The law firm K&F Advokati participated in a conference organized by FIC (Foreign Invetors Council) Serbia, held on March 22 in Belgrade, where new solutions regarding labor relations in the Republic of Serbia were discussed.
The conference entitled “Labor Regulation – Facing Challenges” opened extremely important and important topics related to changes in regulations in various areas of labor law, their legislation, practical application in the daily business of legal entities, as well as potential problems associated with these changes. concern employers and employees.
The main topics of this panel were primarily amendments to the Law on Safety and Health at Work, then the Law on Employment of Foreigners – how to simplify the procedure for obtaining a work permit for foreign citizens in Republic of Serbia, the Law on Labor Practice, as the youngest member of groups of laws relating to labor relations and the first law regulating work practice in the Republic of Serbia and the Law on Simplified Employment in Seasonal and Jobs in Certain Activities.
In addition to FIC members, as panelists on behalf of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs were present:
Snezana Bogdanovic, head of the Department for Normative and Study-Analytical Affairs in the field of work
Sanja Gavranović, Head of the Group for Normative and Study-Analytical Affairs in the Field of Employment and Economic Migration and Supervision in the Field of Employment
Mira Božić, senior advisor for legal affairs in the field of safety and health at work
Ivana Nikolić, independent advisor
In an open discussion, the guests from the Ministry of Labor introduced the new legal solutions to the attendees and through dialogue and questions of the conference participants gave answers regarding the practical application and current possibilities of implementation in labor legislation.
The topic that required special attention is certainly the simplification of the procedure for obtaining a work permit for foreigns. According to the representatives of the Ministry of Labor, the procedure of preparation for the unification and digitalization of the procedure is underway, where instead of the existing two procedures, there would be one digital procedure, under the supervision of the e-government portal, while the applicant for a work permit, beside foreigns, could be the employer himself, which greatly facilitates and simplifies the procedure itself.
It is also important to point out the great interest of the members in the amendments to the Law on Safety and Health at Work, which concern the premises and auxiliary premises for performing work outside the workplace, as well as what is considered, according to the law, a workplace. These changes arose as a need to solve the great difficulties of harmonizing legal provisions and living conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, when it comes to working outside the employer’s premises.
Finally, we had the opportunity to be among the first to hear what the Law on Labor Practice brings, as the first normative act regulating this area, what is meant by the term “work trainee”, his place in labor legislation, as well as rights and obligations as a trainee so does the employer.
The conclusion from this conference is that the novelties that have entered the legal procedure and those that are still being considered represent significant progress in order to improve working conditions in Serbia, but we can give a final judgment only after their application in practice.