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This article introduces the special issue on ‘Collective redress in labour law’. Even the best labour code in the world would be practically useless without procedural rules to enable its enforcement. The contributions in this special issue show that, while the mechanism of collective redress certainly functions with mixed results and often is underused in practice, it is nevertheless a valuable tool in the enforcement toolbox, where available. It might be particularly useful for some groups of workers, such as those who lack individual means for asserting their employment-based rights in their own name. While not an answer to all problems, and undoubtedly, not sufficient to close the justice gap for many European workers on its own, collective redress, if adequately constructed, could complement and improve existing enforcement mechanisms in both national and EU labour law.

The paper discusses two approaches to compiling lists of labour-law basic terminology (BT): a frequency-based approach and a concept-based one. The purpose of the paper is to compare each of the methods based on two sets of basic terminology selected in accordance with them. Using the first method, terms are selected via an automatic search of keywords and terms and organised according to frequency with the use of Sketch Engine. The second means of term extraction is a concept-based approach in which terms are selected based on the table of contents of the Polish Labour Code, which, for the purposes of the study, is assumed to outline the terminological system of Polish labour law. The results of this research are reviewed from the viewpoint of terms’ frequency, the number of words they consist of, systemic relations between terms in the labour-law terminological system, and potential users and their needs. This has allowed the author to draw a few conclusions as to the characteristics of the approaches taken, and the applicability and usefulness of lists of BT compiled on their bases.

The first part of this article is devoted to the legislative proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the right to disconnect that was adopted on 21 January 2021 in the European Parliament Resolution. In this part of the article the legal nature of the “right to disconnect, “the personal and material scope of this right as well as the relationship to other (fundamental) labour rights and different aspects of the employment relationship are analysed. Furthermore, the author discloses the gaps of the legislative proposal and makes some suggestions concerning a new concept of working conditions. The second part of the article focuses on Russian labour law. During the process of reforming the legislation on remote work it was widely discussed whether “a right to disconnect” should be provided for in the Russian Labour Code. The author analyses problems with the organisation of working time concerning the application of a special working regime entitled “unregular working day” and the recording of working time. Furthermore, the perspectives of the application of self-protection of labour rights as a way to guarantee the right to disconnect are examined. The conclusion stresses which measures would be necessary for an effective execution and enforcement of the right to disconnect.

The paper deals with the social policy of the European Union, specifically the directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU. And it is considering the changes that need to be made in the area of labour law, especially concerning the Labour Code, and partially in social security in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, in connection with the requirement to transpose this directive. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the valid legislation of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in the monitored area. Key words: social policy, European Union, work-life balance, directive, parental leave, paternity leave, carers ́ leave, social security.

Although there has been substantial literature on the economic impact of labour legislation in the world, the number of studies related to Vietnam is, surprisingly, very small. Our article provides the first evidence on the link between labour law and various labour market outcomes using the Vietnamese context. We examine how labour supply, earnings and social protection outcomes adjusted to labour contract reform under the 2012 Labour Code. The study uses three waves of the Vietnam Labour Force Survey to examine both medium‐term and short‐term impacts of the reform. Difference‐in‐differences and fixed‐effect techniques are utilised. Overall, we find that the law change significantly affected hours worked, work absenteeism, monthly allowance and incidence of bonuses among contracted workers. However, the effects on workers’ monthly wages, overtime remuneration and other allowances, and the social protection‐related outcomes were not clear in the short run.

The COVID-19 epidemic has had a substantial impact on Polish legislation since the beginning of 2020. The economic slowdown and the consequent fall in the state budget revenue are among the anticipated effects of the epidemic. As a result, provisions introducing lex specialis to the Labour Code and certain employment regulations specifying dissolution of employment relationships in some public administration organisations became part of the COVID-19 Act. The new legal construct comes down to extensive facilitation in the process of redundancies for employers dismissing their employees. The protective function of labour law provisions insofar as it upholds duration of the employment relationship is consequently restricted. Provisions of the COVID-19 Act in this respect are unacceptable. Each regulation should arise from objectively identified needs to legally govern social relationships and should not inflate laws or undermine citizens’ trust in legislation. The postulate of this legal direction of determining social relationships is particularly important with regard to relationships of employment, in particular, those founded on appointment in public administration. The possibility of identical treatment of employees hired on various legal grounds merely appears to conform with the constitutional protection of equality in law. Without detriment to employers’ right to determine employment levels, the new regulations in connection with the COVID-19 epidemic seem unnecessary, since their objectives can be attained by application of normal remedies provided for by labour law.

The aim of the current study is to present the regulation of leave in the economic sector during the examination of the Labour Code within the framework of the Hungarian labour law, with the exception of the provisions on sick leave. In European states where a uniform Labour Code is available, the rules on leave have been established, but in some countries they have been regulated by other codes or legal regulations. The purpose of normal annual leave is for the worker to regenerate properly, the intention of significantly extending this period being progressive. In addition to the basic leave, extra vacation and the rules on unpaid leave are also examined. The study seeks to point out that the current rules are too narrow and that labour market developments suggest that an extension of the normal annual leave period is needed.

"Employers’ liability for damages is an extremely strict, no-fault liability. In practically all cases, employers are liable for employment-related damages suffered by employees. Rules on employers’ liability for damages has been changed in many aspects by the Hungarian code of labour law in the private sector, Act I of 2012 on the Labour Code (hereinafter referred to as Labour Code). These changes have introduced some, generally private law institutions into the assessment of liability, such as the foreseeability clause. The application of these rules raises a lot of questions even in typical employment relationships, while for atypical employment relationships it is especially true. We must realize that the system of the employers’ liability for damages has been designed for conventional employment relationships. The purpose of this presentation and study is to review to what extent the rules governing employers’ liability for damages may be applied for atypical employment relationships unobjectionably, e.g. remote working, or for atypical elements of typical employment such as home office."

The paper investigates the issue of the unity of labor law in the context of development of legalization of so-called new, atypical forms of employment in European countries and their forthcoming (and partially already completed) legalization in the Russian Federation. The author has analized some negative features of atypical forms of employment, the preservation of which can threaten the unity and integrity of labor law. the paper highlights the inadmissibility of reducing the uniform standard of labor rights and focuses on problems in the institution of labour remuniration and protection. On the basis of the analysis of elements characterizing the unity of labor law, the author describes deviations from the classical features of labor relations that sometimes lead to shifting employers’ (entrepreneurial) risk on the person involved in hired labor.The author concludes that the extension of the scope of application of the provisions of Chapter 53.1 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation (albeit in a very limited scope) to employees working in government authorities and the public sector is a very disturbing trend. Traditionally, the budget sphere is seen as low-paid stable employment. The introduction of non-permanent, atypical employment into the public sector reduces the low level of employment rights of employees in the public sector. The development of atypical forms of employment not only actively affect the informal employment sector, but also invade the field of “traditional” relations, setting incorrect directions of HR policies. In this regard, acts adopted by the legislator in the case of legalization of one of the atypical forms of employment must be strictly correlated with the fundamental principles of labor law, the concept of a uniform labor relation and basic rights of the employee, which will prevent the destruction of the unity of labor law.

The article discusses issues related to the impact of the processes of transformation, division or merger of commercial companies on labour relations (in the field of individual labour law). The purpose of the study is to establish the relationship between the provisions of the Labour Code regarding the acquisition of the employer and the provisions of the Commercial Companies Code, regulating the issues of succession in the processes of division, merger, and transformation of commercial companies. The conducted research leads to the conclusion that the merger and division of capital companies employing employees are associated with the subjective change of the employer, which leads to the acquisition of the employer within the meaning of Article 231Labour Code. The transfer of the employer does not occur in the event of transformation of the company. In addition, the provision of art. 231 of the Polish Labour Code constitutes a minimum standard of protection for employees, which does not preclude the application of more extensive, specific regulations.

Act No. 65/1965 Coll., The Labor Code, was an important milestone in the development of labor law legislation, as it is the first comprehensive codification of labor law. The Code combined effectively labor legislation in the whole Czechoslovakia and replaced the previous fragmented and obsolete legislation. The final form of the Code and as well the modification of labor relations has been considered for a long time because of the importance of such relations on the existential background of workers, but also on the economic situation of the country. Nevertheless, the relations that the Code newly regulated were based on the previous legislation, since they were concluded under the validity and force of this legislation. One of the aims of this work is therefore examine a false retroactivity. Another aim is also to define how these examined changes in the Labor Code are related to the “socialist” constitution of 1960.

The affiliation of the public service relations to labour, and not intersectoral law is researched. It is noted that the labour-legal nature of relations in the public service is particularly evident in the example of collective relations. The approaches of scientists to the regulation of service and labour relations with the norms of labour or administrative law are contrasted. It is concluded that a civil servant is a particular subject of labour law. The attention should be paid to that the legal status of a civil servant must be deduced from the legal status of the employee. The article reveals the peculiarities of the legal regulation of labour relations in the civil service of Ukraine, as well as the analysis of certain rules of the Labour Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On Civil Service” concerning the work of civil servants. The necessity of changes of the legislation of Ukraine in terms of establishing specific limits of distribution to the legal regulation of official (labour) relations of the labour law norms in general and in the sphere of labour in particular, providing peculiarities and the procedure of concluding labour contracts with civil servants for the purpose of mutual rights asserting, legitimate interests and responsibilities between the state and the categories of employees is proved. It is noted that the concept of the “contract” in the civil service is a relatively new legal phenomenon. There is no definition of the legal nature of these contracts in Ukrainian law. The characteristics of the abovementioned contracts are described. They are also personal in nature, characterized by certain autonomy of the will of the parties under formal legal equality and responsibility for conditions violation. It is determined that the legal regulation of the civil service is a relatively new legal system, which arises on the basis of labour and administrative-legal regulation. Keywords: public service, service and labour relations, employment contract, contract, legal regulation of labour.

The aim of this article is to present practical difficulties and their solutions and also to illustrate effects of the introduced amendment to Art. 29 § 2 of the Act of June 26, 1974 of Labour Code. The author shows how this regulation was shaped in previous amendments in his attempt to answer how the finally introduced amendments have improved the situation of employees. Consequently, the aim of the article is to present the benefits resulting from this change, but also the risks arising upon introduction of the latest amendment. The author considers the question whether the procedure, however simple from the point of view of the legislative technique, is not an unfortunate attempt to patch the legal gap, which is often the subject of abuse. In the text, the author also wonders how the amended provision affects the situation of people starting work and what it alters in the case of people who have been in the labour market for years.

If we confine ourselves to a formal approach, it would appear that French law has established a number of mechanisms to organise the participation of employees in the management of private companies, or, more accurately, in the legal entities that form their legal structure. While dividing this participation into two aspects, namely co-management and co-determination, the law, which governs these matters through both the Labour Code and the Commercial Code, is also meant to be coercive. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the legislator’s first steps along this path have been distinctly timid. The mechanisms in question in fact include many inadequacies that mean that employee participation in the management of private companies has to be considered, if not as an edifice still to be constructed, then at least as a work in progress. A s’en tenir à une approche formelle, il apparaît que le Droit français institue un certain nombre de dispositifs organisant la participation des salariés à la gestion de l’entreprise privée ou, plus exactement, de la personne morale qui, juridiquement, la structure. Déclinant cette participation sous ses deux versants que sont la cogestion et la codécision, les textes de loi, qui relèvent tout à la fois du Code du travail et du Code de commerce, se veulent qui plus est contraignants. Il n’en demeure pas moins que le législateur n’a emprunté cette voie que de manière bien timide. Les dispositifs en cause souffrent, en effet, de nombreuses insuffisances qui conduisent à considérer que la participation des salariés à la gestion de l’entreprise privée reste encore largement, sinon à construire, du moins à parfaire.

From the outset of labor litigation, both theoreticians and practitioners have been preoccupied with the question of what specific regulation this area of law – which has essentially additional elements of private law – requires in order to ensure fair treatment and proceedings for all participants. The aim of the present study is to show how labor litigation is evolving today, outlining the phenomena that has been arisen due to the new labor and civil procedure codes.

A tanulmány fókuszában a digitalizációnak a foglalkoztatásban történő megjelenése és elterjedése áll. Ennek keretében a tanulmány egyrészt bemutatja a digitalizációt felhasználó munkavégzési formákat. Másrészt ismerteti a digitalizáció munkaerőpiaci hatásait. A tanulmány részletesen vizsgálja, hogy a COVID-19 miként változtatta meg a távmunka és a home office szerepét a foglalkoztatásban. Ezt követi a magyar munkajogi szabályozás bemutatása, ami kizárólag a távmunkával foglalkozik. A kodifikációs hiányosság megszüntetésére a tanulmány két javaslatot is tesz. Egyrészt az applikációs alapú munkavégzéssel kapcsolatban az Mt. tervezetében már szabályozott, a munkavállalóhoz hasonló jogállású személy státuszának bevezetésére. Másrészt az automatizálás és a robotika terjedésével kapcsolatban munkáltatói kötelezettségek előírására (átképzés, munkakör felajánlás) a felmondás megelőzése érdekében.

The theme of this article is an attempt to show the future of civil-law employment relations. The author presents the scale and causes of the phenomenon of the spread of civil law forms of employment and self-employment in the market economy, which are increasingly displacing the classic employment relationship. In his opinion, this tendency is permanent and irreversible. In the future, the employment model should be maintained based on the diversity of acceptable employment bases, assuming the freedom of choice of a regime among employment relationship, civil law contracts and self-employment. There is a need to leave the existing employment structure based on the subordinated work criterion under the management of the employer. It is this employment model that must guarantee the widest (fullest) scope of protection, which should compensate the employee for a permanent state of dependence (subordination) on the employer. It is possible to build other civil-law forms of employment around this specific model of employment relationship, to which, to a limited extent, protective labour law provisions should apply. In addition, there is a need to specify in the provisions of the Labour Code the criteria that distinguish the employment relationship from civil law employment relationships, and in particular the employer’s subordination criterion. W artykule podjęto próbę ukazania przyszłości cywilnoprawnych stosunków zatrudnienia. Autor przedstawia skalę i przyczyny zjawiska upowszechniania się w gospodarce rynkowej cywilnoprawnych form zatrudnienia oraz pracy na własny rachunek, które coraz częściej wypierają klasyczny stosunek pracy. Jego zdaniem, tendencja ta ma charakter trwały i nieodwracalny. W przyszłości należy utrzymać model zatrudnienia oparty na różnorodności dopuszczalnych podstaw zatrudnienia, zakładający swobodę wyboru reżimu pomiędzy stosunkiem pracy, umowami prawa cywilnego a samozatrudnieniem. Istnieje konieczność pozostawienia dotychczasowej konstrukcji stosunku pracy opartej na kryterium pracy podporządkowanej, wykonywanej pod kierownictwem pracodawcy. To właśnie ten model zatrudnienia musi gwarantować najszerszy (najpełniejszy) zakres ochrony, która winna rekompensować pracownikowi permanentny stan zależności (podporządkowania) względem pracodawcy. Wokół tak określonego modelu stosunku pracy możliwe jest natomiast budowanie innych cywilnoprawnych form zatrudnienia, do których w ograniczonym zakresie powinny mieć zastosowanie ochronne przepisy prawa pracy. Ponadto istnieje potrzeba doprecyzowania w przepisach Kodeksu pracy kryteriów odróżniających stosunek pracy podporządkowanej od cywilnoprawnych stosunków zatrudnienia, zwłaszcza zaś kryterium kierownictwa pracodawcy.

The purpose of the article is a conducting of the legally-technical analysis of the Labour Code of Ukraine draft (hereinafter Draft). Scientific novelty is specified by the estimation of the Draft quality in the view of their accordance with the requirements and rules of the norm drafting technique. First of all, the compliance of the bill with the doctrinal provisions of the general theory of law has been considered. From the standpoint of the theory of law, the correct use of the terms «legal act» and «legislation» in the text of the draft, the provisions on the topic «system of legal acts of Ukraine» and «legal relations» are evaluated. Attention is drawn to the fact that the draft norms do not always correspond to the generally theoretical positions. In the new Labour Code the correct application of a number of norm drafting technique tools, which relate to the content of a normative-legal act, especially, observance of the principle of the rule of law and social orientation. When assessing the Draft for compliance with the logical rules, it is necessary to state the observance of such requirements as the sequence of presentation and the transfer of general provisions to the specific ones. An example can be the «location» of books. The first book – general terms, the second – the emergence and termination of labour relations, etc. In Art. 2 of the draft the principles of legal regulation of labour relations are consolidated. Such practice is inherent in the latest codes of Ukraine and deserves an approval. The definition of terms in the Draft, unlike other codes, including the Tax and Criminal Procedure Codes, is proposed not at the beginning of the text in one of the first articles of the normative legal act, but during the presentation of the material for the first use. With regard to compliance with the rules of defining, we can state that the definition of terms in the Draft meets the existing requirements. The text of the draft is set out in general in accordance with the language rules and structuring rules. The draft Labour Code envisages its division into books. Given the not-too-voluminous scope of the future code, such a distinction seems not to be well-argued enough. Conclusions. The draft of Labour Code of Ukraine is a bill that basically meets the requirements and rules of normative-legal technique. Considerations are made to improve the perfection of the drafted labour law. Raised questions can be used by the working group for its further development and encourage new scientific discussions.

The article deals with the problem of discrimination in the workplace. The definition of discrimination in the provisions of the Polish Labor Code, its types and the possibility of obtaining compensation are presented. The author summarizes the changes in the new provisions on discrimination issues in the workplace that have been included in the Labor Code. The study contains rulings of the Supreme Court and labor law doctrines.

The paper discusses the employer’s right to suspend the pursuit of their economic activity by taking into account applicable provisions outlined in the Act of 6 March 2018: Business Entities Law. So far this issue has been closely analysed neither in labour law literature nor in economic law scholarly writings. For this reason, it seemed appropriate to attempt to establish to what extent mechanisms contained in the mentioned Act make possible a rational exercise of the right to suspend the pursuit of economic activity by an employer.The analysis has shown that Article 22 of the Business Entities Law does not have a quality of completeness. De lege lata it seems therefore reasonable to assume that to matters not covered by the provision in question rules of the Labour Code regulating leaves connected to parenthood should apply. In particular, these matters include issues related to rights and duties of an employee and an employer that come into play in the case where an employee finishes taking advantage of a leave related to parenthood or in the case where an employee applies to combine the parental leave or the leave for raising a child with carrying out a job for an employer who has granted such leave. A different interpretation of Article 22 of the Law of Business Entities would cause that due to its general character it could become a dysfunctional factor in applying the mechanism of suspension of economic activity in practice. In my opinion, a different interpretation would also result in the breach of the principle of equal treatment of employers.Furthermore, it seems appropriate to consider the subjective scope of Article 22 para. 2 of the act: Business Entities Law. I am of the view that in its subjective dimension the discussed provision in principle refers to employees that under Article 7 para. 1, sentence 2 of the act in question have been awarded the status of a micro employer. It should also be noted that the mechanism of suspension of economic activity directly serves the interests of the employer, although it contains some instruments of the protection of the interests of the employee. The said protection results in particular from Article 22 para. 2, sentence 2 of the act: Business Entity Law which provides that where an employee finishes taking advantage of leaves or submits an application for combining the parental leave with carrying out a job for an employer who has granted such leave, he or she is entitled to receive remuneration as in case of a downtime, determined in the provisions of the Labour Code. until the termination of the suspension of economic activity.

This article considers Lesotho’s labour laws in the light of the country’s obligations under international labour standards. It assesses the extent to which the international labour standards have had an impact on the development of labour law in Lesotho. It argues that Lesotho’s various Acts perpetuate the country’s non-compliance with International Labour Organization standards as significant aspects of the Acts still undermine workers’ rights. It contends that Lesotho still has a long way to go towards fulfilling the expectations of the International Labour Organization. After noting the various labour-law concepts in the international labour standards which have had an impact on Lesotho law and reviewing the sources of Lesotho’s obligations to respect the various workers’ rights, the article focuses on the workers’ rights to join trade union organisations, the promotion of free and voluntary collective bargaining and the right to strike. The article concludes that reforms are needed to internationalise Lesotho’s labour law further, in line with International Labour Organization requirements, so that workers’ rights are protected.