Employment law

How long can I work on a fixed-term contract?

As a rule, a fixed-term employment contract (ugovor o radu na određeno vreme) lasts at most 24 months, with or without breaks; a break shorter than 30 days does not count as a break. If the contract is contrary to the law, or you keep working for at least five working days after it expires, you are deemed to be employed for an indefinite term (na neodređeno vreme). There are exceptions, for example to replace an absent employee.

Covers: Checking a fixed-term contract · A lawsuit to establish employment for an indefinite term

What is a probationary period and how long does it last?

A probationary period (probni rad) is agreed in the employment contract and lasts at most six months. During it, both you and the employer may terminate the contract with a notice period of at least five working days, and the employer must give reasons for the termination. If you do not show the appropriate working and professional abilities, your employment ends on the day the probationary period expires.

Covers: Probation clauses in the employment contract · Checking a termination during the probationary period

I work without a written contract. Am I employed?

An employment contract is concluded in writing, before you start work. If the employer has not concluded one with you, you are deemed to be employed for an indefinite term from the day you started working. Some work is lawfully done outside an employment relationship, for example under a contract for services (ugovor o delu) or a contract for temporary and occasional work (ugovor o privremenim i povremenim poslovima), but each has its own conditions.

Covers: Checking a contract for work outside employment · A lawsuit to establish an employment relationship

Do I have to sign an annex to my employment contract?

You do not have to. An employer may offer an annex (aneks) only for the reasons set out in the Labour Law (Zakon o radu), for example a transfer or a change in basic salary, with written reasons and at least eight working days for your reply. If you refuse the annex or do not reply in time, the employer may dismiss you. You can challenge both a signed annex and such a dismissal in court.

Covers: Reviewing the annex offer · A reply to the employer · A lawsuit to annul the annex or the dismissal decision (rešenje o otkazu)

Article: Do you have to sign an annex to your employment contract?

What should I do if my employer does not pay my salary?

Your employer must give you a written salary calculation (obračun zarade), even for a month in which it did not pay your salary. Such a calculation is an enforceable document (izvršna isprava): on its basis you can seek enforced collection, without a lawsuit. If there is no calculation, you sue for the salary and allowances. Monetary claims arising from employment become time-barred three years from the day the obligation arose.

Covers: A request for a salary calculation · A motion for enforcement (predlog za izvršenje) · A lawsuit for payment of salary and allowances

Article: What do you do if your employer does not pay your salary?

What is harassment at work and how is it proved?

Harassment at work (zlostavljanje na radu) is repeated behaviour towards an employee that harms their dignity, health or position, or leads them to leave of their own accord. A separate law governs it: protection is sought first from the employer, and then by a lawsuit. Keep messages, emails and notes with dates and the names of witnesses. If you show the court that harassment is probable, the employer must prove that there was none.

Covers: A request for protection from the employer · A lawsuit for harassment at work

Injury at work: am I entitled to compensation?

If you were injured at work or in connection with your work, your employer must compensate you for the damage. Compensation may cover the costs of treatment, lost earnings and non-pecuniary damage, for the pain and fear you suffered. The injury at work report (izveštaj o povredi na radu), medical records and witnesses matter. The claim becomes time-barred three years from when you learned of the damage, and at the latest in five years.

Covers: A compensation claim to the employer · A lawsuit for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage

What should I do when I get a warning before dismissal?

Before dismissing you for your conduct or for a breach of your work duties, the employer must warn you in writing (upozorenje pred otkaz): state the reason, the facts and the evidence, and give you at least eight days from delivery to respond. Reply in writing, within that time, and keep a copy showing the date you handed it in. Your reply becomes part of the evidence if there is later a dispute over the dismissal.

Covers: A reply to the warning · Assessing the next steps

When can my employer dismiss me, and how do I challenge it?

Only for the reasons laid down in the Labour Law, by a written decision with reasons and an instruction on legal remedies (pouka o pravnom leku). You challenge a dismissal by a lawsuit filed within 60 days of the decision being delivered to you; a lawsuit filed after that deadline is rejected. If the court finds the dismissal unlawful, you can ask to return to work and for compensation for lost earnings, or for damages only.

Covers: Reviewing the dismissal decision · A lawsuit to annul the decision · Representation in an employment dispute

What if I am declared redundant?

Dismissal on grounds of redundancy (tehnološki višak) is lawful only if your job has really ceased to exist or the volume of work has been reduced, and only after the employer has paid you severance pay (otpremnina). For three months the employer may not hire anyone else for the same work. If you doubt the procedure, or that the post was really abolished, you challenge the decision by a lawsuit within 60 days.

Covers: Checking the procedure and the severance pay · A lawsuit to annul the dismissal decision

Article: What if you are made redundant?

What is termination by agreement, and what do I lose by it?

Your employment can end by a written agreement between you and your employer (sporazumni raskid), without a notice period. Before you sign, the employer must inform you in writing of the consequences for your rights in case of unemployment: after termination by agreement you are, as a rule, not entitled to unemployment benefit from the National Employment Service (Nacionalna služba za zapošljavanje). Severance pay is not mandatory, but it can be included in the agreement itself.

Covers: Reviewing and amending the agreement before you sign

Article: What do you lose if you sign a termination agreement?

How do I resign?

You give your employer notice in writing, at least 15 days before the day you name as your last working day. The employer's internal rules (opšti akt) or the employment contract may set a longer period, but no more than 30 days. You do not have to give a reason. When you leave, the employer pays you compensation for unused annual leave, so check that payment and the final salary calculation.

Covers: Drafting your resignation · Checking your rights when you leave

I am hiring my first employee. What do I need?

Before the first day of work you need a written employment contract and the employee's registration for compulsory social insurance (prijava na obavezno socijalno osiguranje). Every employer must also have a risk assessment act (akt o proceni rizika), under the Law on Safety and Health at Work (Zakon o bezbednosti i zdravlju na radu). An employment rulebook (pravilnik o radu) and a job classification act (akt o sistematizaciji) depend on the size of the company. Agree the registration and the salary calculation with your accountant.

Covers: An employment contract for the first employee · The company documents you need

Article: What do you need when hiring your first employee?Company and commercial law: Sole trader or d.o.o.

When does a company need an employment rulebook?

Employees' rights and obligations are set by a collective agreement (kolektivni ugovor), an employment rulebook or the employment contract itself. Where no collective agreement applies to you, an employment rulebook is the usual way to make the rules on salaries, breaks and leave, and working hours the same for everyone. Smaller employers can also settle these matters in the employment contracts, but then every change requires an annex to every contract.

Covers: Drafting and amending the employment rulebook

What is a job classification act and why does it matter?

The rulebook on the organisation and classification of jobs (pravilnik o organizaciji i sistematizaciji poslova) describes the posts, the work done in them and the requirements for doing it. Employment contracts, annex offers and the procedure for abolishing a post as redundant all refer to it. When the act does not match how the company is actually organised, an employee can use that in a dispute against the employer.

Covers: Drafting the job classification act and bringing it into line with the company

How do I offer an annex or dismiss an employee lawfully?

An annex may be offered only on grounds set by law, in writing, with reasons, a deadline of at least eight working days for the reply and the consequences of refusing it. A dismissal is made by a decision with reasons and an instruction on legal remedies, and a dismissal for conduct or a breach of work duties must be preceded by a written warning. A court may annul a dismissal over an error in the procedure even when the grounds for it existed.

Covers: An annex offer · A warning before dismissal · A dismissal decision · The redundancy procedure

I am an employer and an employee has sued me. What now?

You reply to the lawsuit in writing, within 30 days of the day it was served on you; without a reply, the court may give a judgment by default (presuda zbog propuštanja). In an employment dispute the court looks at the documents: the employment contract, the job classification act, warnings, decisions and salary calculations. So the first step is to gather everything that exists, and the next is to assess whether the dispute can be resolved by a settlement.

Covers: The reply to the lawsuit · Representing the employer in an employment dispute