Those who agree to work part-time lose half their pension

An employee who agrees to sign a contract with the employer for half the working time proportionally loses the scope of rights from the employment relationship, it was reported to "Vijesti" from the Union of Free Trade Unions, which recently warned that employers have started pressuring employees to change their full-time work contracts for half the working time.

As explained earlier, employers do this in order to avoid the obligation to register an employee for the announced new minimum wage of 450 euros from January next year, because in the case of a half-time contract, they could insure the employee for half of that minimum wage.

Employees who agree will receive a miserable pension

The minimum wage on October 1 this year is 250 euros, and through the announced program "Europe Now" it should be increased to 450 euros with a reduction in taxes on wages by 80 percent. By suppressing the new work contract with the employee for half the working time, the employer would keep for himself the amount of taxes and contributions that are reduced, while the employee would remain at almost the same amount of reported earnings as before. The employee could still receive a part of his salary "on hand" without calculating seniority and dues, and he would continue to work full-time "on the black". However, the loss of the scope of work rights would mean a long-term economic threat, as he would have a pension half of the current minimum of 145 euros.

"The difference between full-time and part-time employees is not reflected in the type of rights they exercise, but in the scope of rights from the employment relationship. Namely, persons employed on a part-time basis exercise rights from the employment relationship in proportion to the time spent at work. This means that, although the Labor Law guarantees equal treatment of part-time employees compared to full-time employees, part-time employees still have certain rights, such as the right to earnings, to rest during work (break), and even the right on the pension they achieve by applying the above-mentioned principle of proportionality. According to the above, the salary of the employee is calculated and paid in relation to the number of working hours, while we note that the Labor Law has a limitation that the employment contract cannot be concluded for a duration shorter than one quarter (10 hours) of the full working time. from the Union of Free Trade Unions.

For example, if an employee works half-time for a year, he will have only six months of service, and a reduced pension coefficient because he is insured for a lower salary.

The employer must change the systematization

"In order to prevent possible abuses, the Labor Law defines the employer's obligation to, in an act on the internal organization and systematization of workplaces, determine workplaces where part-time work contracts are concluded, depending on the nature of the work and work organization. In collectives where trade unions are organized, the employer is obliged to inform the trade union in a timely manner about the planned changes to the act on the systematization of workplaces and ask for its opinion, i.e. enable attendance at meetings where their opinion, proposals and suggestions would be presented", they explained from of the USS.

In companies where there is no organized union, the employer can change the systematization himself, enter as many jobs as he wants with half the jobs, and then force the employee to sign a work contract for half the working time, threatening him with dismissal.

You can also report pressures anonymously

"For any violation of rights from the employment relationship, even in a specific case, the employee can seek protection from the Labor Inspectorate, which is obliged to carry out supervision and order the employer to eliminate irregularities. Advice to USS employees who find themselves in this situation is to inform the union of which they are a member. Given that part-time employees have the same rights from work and on the basis of work as full-time employees, in this case they would be entitled to an increase in wages based on overtime if the employer forces it. to continue working full-time”.

The Directorate for Inspection Affairs told "Vijesta" last week that until then they had no reports from workers that their employers were forcing them to conclude contracts for half the working time, but that the inspection will control the employment contracts of each employer. They advised the workers that they can also submit anonymous reports, if the employer puts pressure on them. However, the inspection is powerless if the employer changes the systematization in advance and if the employee agrees to such humiliating conditions by signing an amendment to the employment contract.

USS will monitor the behavior of employers and advise workers on how to protect themselves

The Union of Free Trade Unions stated that they will monitor the behavior of employers and inspections and that they will warn their members, as well as the general public, in a timely manner about all consequences related to possible abuses by employers, as well as that they will teach employees about protection mechanisms.

"We are convinced that this type of possible unwanted and illegal behavior by employers will only happen in collectives where there is no organized and registered trade union. In any case, the USS will insist on increased inspection control if the demands of employers for the annexation of employment contracts from full-time to part-time work take off, that is, if they become a pronounced phenomenon. The fact is that the Labor Inspectorate, upon notification by the employee or the trade union, can easily check whether there is an abuse of the rights of employees in the case of the translation of the employment contract to part-time through the control of the presence of the employee at the workplace and the Decision on the schedule of working hours. , they stated from this trade union headquarters.

They also warn that the Criminal Code stipulates that anyone who knowingly does not comply with the law or other regulations, collective agreements and other general acts on labor rights and employees, will be punished with a fine or a prison sentence of up to two years, denying or limiting the rights that belong to them.

"At the initiative of the USS, in 2017, a Protocol on cooperation with the Directorate for Inspection Affairs (UIP) was signed, which contributed to a more efficient handling of the inspection bodies following union reports. Our mission is to further improve cooperation with the UIP, and to advocate for strengthening the capacity of inspection bodies, but also to create conditions for the dignified work of inspectors so that they can perform their role in a more adequate way", according to the USS.

The government creates a Council for alerting

The Minister of Finance, Milojko Spajić, said last week that he will strengthen the labor inspection, but that he expects that such fraud by employers will also regulate the market, that is, that those employers who do not increase wages will be left without workers.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić announced yesterday that he will prevent possible obstructions by employers and that the institutions will act in a timely manner.

"We will create a Whistleblowing Council that will inform about all disturbances, when it comes to the implementation of the Europe Now program," Krivokapić said.