Amendment and addition to the Ordinance on working hours, breaks and vacations

MR IVAILLO CALFIN
DEPUTY MINISTER - CHAIRMAN
ON DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL POLICY
MINISTER OF LABOR AND SOCIAL POLICY
AND CHAIRMAN OF 
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TRILATERAL COOPERATION

REGARDING: Amendment and addition to the Ordinance on working hours, breaks and vacations

DEAR MR CALFIN,

The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria supports, in principle, the proposed changes aimed at bringing the Ordinance on working hours, breaks and vacations in line with the adopted changes to the Labor Code.

Taking into account that during the discussion of the regulation in the Committee on labor legislation, a large part of our comments were accepted, we remain in the position expressed during the meeting of the Committee and do not support the proposed amendment in paragraph 4.

We believe that the proposed text of Art. 37a is in conflict with Art. 173 of the Civil Code and especially with the principle proclaimed by it in the use of annual paid leave by employees. In the absence of the obligation to prepare a schedule for the use of annual paid leave, illogically and expanding the norm of KT, the Ordinance foresees an obligation for the employer to notify each worker and employee in writing of the amount of paid annual leave due to him for the calendar year. In this way, in reality, the by-law restores the employer's obligation to prepare a vacation schedule, aggravated by the obligation to provide written notification, which should also include a report on unused and deferred vacation.

This is an unlawful burden on the employer beyond the scope and meaning of the legal provision. The new version of Art. 173, paragraph 1 of the CT / SG No. 54 of 2015/ provides that leave can only be used with written permission from the employer. And paragraph 5 of the same text obliges him to allow the use of leave until the end of the calendar year with the exception of deferred leave.

Given the above, Art. 37a of the current ordinance should be repealed and not amended.

With respect,
Eugene Ivanov
Ex. director