The Government has greenlighted several changes to the Labour Code with respect to the state of emergency in Slovakia and the fight against the new coronavirus, due to be deliberated by the House in a fast-tracked procedure. Among the new measures, employers will be granted powers to order their employees to work from home. Unemployment support is being extended by a month. Employers who have suspended production can decide, without consulting unionists, to pay their employees 80 percent of their average salaries if there are hindrances to doing their work. The sum, however, cannot amount to lower than the minimum wage. Furthermore, employers will be able to require that employees later work the amount of time for which the 80-percent compensation was paid, sometime within the next 12 months. Employees who must take care of an ill family member or who are in quarantine will be given protection against termination.
The legislation, however, doesn't sit well with the Confederation of Labour Unions (KOZ), which has bemoaned the fact that the Government failed to discuss any of these changes with the unions. "We find this to be a grave violation of the principle of social dialogue, particularly in today's critical situation," said KOZ spokesperson Martina Nemethová.
