Flexible amendment: New changes in employment law that you should know about

Yesterday, the Senate approved the expected amendment to the Labour Code and other regulations, known to the general public as the “flexible amendment”. If the amendment is signed by the President on time, the new legislation will probably enter into force as early as 1 June 2025.

Below is an overview of the most important changes that the flexible amendment brings and that you need to prepare for. If you want to learn more, check out this article, where we went into more detail about each of the changes.

We also invite you to our breakfast on employment law focusing on this topic, which will take place on 6 May 2025. You can sign up here.

An overview of the most important news:

1. Extension of the maximum probationary period that can be agreed with an employee to 4 months for ordinary employees and 8 months for senior staff.
2. The probationary period may be extended by written agreement between the employee and the employer, provided that the total length of the probationary period does not exceed the maximum permitted length.
3. Deletion of the “twice and enough” rule (fixed-term employment for a maximum period of 3 years, which may be extended twice at maximum) for employees who are replacements for employees on maternity, paternity or parental leave. However, even for these replacements, the total duration of the employment relationship may not exceed 9 years from the beginning of the first employment relationship.
4. The possibility of employing minors, i.e. persons under 15 years of age, subject to other legal conditions (employment during main holidays, light work only, no overtime or night work, etc.).
5. Adjustment of the start of the notice period - the notice period will now start on the date of delivery of the notice and will end on the date whose numerical designation is identical to the date of delivery. In the event that the last day of the notice period falls on a day that is not in a given month, the notice period shall end on the last day of the relevant month.
6. Reduction of the notice period to one month in the case of termination grounds under Section 52(f) to (h) of the Labour Code, i.e. cases of gross breach of the employee’s work duties.
7. The merger of the grounds for dismissal set out in Section 52(d) and (e) of the Labour Code, with the achievement of the maximum permissible exposure at the workplace being a separate ground for dismissal.
8. Extension of the possibility to pay remuneration (or part of it) in a foreign currency upon agreement with the employee. The primary method of payment will now be bank transfer instead of cash.
9. Prohibition on negotiating confidentiality clauses concerning wages, salary and remuneration of employees.

What to prepare for

Reflecting on these changes, we recommend revising the employment contracts made and preparing updated templates that will reflect in particular the following:

• removal of confidentiality clauses in relation to remuneration,
• regulation of the duration and period of notice,
• arrangements for payment of remuneration,
• provisions governing the length of probationary period and its extension.

We also recommend revising the model termination notices in relation to the grounds for termination and the length of the notice period.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the above changes are due to a change in legislation and therefore the employer is not obliged to inform the existing employees about them within the meaning of Section 37 of the Labour Code. However, please note that the employer must reflect these changes in the information for new employees.