Labour legislation in Croatia
Labour legislation in Croatia

Summary/Abstract: The Labour Law in Croatia was adopted in 1995 and is in force as from January 1, 1996. After that date in 2001 it was amended twice. The Law introduced the so-called ‘civil’ concept of labour relations whereas this had previously been regarded as a status-related and legal concept. The Labour Law is a regulation of general significance, which regulates labour relations as a whole, regardless of whether the employer is a legal or a physical person, except where they are regulated by a separate law. This separate law which regulates labour relations in a different way refers to public servants and employees who continue to keep status-related labour relations. During 2002, the Croatian Government started an initiative to amend the labour legislation in order to achieve greater flexibility in labour relations. However, the discussion itself among social partners has shown that each partner interpreted that notion in a different way – trade unions primarily advocate the need for introducing functional flexibility, while the Croatian Government and employers primarily focused on numerical flexibility and on the adaptation of employees to the real needs of employers, accompanied by the reduction of costs through shortened dismissal notice periods and reduced severance pay. Since no agreement was reached on these issues, negotiations are presently at a standstill.

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