A number of laws that will have an impact on employers and investors are making their way, with varying degrees of success, through Parliament.
They include changes to the labour code, to the law on Value-Added Tax, and the Anti-Discrimination Act.
On May 31, Parliament approved the second and final reading of amendments to the labour code.
The labour code amendments have attracted some criticism from businesses that say that they will put new burdens on investors.
The amendments govern long-term deployments of employees abroad, and set notification requirements for large-scale staff cuts.
Employers will have to arrange detailed contract terms for appointments of more than one month in other countries. They have to specify in written form the time of appointment, remuneration terms, currency of payment, bonus clauses, return conditions and employment terms after the end of the mission. The employer should also inform the employee about the conditions for return to Bulgaria.
In the event of planning large-scale staff downsizing, employers will have to send a timetable of planned dismissals to the National Employment Agency and explanatory information on the scale of the staff cuts, the reasons, selection criteria and severance packages. The same information has to be communicated to employees and to trade unions. Unions will also have to be included in the consultation process.
According to a commentary by IntelliNews, representatives of the business sector have described the new amendments as an imposition of new administrative barriers to investors. The changes are also inconsistent with the frequent recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank for liberalisation of the labour market.
The new articles of the code will undoubtedly increase red tape and will most likely slow restructuring procedures in large enterprises, IntelliNews said.
In practice, Government authorities have little capacity to control the implementation of the new labour regulations in the private sector, but on the other hand, employers will face difficulties in dealing with additional court appeals lodged by dismissed workers and trade unions.
Other amendments to the labour code say that when overtime work is assigned under an employment contract, the combined duration of the overtime work and the regular work performed by an employee may not exceed 48 hours a week.
For employees under 18 years of age, the limit is 40 hours a week. If the working week of an employee over 18 years of age has to be extended beyond 48 hours, this requires the employees written consent.
Overtime work is not allowed in hazardous working conditions, when safety and health hazards cannot be eliminated or reduced.
Another amendment says that employees representatives may take part in consultation procedures with their employer and express their views on any measures recommended by the management. Their views should be taken into account when making decisions.
Employees may request a meeting with their employer when it is necessary to notify the employer about questions raised by staff members.
The collective agreement or a separate agreement with the employer may entitle employees to reduced working hours or extra leave when this is required by their duties.
In May, the Bulgarian Human Resource Management and Development Association criticised the changes. The association said that the changes copied European directives but were inappropriate for the business environment in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian International Business Association (BIBA) and the Employers Union said that they were against the changes.
The labour code has been amended more than 40 times since it first came into effect 20 years ago.
Human resources consultants said that the changes, by requiring companies to have employee representatives, would require employers to co-ordinate decisions with two different institutions, these representatives and the unions.
It is not clear as to what information labour union representatives will be entitled to have access. In effect, the code appears to set no limits in this regard.
Meanwhile, disagreements within the governing tripartite coalition have created a delay in parliamentary processing of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Bill.
The first reading of the bill has been approved, but has yet to complete the second reading stage in Parliaments committee on the budget.
The dispute is over the joint liability principle, which is to replace VAT accounts. The disagreement has meant that Bulgaria has not been able to keep its promise to the International Monetary Fund to approve the new VAT Bill by the end of April.
Amendments to the Anti-Discrimination Act, the first reading of which was approved on June 1, will affect mainly central and local governments.
If candidates for a certain position in the central and local administration have equal qualifications, skills, competence and professional experience, the candidate of the less-represented gender in the relevant administration will be appointed. A candidate of the other gender will be appointed only if, following an objective assessment of all criteria related to the personality of the candidate, it is established that there are one or more criteria giving an advantage to this candidate that are not discriminatory towards the candidate of the less-represented sex.
The bill also introduces time limits for discrimination inquiries by the Commission for Protection against Discrimination.
