You've launched your business, completed all administrative steps to kickstart operations, and now you're ready to commence work. After finding quality collaborators and deciding with whom to establish an employment relationship, you've probably wondered, 'What documentation do I need to hire an employee in accordance with the law?' If this is the case, rest assured, you're in the right place! In this guide, we'll highlight the essential documents you need to prepare to establish an employment relationship in compliance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia.*
*Note: This guide assumes that you have already legally conducted the process of job posting and candidate selection. If this is not the case, and you have questions regarding this phase of the procedure, feel free to contact us at office@r-legal.net.
I. First and foremost – Employment Agreement
What everyone assumes, even without legal knowledge, is that establishing an employment relationship requires concluding an employment agreement with the employee. This is correct – in the Republic of Serbia, an employment relationship is established through the conclusion of an employment agreement. However, it is essential to be aware of some basic conditions that must be met for this step to be legally compliant.
The employment agreement must be in written form and personally signed (in wet ink). Yes, that's right – although it is possible to conclude contracts electronically in the Republic of Serbia, unfortunately, this does not yet apply to the establishment of employment relationships. The employment agreement needs to be printed in at least three copies, with two copies retained by the employer and one handed over to the employee.
On the employer's side, the agreement is concluded by the competent authority, i.e., the person determined by law or the employer's general act, or a person authorized by them. Unless otherwise specified in the general act, it will generally be the company director (or the entrepreneur if the employer is an entrepreneur). On the other hand, the agreement is signed by the employee personally (with a specificity for individuals under the age of 18, where parental, adoptive, or guardian consent is required).
Due to the scope of the blog topic, we will not delve into other specific aspects of concluding an employment agreement at this point, such as the use of seals, the specifics of concluding an employment agreement with a director, the duration of the employment agreement, mandatory and optional contents, and other specifics.
II. Mandatory Notifications with the Employment Agreement
With the employment agreement, certain notifications must be provided to the employee to acquaint them with the rights they will exercise in the employment relationship. These documents include:
a. Notice of Prohibition of Harassment
The employer is obligated to inform the employee in writing, before commencing work, about the prohibition of harassment and the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of the employee and employer regarding the prohibition of harassment, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the prevention of harassment at work.
Failure to fulfill the obligation to inform the employee may result in misdemeanor liability and a fine ranging from 100,000 to 400,000 RSD for a corporate employer or from 10,000 to 40,000 RSD for a enterpreneur. The responsible person in the legal entity may also be fined.
b. Notice of Whistleblower Rights
According to the Law on protection of whistleblowers, the employer is obligated to provide written notice of the rights under this law to all individuals engaged in work (not only employees!). Although the law does not specify a deadline for this, it is generally interpreted in practice that this should also be done before commencing work, to avoid risks.
Similar to the previous case, failure to comply with this obligation results in misdemeanor liability and fines for employers (ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 RSD for a legal entity and from 20,000 to 200,000 RSD for an enterpreneur) and the responsible person.
c. Collection of personal data of employees
When employing someone, the employer collects and processes various personal data of the employee. Since most of this data is collected based on specific laws (on records in the field of labor), the employer does not need the employee's consent to process them. However, employers often collect other data, which can only be collected with the employee's consent, of which employers are often unaware, leading them to collect such data without consent, contrary to the law. If you suspect this may be the case for you, this oversight should be corrected as soon as possible.
In addition to the mentioned, there are other legal bases for processing personal data (meaning that for certain data, it may not be necessary to obtain the employee's consent, but it is still necessary to take other steps and adopt certain documents). In this regard, it is advisable to always consult with experts to determine what data you are collecting from employees, whether their processing requires the employee's specific consent, or if other steps need to be taken to ensure lawful processing.
On the other hand, regardless of the legal basis for processing personal data, Article 23 of the Personal data protection Law obliges every data controller to provide certain information to the person whose data is being collected at the time of data collection. In this sense, the employer is required to inform the (future) employee about all this information, which is done in the form of a specific notice.
As in the previous two cases, the law establishes misdemeanor liability and high fines (up to 2,000,000 RSD) in case of non-compliance with the specified (and other) obligations under this law. It is crucial to align your actions with the provisions of this law to avoid legal consequences.
III. Employment Rulebook (?)
Although according to the Labor Law, Employment Rulebook is not a mandatory document, adopting it greatly facilitates the regulation of mutual rights and obligations between the employer and employees. This is why most employers opt to adopt it - instead of detailing all rights and obligations in the employment agreement, a much more efficient approach is to refer to a universally adopted set of rules in the Employment Rulebook, for all the matters that don't need to be regulated exclusively by the employment agreement.
Employment Rulebook is unilaterally adopted by the employer, and employees must only be given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with its content, since this document is published (on the bulletin board or electronic bulletin board) by the employer upon adoption or amendments. Within the bounds of legal compliance, the employer is free to regulate working conditions, rules of conduct, and other work-related matters applicable to all employees. For these reasons, it is recommended to adopt Employment Rulebook, even during initial hirings.
IV. Rulebook on organization and systematization
This general act is mandatory only for employers with 11 or more employees. Therefore, if you plan to hire this number of employees immediately or if the number of employees reaches this threshold over time, you will be legally obligated to adopt this document. However, this does not mean that you cannot (and should not) adopt this document even if you employ a smaller number of employees. Moreover, since this document regulates crucial aspects such as job positions, organizational structure, job descriptions, and working conditions, for complete legal certainty, it is advisable to adopt this document regardless of the number of employees.
V. Documentation regarding occupational health and safety
In addition to being required to take measures in the field of occupational health and safety (such as implementing preventive measures, training employees for safe and healthy work and for providing first aid, and more), the employer is obliged to adopt certain documents.
First and foremost, the employer must have a Risk Assessment Act for all job positions. In addition, the employer is obliged to determine the rights, obligations, and responsibilities in the field of occupational health and safety. Employers with up to 10 employees can do this through an employment contract, while others must do it in the form of a general act. As in previous cases, regardless of the number of employees, adopting a general act is recommended. Regarding obligations in the field of occupational health and safety, it is best to consult agencies specialized in these matters, that can further assist you in preparing the documents.
VI. Instead of a conclusion – are these my only obligations?
We must note that the employer's obligations are not exhausted by adopting mandatory documentation, as employers must take other actions at the beginning and during the employment relationship to remain in compliance with the law. A general obligation for all employers is that, after concluding an employment agreement and before the employee starts working, it is necessary to register the employee with the Central Register of Mandatory Social Insurance (CROSO), for which it is best to consult your accountants, who can handle this part of the procedure.
In addition, being an employer means adhering to some other obligations. It is essential to be familiar with them to avoid risking high fines and to provide employees with appropriate working conditions. These obligations include, for example, ensuring regular eye check-ups (if you are an employer in the IT industry), periodic training on occupational health and safety, employing persons with disabilities once you exceed a certain number of employees, adopting documents on gender equality, maintaining documentation in accordance with archival rules, submitting documents to the relevant archives, etc.
Although it may seem daunting at first, compliance with these obligations is neither a difficult nor costly task. If you are starting a business, or already active and unsure whether you are compliant with all legal obligations or have additional questions, feel free to contact us at office@r-legal.net.
In conclusion, it is crucial to emphasize that in this text, we addressed the documentation that most employers must possess, representing the minimum required documents applicable to all employers. However, depending on the type of business, the nature of your operations, and other factors, the list of mandatory documentation may vary. The same applies to other obligations; for example, certain industries may require specific permits for the employer and/or employee. Therefore, it is essential to familiarize yourself with all obligations specific to your business sector before hiring employees.
Note: The information provided in this article is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
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