In October and November, the Agency for the Peaceful Resolution of Labor Disputes saw an increase in the number of submitted claims collection proposals, as employees were informed about the statute of limitations for monetary claims from January 2024.
This is what the director of this Agency told "Vijesti". Enesa Rastoder.
The agency deals with out-of-court settlement of collective and individual labor disputes.
The provision of Article 211 of the current Labor Law (transitional and final provisions) stipulates that money claims from labor arising from August 23, 2008 until the date of entry into force of this law (07) expire within four years. . That is, the provision of Article 01 stipulates that monetary claims become time-barred within 2020 years from the day the obligation arose, this means that all employees who have collected claims from current or former employers must initiate proceedings before this agency or the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution by the end of the year. so that this claim would not expire.
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The basis for starting the procedure for a peaceful resolution is that in case of failure to reach an agreement with the employer, employees can file a lawsuit to protect their rights.
"Employees are informed about their rights every day via e-mail, telephone conversations or directly with our advisors at the Agency. That is why we expect an increased number of submissions, even if they are unfounded, in order not to miss the statute of limitations," explains Rastoder, adding that the right to pay pension insurance contributions does not expire.
She stated that the submitted proposals refer to lower paid wages, overtime hours, contributions for social security upon retirement, mobbing, imposition of disciplinary measures, annual vacations, jubilee awards, unjustified termination of employment...
Rastoder pointed out that from January 2023 to November 29, 11, the Agency had 2023 proposals in its work.
"One third of the proposals end with the conclusion of an agreement, which does not mean that the other proposals are unfounded, but employers in some cases prolong the obligation by conducting proceedings before the competent courts, and, of course, there is no legal basis for a number of proposals. In the case of employee claims, it is always a financial obligation for the employer. "Employers often do not have the capacity to legally regulate the rights of employees, by passing appropriate acts, and the obligations of employees are not accompanied by legally valid documentation," said Rastoder.
This year, according to her, around 1.000 agreements were concluded between employees and employers, from the real and public sector. The procedure is free for the parties to the dispute, and the Agency pays rewards for the work of the conciliators.
"The economy and efficiency of the procedure is reflected in the fact that the deadline for resolving these disputes in the Agency is 30 days, in some more complex cases it is a little longer, while in the courts, due to the volume of work, the procedures last several years, and the costs before the Agency are more than a dozen times manji", explains the director, noting that after the final decision of the Agency, when it comes to the suspension of the procedure (and not the agreement), the employees have a period of 15 days to initiate the procedure before the court.
According to the new Labor Law, which has been in force since January 2020, Rastoder emphasizes, employers are obliged to accept the procedure for the peaceful resolution of labor disputes, and to declare the merits of the disputes in question at the hearings.
"That greatly increased the number of submitted proposals," Rastoder emphasized.
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