How To Implement Flexible Work Arrangements In Serbia In The Post-Covid-19 Era

• Published date: 23 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Health & Safety, Employment and Workforce Wellbeing
• Law Firm: Schoenherr Attorneys at Law
• Author: Ms Marija Vlajkovic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, in every industry where it was possible employers transferred their employees to work from home.

As the pandemic lasted almost two years, flexible work arrangements became a habit for both employers and employees. On the one hand, employers saw it as a chance to cut costs while incentivising their employees, especially in tech and other industries that compete fiercely for the best workers. On the other hand, employees have been working like this far too long to return to the office without consequences to their private lives, while some still have fears around Covid-19.

Thus, employers now face the dilemma of whether to let employees stay at home, order them to return to the office, or agree on a hybrid arrangement. When making this decision, employers should consider all the issues related to the implementation of flexible work arrangements in Serbia, where this type of work is underregulated.

Legal background

In principle, the Serbian Labour Act regulates remote work or work from home as a sui generis employment agreement only. Thus, under the Labour Act, work from home or any remote arrangement could be introduced only through a new employment agreement and not through an annex to the employment agreement. However, in view of the urgency of the Covid-19 outbreak, employers quickly transferred their employees to work from home by concluding annexes to existing employment agreements.

A little while later, once the government had adopted a regulation on work organisation during the state of emergency, employers continued to transfer employees to work from home unilaterally via a decision on transfer.

The Ministry of Labour then issued Guidelines on Occupational Health and Safety in the Event of Remote Work (the "Guidelines"), which again confirmed that work from home / remote work should be introduced by concluding annexes to the employment agreements with employees. Relying on the Guidelines, employers are now continuing to transfer their employees by concluding annexes to employment agreements, irrespective of the uncertainties of the Labour Act. Nevertheless, due to the lack of a sufficient legal framework, employers should focus more on creating their own internal rules for work from home.

Issues with flexible work arrangements

In practice, by concluding the necessary annexes to effectuate the transfer from office to home or other remote premises, the agreed place of work is being changed (from office to home or other...