarantees.The current legal framework also allows for
  some other forms of work that do not qualify as undeclared work. The law thus provides
  for exceptions which, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3 of the law, are
  not considered to be undeclared work, namely mutual neighbourly assistance, self-employed
  work, emergency work, humanitarian, charitable, voluntary and charitable work under
  this law and under other regulations, and personal complementary work. The proposal
  made with regard to the payment of taxes cannot therefore be followed in the light
  of the above. The Small Labour Act drafted by the Ministry of Labour and Social
  Affairs was rejected in the referendum of 10 April 2011 and has therefore not entered
  into force. It contained solutions that would have regulated in a new and better
  way the way and conditions of work of students, pensioners and other citizens who,
  according to the law, could carry out small-scale work. Therefore, the claim that
  the law does not correspond to real life is not true, because there is no law on
  the subject. However, the concept of small-scale work is indeed contained in the
  Act on Prevention of Undeclared Work and Employment (Official Gazette of the Republic
  of Slovenia, No 12/07, 29/10). The Act, by introducing the concept of small-scale
  work in Article 12b, gave a legal basis for persons who are not in a full-time employment
  relationship, or who are not self-employed, or who are not in receipt of a pension,
  to work. In the process of drafting and harmonising the instructions or by-laws
  following the adoption of the law, it became apparent that the above-mentioned article
  of the law does not specify the rights and procedures for implementation in sufficient
  detail and is therefore very difficult to implement as written. The instructions
  to be issued by the Ministry can only regulate the technical implementation of the
  provisions of the Article, but may not regulate rights and procedures, as otherwise
  they exceed the powers of the law. Although the above-mentioned amendment to the
  law did not expressly postpone the implementation of the provisions of Article 12b
  until the instructions and forms are issued, in practice it is not possible to register
  for social insurance on the basis of a small employment contract, as required by
  Article 12b of the amendment to the law. The embarrassment in this respect will
  be resolved in the next amendments to the Law.'
Text file: 9.txt
Title: Simplifying the employment contract and an initiative to curb the shadow economy
URL: https://www.stopbirokraciji.gov.si/pobuda/?st=9
