Employees’ right to disconnect in Slovenia

This Client Alert is available in both English and Slovenian.

The right to disconnect entitles employees not to be at the employer’s disposal during rest periods and other justified absences.

According to Article 142a of the Slovenian Employment Relationships Act, employers must adopt measures to ensure employees’ right to disconnect by 16 November 2024 at the latest.

Specific measures are not regulated by statutory law but shall be determined in collective agreements or internal policies, according to the following hierarchy: 

(i) industry-level collective agreement, 
(ii) company-level collective agreement concluded with a trade union (company collective agreement), if the measures are not stipulated in an industry-level collective agreement,
(iii) an employer’s general act (policy) which requires a prior opinion of the works council / employee trustee; in the absence of a works council / employee trustee, the employer must inform the employees of the implementation of the measures.

1. Practical examples of possible measures

• Employees may be clearly informed that they are not obliged to take calls or respond to e-mails received outside working hours;
• E-mails received after working hours on working days, weekends and holidays may be automatically delivered to the employee’s mailbox at the start of the next working day;
• The employer may implement technical restrictions with regard to access to an employee’s mailbox outside of working hours;
• In the event of a longer absence by an employee (such as, an annual leave), an automatic out-of-office reply may be activated, which may contain the information to contact another employee in case of emergency;
• Meetings may not be scheduled outside reasonable business hours (e.g., starting half an hour after the start and ending half an hour before the end of regular business hours); regular meetings may need to be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance and concluded at the scheduled time, etc.

2. Exceptions

All exceptions from the right to disconnect must be justified and relate to situations in which the work process may be seriously compromised and require an immediate response. It is advisable to anticipate these circumstances in a relevant policy (e.g., on-call time, cases of force majeure or urgent circumstances, etc.), as the employer will have to prove the urgency of these circumstances.

3. Burden of proof

The employer will bear the burden of proof that it has adopted appropriate measures. These measures must be properly implemented, both legally (e.g., through adopted policies) and from the technical and organisational perspective, e.g., by division and project managers. The employer is also obligated to ensure such measures are followed and implemented on a permanent basis, thus contributing to company culture. Who enjoys the right to disconnect?

All employees, including managing directors, procurators and executive employees enjoy the right to disconnect. With regard to managerial and executive employees, their right to disconnect is limited by the nature of their work and the possibility of agreeing to different working hours, breaks and rest periods in their employment contracts.

4. Sanctions

• EUR 1,500 – 4,000 for an employer, 
• EUR 150 – 1,000 for the responsible person of the employer.

In case of an employer’s breach, employees have the right to request in writing that the violation be cured, only after which they will also have access to judicial proceedings. Should the affected employee suffer any damage, the employer is liable under the general rules of civil law. 

We expect that violations of the right to disconnect will become particularly relevant in cases of burnout. The labour inspector may focus more on these issues and the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia may increasingly claim reimbursement for the costs of employees’ sickness absences from breaching employers. 

5. How to regulate the right to disconnect?

1) Identify the appropriate manner for adoption of the general internal act. Is it necessary to wait for negotiations between social partners (trade unions and employers’ organisations), or should one engage in negotiations with the employer’s trade union, or consult with a works council?

2) Prepare a proposal of an annex to the company-level collective agreement or an internal policy providing for appropriate measures to ensure the right to disconnect. 

3) Consult with the trade union for the purpose of adopting the annex to the company-level collective agreement or inform the works council or employees on the proposed measures. The works council may give its opinions, which must be considered by the employer.

4) Adopt the annex or the policy, which should be published in the usual form (on a billboard, intranet, etc).

5) Inform all employees in the customary manner. Ensure that the policy is available and accessible to employees at all times.

Once the guidelines or measures meant to ensure the right to disconnect are contained in an industry-level collective agreement, each employer must inform the employees in writing of the specific measures, which in practice will likely need to be reflected in a separate policy.

6. How can Wolf Theiss assist you?

Wolf Theiss offers integrated and tailor-made solutions for business compliance with labour laws, as well as with other regulations, including:

• Revision of existing and/or drafting of new internal employer policies;
• Revision of existing and/or drafting of new employment contracts;
• Legal advice by an experienced team of employment lawyers in the event of specific questions or legal representation of employers before inspection authorities or courts.

Pravica delavcev do odklopa

Pravica do odklopa je pravica delavca, da ni na razpolago delodajalcu med počitkom ali upravičeno odsotnostjo z dela.

V skladu s 142.a členom Zakona o delovnih razmerjih morajo delodajalci sprejeti ukrepe za zagotovitev pravice delavcev do odklopa najkasneje do 16. novembra 2024. 

Zakon ne opredeljuje posameznih ukrepov; ti se določijo v kolektivnih pogodbah oz. internih aktih delodajalca ob upoštevanju sledeče hierarhije: 

(i) kolektivne pogodbe na ravni dejavnosti,
(ii) kolektivne pogodbe na ožji ravni, ki je sklenjena s sindikatom pri delodajalcu (tj. podjetniške kolektivne pogodbe), kadar ukrepi ne izhajajo že iz kolektivne pogodbe na ravni dejavnosti,  
(iii) splošnega internega akta (pravilnika) delodajalca po pridobitvi mnenja sveta delavcev (delavskega zaupnika); oz. seznanitvi delavcev z vsebino ukrepov, kadar v družbi ni delavskega predstavništva. 

1. Praktični primeri ukrepov

(i) Delavci so jasno obveščeni, da niso dolžni sprejemati klicev ali odgovarjati na elektronsko pošto, prejeto zunaj delovnega časa;
(ii) e-pošta, prejeta med delavniki po koncu delovnega časa, med vikendi in prazniki, se samodejno dostavi v poštni predal na začetku naslednjega delovnega dne; 
(iii) delodajalec vzpostavi tehnično omejen dostop do poštnega predala zaposlenega zunaj delovnega časa; 
(iv) v primeru daljše odsotnosti delavca, kot je letni dopust, se v okviru e-pošte aktivira samodejni odzivnik z napotilom na drugega sodelavca v nujnih primerih;
(v) sestanki se ne sklicujejo izven primernega delovnega časa (npr. najbolj zgodaj pol ure pred rednim začetkom delovnega časa in se zaključujejo najkasneje pol ure pred njegovim zaključkom), redni sestanki se sklicujejo npr. najmanj 48 ur vnaprej in se zaključujejo ob predvidenem času, itd.

2. Izjeme

Izjeme od pravice delavcev do odklopa morajo biti utemeljene in se morajo nanašati na situacije, v katerih je lahko resno ogrožen delovni proces in je potreben takojšen odziv. Te okoliščine je priporočljivo predvideti vnaprej v ustreznem pravilniku (npr. čas dežurstva, primeri višje sile oz. izrednih okoliščin itd.), saj bo moral delodajalec dokazati nujnost okoliščin.

3. Dokazno breme

Delodajalec nosi dokazno breme, da je sprejel ustrezne ukrepe. Ti ukrepi morajo biti ustrezno implementirani, tako pravno, npr. s sprejetimi pravilniki, kot tudi s tehničnega in organizacijskega vidika, npr. s strani vodij sektorjev in projektnih vodij. Delodajalec je dolžan zagotavljati trajno upoštevanje in izvajanje tovrstnih ukrepov, s čimer se sooblikuje kultura v družbi.

4. Kdo ima pravico do odklopa?

Pravico do odklopa imajo vsi delavci, vključno z direktorji, prokuristi in vodilnimi delavci. Pri vodstvenih in vodilnih delavcih je njihova pravica do odklopa omejena z naravo njihovega dela in možnostjo dogovora o drugačnem delovnem času, odmoru in počitku v pogodbi o zaposlitvi.

5. Sankcije

(i) Od 1.500 do 4.000 EUR za delodajalca in 

(ii) od 150 do 1.000 EUR za odgovorno osebo delodajalca.

V primeru delodajalčeve kršitve ima delavec pravico pisno zahtevati odpravo kršitve in le nato lahko uveljavlja sodno varstvo. Če delavec utrpi škodo, je delodajalec odgovoren po splošnih pravilih civilnega prava.

Predvidevamo, da bi v prihodnosti kršitev pravice do odklopa lahko postala še posebej pomembna v primeru izgorelih delavcev. Lahko, da se bo Inšpektorat za delo tej problematiki vse bolj posvečal in da bo Zavod za zdravstveno zavarovanje Slovenije od delodajalcev kršiteljev vse pogosteje zahteval povračilo stroškov bolniških odsotnosti delavcev.

6. Kako urediti pravico do odklopa?

1. Določite, kako je treba sprejeti splošni interni akt. Ali morate počakati na pogajanja med socialnimi partnerji (sindikati in organizacijami delodajalcev), začeti pogajanja s sindikatom pri delodajalcu ali se posvetovati s svetom delavcev? 
   
2. Pripravite predlog aneksa k podjetniški kolektivni pogodbi oz.predlog internega pravilnika, ki določa ustrezne ukrepe za zagotovitev pravice do odklopa. 
   
3. O predlaganih ukrepih se posvetujte s sindikatom z namenom sklenitve aneksa k podjetniški kolektivni pogodbi ali pa seznanite svet delavcev oz. delavce. Svet delavcev lahko poda mnenje, ki ga morate preučiti.
   
4. Sklenite aneks oz. sprejmite pravilnik, ki ga objavite na običajen način (na oglasni deski, intranetu ipd.).
   
5. Obvestite vse delavce na običajen način. Zagotovite, da je pravilnik zaposlenim vedno na voljo na dostopnem mestu.

V primerih, ko bodo usmeritve oz. ukrepi za zagotovitev pravice do odklopa določeni že s kolektivno pogodbo na ravni dejavnosti, morate kot delodajalec o konkretnih ukrepih pisno obvestiti delavce, kar se bo v praksi najverjetneje odražalo s sprejetjem pravilnika. 

6. Kako vam lahko Wolf Theiss pomaga?

Wolf Theiss ponuja celostne in hkrati po meri strank prilagojene rešitve za zagotavljanje skladnosti poslovanja, tako v luči delovnega prava kot drugih predpisov, in sicer:

(i) pregled obstoječih pravilnikov oz. pripravo novih internih pravilnikov delodajalca,

(ii) pregled obstoječih oz. pripravo novih pogodb o zaposlitvi,

(iii) izkušeno ekipo odvetnikov, specializiranih za delovno pravo, če se pojavijo posamezna konkretna vprašanja oziroma ko je potrebno zastopanje delodajalcev pred inšpekcijskimi organi ali sodišči.