BULGARIA: Annual Update – Expected Labour Law Changes in 2017

Employment dossier

Changes to rules relating to the employment dossier:  Part of the obligatory employment dossier which must be kept for each employee is to be in electronic form (as opposed to a paper form). A regulation by the Council of Ministers will provide further guidance.

The bill is not yet voted by the Parliament. The changes are not expected until the middle of 2017.

Action required: None at present, but keep abreast of the current legal situation.

Secondments

Implementing EEA rules on cross border secondments:  New detailed rules for inbound and outbound secondments within EEA. The changes implement Directives 96/71/EC and 2014/67/EU.

The bill is not yet voted by the Parliament, but the new rules are expected to be effective at the beginning of 2017.

Action required: None at present, but keep abreast of the current legal situation.

Holidays

New rule on official holidays:  If official holidays (except Easter) coincide with Saturday and/or Sunday, the first one or two days of the following working week will be non-working days.

The bill is not yet voted by the Parliament, but the new rule is expected to be effective at the beginning of 2017.

Action required: None at present, but keep abreast of the current legal situation.

Family

Introduction of new rules on child-care/maternity:  More detailed rules are being introduced for various types of child-care leave (e.g. 15-day parental leave in case of adoption).

The new rules will be effective from June 1, 2017.

Action required: Employers must get familiar with the new rules.