During employment, employees have certain rights but also specific responsibilities. Employers also have obligations towards employees upon entering into employment. Below, you’ll find more on this topic – what the rights and obligations of employees are and what the employer’s duties entail.
Relevant regulations define rights, obligations, and responsibilities in employment relations. The employment relationship between the employee and the employer is governed by the Labor Law. Additionally, provisions defined by special laws are applied, and their legal relationship is also defined by a collective agreement, work regulations, and an employment contract.
The rest of the text provides more detailed information on employees’ rights, obligations, and responsibilities based on employment.
Fundamental Rights of Employees After Establishing the Employment Relationship
Throughout the employment relationship, employees are entitled to certain rights guaranteed by law. Similarly, they must fulfill their work duties, obligations, and responsibilities stipulated by the Labor Law. On the other hand, the employer also has certain obligations to ensure workers’ rights can be realized.
Both the employee and the employer are required to comply with legal provisions. Additionally, it should be emphasized that when establishing the employment relationship, all employee rights during work engagement are predefined, usually through an employment contract, company regulations, or other general acts. Alongside rights, all obligations and responsibilities of the employee and the obligations of the company towards the employees are defined.
Next, we will first list the rights of the workers and then provide explanations:
- Right to appropriate remuneration;
- Right to safety and health at work;
- Right to health protection;
- Right to protection of personal integrity and dignity;
- Rights in case of illness, reduced or lost ability to work, and old age;
- Right to material security during temporary unemployment;
- Right to other forms of protection, by the law and general act, or employment contract;
- Special protection of specific categories of individuals.
Responsibilities for the Employer
The obligations and responsibilities of the employer relate to creating conditions for employees to realize their guaranteed rights.
The employer is obligated to:
- Pay wages or salary to the worker for the work performed;
- Ensure working conditions for employees and organize work to be safe and without danger to life and health at work;
- Inform employees about working conditions, work organization, rules related to respecting work organization, business, terms, and regulations regarding the fulfillment of contractual and other work obligations;
- Inform employees about rights and obligations under other regulations (regulations in the field of safety, life protection, and health at work, by the Law on Safety and Health at Work);
- Provide employees with the performance of tasks determined by the employment contract;
- When required, seek the opinion of the union;
- If there is no union in the company, seek the opinion of the representatives designated by the employees.
The Basic Obligations of Employees in Employment
Employees in the company have the following obligations:
- To conscientiously and responsibly perform work tasks and duties assigned to them;
- To respect the organization of work and business operations within the employer, as well as the conditions and rules of the company related to fulfilling contractual and other obligations;
- To inform the employer about significant circumstances that may affect or could affect the performance of duties specified in the employment contract;
- To inform the employer about any potential danger to life and health and the occurrence of material damage.
# Right to Earnings
The first and most important right is earnings. Employees are entitled to a certain salary for their work with the employer. This consists of payment for the work done and time spent at work, earnings based on the employee’s contribution to the employer’s business success (awards, bonuses, etc.), and other income related to the employment relationship.
They have the right to at least the minimum wage (no less than that). The salary is paid in gross – net earnings + taxes and social contributions.
The employer must usually pay the salary once a month (this depends on the employer, as it happens in practice that it is paid twice a month). The deadline for payment for earnings from the previous month is by the end of the current month. When calculating, employees must receive a salary calculation for each month.
Employees may also have other rights related to earnings if provided for by the general act or employment contract:
- Right to increased earnings;
- Compensation for expenses (transportation to work, holiday pay, hot meal, etc.);
- Other income (severance pay, anniversary award, solidarity assistance, additional insurance, etc.);
- Right to paid leave;
- Right to unpaid leave.
# Right to Occupational Safety and Health for Employees
Employees have the right to occupational safety without endangering their lives and health. The employer must ensure this and implement preventive measures in all work activities and processes to prevent compromising workplace safety, life, or health.
In the event that an employee suffers an injury or harm at work or related to work, the company is obligated to compensate for the damage incurred.
# Right to Healthcare Protection for Workers
Employees have the right to mandatory healthcare protection throughout their employment. This right is exercised through contributions paid for obligatory social insurance deducted from wages and salaries. The employer is obligated to settle these contributions.
Mandatory health insurance includes:
- Insurance for illness and non-work-related injuries;
- Insurance for work-related injuries and occupational diseases.
# Other Rights in Case of Illness, Disability Reduction or Old Age
These rights are also granted based on social insurance in cases where the employer regularly pays contributions for mandatory social insurance. Then, if the employee is temporarily unable to work and absent from work due to illness, they are entitled to wage compensation for the first 30 days. In that case, the company must pay them wage compensation. If they are temporarily unable to work due to injury, they are entitled to compensation for injury at work or occupational illness. They also have the right to wage compensation for the entire duration of temporary incapacity for work due to injury.
# The Right to Protect Personal Integrity and Dignity of Employees
Employees at work have the right to protect their integrity and dignity. This encompasses prohibiting discrimination in any capacity (direct and indirect), preventing harassment and unwanted behavior, and forbidding sexual harassment.
# Material Security During Temporary Unemployment
This right means the following: when temporary unemployment occurs, an individual who was previously employed becomes unemployed due to the termination of their employment. Employment terminates if the contract expires due to the employee’s declaration as redundant and other reasons in accordance with the law. In these cases, the right to financial compensation based on paid insurance contributions for unemployment is realized.
# Special Rights of Certain Employees
Special rights for specific categories of employees apply to youth, parents (guardians, adoptive parents, foster parents), persons with disabilities, and mothers. Here are the details:
- Employed women have the right to special protection during pregnancy, childbirth, and absence for childcare – absence from work due to pregnancy and birth, as well as absence from work for childcare for a total duration of 365 days; the right to paid leave during the day for health checks related to pregnancy; the right not to perform strenuous tasks that may be harmful to her or the child; the right not to work overtime or at night if such work is potentially hazardous; during pregnancy, maternity leave, childcare leave, and special childcare leave, a female employee cannot be terminated (the employment relationship is extended until the expiration of the leave entitlement);
- The right to special protection for childcare – after the expiration of maternity leave and absence from work for childcare for a child in need of special care due to illness, one of the parents has the right to leave or to half of the full-time work for a maximum of five years of the child’s life;
- Protection of parents and mothers, with written consent – a single parent of a child up to seven years of age or a child with severe disabilities may work overtime – at night; one of the parents of a child up to three years of age may work overtime – at night;
- Employees under 18 years of age – are not to perform heavy physical work, work underground, underwater, at great heights, or perform hazardous tasks exposed to radiation or dangerous substances that may cause illness or increase health and life risks;
- Employees with disabilities and health impairments – have the right to perform tasks according to their work capacity.
For any additional questions or clarifications, feel free to contact us. HLB T&M Consulting Belgrade Accounting Agency provides salary calculation services, and we can also assist you with further advice or information.
