Changes Introduced by the Amendment to the Labour and Social Security Registers Act

Author: Maruša Juhant

At its session of 21 April 2023, the National Assembly adopted the Act Amending the Labour and Social Security Registers Act (hereinafter: “ZEPDSV-A” or “Amendment“). The Amendment enters into force on 20 May 2023 and shall apply 6 months after its entry into force (i.e. on 20 November 2023). Obliged persons therefore have until November to harmonise their existing records on the use of working hours.

The amendment addresses the problems identified in the implementation of the 2006 Labour and Social Security Registers Act (hereinafter: “ZEPDSV“). ZEPDSV-A introduces amendments proposed by the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter: “Inspectorate“) in order to ensure more effective control over the provisions regulating working hours, breaks and rest periods.

Among other things, the Amendment specifies more precisely the positions for which records on the use of working hours must be kept, provides for an additional set of data to be kept in the records and provides for additional measures to ensure more consistent monitoring of the implementation of the legal obligations. The changes introduced by the ZEPDSV-A are briefly outlined below:

Clearer Definition of Worker and Employer

By redefining the term “worker”, the amendment addresses a practical dilemma as to whether records on the use of working hours should be kept only for workers who work based on an employment contract or also for persons who work on other legal bases (e.g., student work, work under a copyright contract and a contract for services, work of a manager who is not in an employment relationship, etc.). The amendment now clearly determines that working hours records must be kept for persons who perform work for an employer on any other legal basis, provided that they do so in person and are involved in the employer’s work process or predominantly use means to perform work which are part of the employer’s work process.

To increase transparency, the definition of “employer” has also been updated. For the purposes of ZEPDSV-A, an employer is a person who employs a worker based on an employment contract, as well as a person who employs a worker or a person who performs work on any other basis.

Deadline for Submission of Data to the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia Deleted

According to the amendment, an employer is obliged to provide information from the employee register to the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (hereinafter: “ZZZS”) as of the date of commencement of work under the employment contract, but no later than before the commencement of work. If the employee does not commence work on that day for justifiable reasons, the employer is obliged to provide the information no later than the day agreed as the day of commencement of work in the employment contract.

This amendment resolved the dilemma of whether the 8-day deadline laid down in ZEPDSV or the 15-day deadline laid down in the Act Governing the Register of Insured Persons and Beneficiaries of Rights Provided under Pension and Disability Insurance applies to registering a worker for social insurance.

Additional Dataset Managed in Records on the Use of Working Hours

The previous arrangement required only the number of hours worked, hours worked in overtime, hours not worked, etc. to be recorded in the records on the use of working hours, but not the start and end of the daily working hours. This has made it impossible to monitor the distribution of working hours, the use of breaks and rest periods during working hours in practice and has often prevented consistent performance of inspections.

According to the amendment, employers must also include the following information in the record on the use of working hours:

• the time the worker arrives at work and the time the worker leaves work,
• the use and extent of use of breaks during working hours,
• hours worked under special working conditions resulting from the organisation of working hours (in particular, hours of night work, Sunday work, work in shifts, work on public holidays, split working hours and other forms of organisation of working hours laid down by law or collective agreement),
• hours worked in irregular working hours and temporary reassigned working hours and
• the sum of the hours over a longer period (week, month, year, or individual reference period taken into account for irregular working hours and temporary reassigned full-time working hours).

Informing the Worker about Information in the Records

The ZEPDSV-A imposes an obligation on the employer to provide the worker with access to the information in the records on the use of their working hours. The employer must inform the worker of the information on the use of working hours in the previous month in writing or electronically. In addition, the amendment also allows workers to request information on the use of their working hours from the employer once a week. The employer may fulfil this obligation by providing the worker direct electronic access to the records without the employer being present.

Another new provision is the obligation for employers to keep records on the use of working hours and the documentation on the basis of which the data is entered in the records at the headquarters or at the place where work is carried out.

These provisions enable workers to control the way in which records on the use of working hours are kept and to exercise their labour law rights regarding working hours, breaks and rest periods, and help ensure that both the worker and the employer participate in the generation of the records, which in turn increases their credibility.

New Requirements on Record Keeping

The ZPDSV still maintains the possibility for employers to keep records on the use of working hours either manually or electronically.

It is important to note, however, that the ZPDSV now provides for two situations in which an employer is obliged to keep records electronically. Electronic record keeping is mandatory if the employer has been fined under Article 217a of the Employment Relationships Act (ZDR-1) or based on infringements defined in the ZPDSV.

In addition, the LFWCA-A introduces the possibility for a trade union, a workers’ council or an employee trustee to propose to an employer that records on the use of working hours are kept in electronic form and provides for a procedure for the employer to consider the proposal.

Penal Provisions

With the amendment to the penal provisions, the fines for offences are set within a range, whereby the responsible person of the employer will now also be liable for the offence. Offences may also be subject to a fine of an amount higher than the minimum fine, following a fast-track procedure.