If you believe that your rights have been violated or endangered by decisions made by your employer (e.g., reassignment to a different workplace or position, reduction of monthly salary, unlawful termination of the employment contract due to organizational, economic, or technical reasons, unlawful or unfounded termination of the existing employment contract accompanied by an offer of a new one for any reason, entitlement to certain monetary compensation arising from the employment relationship, any form of discrimination, or if you believe your rights guaranteed under the Labor Law have been otherwise violated), please reach out with your inquiry.
On the other hand, if you are an employer intending to terminate an employment contract with an employee for one or more legal reasons, or if you wish to terminate the existing employment contract with an offer of a new one, it is essential to follow the procedure prescribed by legal provisions and the employer’s internal regulations, in order to avoid the risk of the termination decision being annulled by the court in civil proceedings.
Case Law and Legal Opinions
Questions:
Can an employer transfer an employee to another place of work to perform the same or similar duties (e.g., from Sarajevo to Tuzla)?
Can the reassignment of an employee to a different location, aimed at achieving better business results for the employer, be considered an organizational or economic reason as defined by the Labor Law?
Answer: The Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its ruling, decided on the merits of the plaintiff-employee’s claim against the employer, where the employee filed a declaratory claim seeking to have the employer’s decision on relocation to another place of work declared null and void. The legal opinion of the Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH is identical to that of the Supreme Court of Croatia. For further information or to review the legal opinions in detail, feel free to contact me.
Questions:
Is the employer, after a final and binding court decision (in which the court upheld the employee's claim for reinstatement), obligated to reinstate the employee to the same position, even if another person was hired for that position during the course of the court proceedings?
If the employee refuses to accept a modified employment contract (for a different position), can the employee initiate legal proceedings to challenge the justification and legality of the modified contract?
Answer:
The answers to the above-mentioned questions have been provided by the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Supreme Court of Croatia in their respective rulings.
Questions:
Can actions taken by an employer aimed at improving organizational efficiency, which apply to all employees, be considered mobbing (workplace harassment)?
Can the issuance of warnings to an employee for minor and/or major violations of work duties be considered a form of discrimination?
Answer:
On this matter, the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina took a legal position in a ruling issued in 2017. For further information, please contact an attorney.
Pitanje: da li radnik može podnijeti tužbu protiv poslodavca sa tužbenim zahtjevom koji glasi na poništenje opomene za lakšu ili težu povredu radne obaveze, koja nije dovela do prestanka radnog odnosa?
Odgovor: Postoje identična pravna shvatanja nekoliko sudova u BiH i Hrvatskoj po ovim tužbenim zahtjevima.
Question:
If the employer has issued a written warning to an employee for a minor violation of work duties and warned the employee that the employment contract will be terminated if another violation occurs within the next six months, can the employer terminate the contract only if the employee commits the same violation, or can the contract also be terminated if the employee commits a different violation of work duties?
Legal Opinion – Attorney’s View:
When an employer intends to terminate an employment contract based on Article 97, paragraph 3 of the Labor Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is necessary to take into account all relevant circumstances, such as the severity and type of the violation of work duties, as well as the circumstances under which the violations occurred.
In my opinion, the employer is not required to wait for the employee to repeat the same violation for which a written warning was previously issued. Rather, the employer may terminate the employment contract if the employee commits any other violations of work duties.
The purpose of Article 97, paragraph 3 of the Labor Law of the FBiH is to protect the rights and interests of the employer from arbitrary, unlawful, or reckless conduct by individual employees.
Question:
Can an employer terminate an employment contract with an employee during the period of the employee's temporary incapacity for work?
Answer:
According to the legal opinion of the Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed in its ruling, as well as the legal opinion of the District Court in Banja Luka from 2016, an employer may terminate an employment contract with an employee during a period of temporary incapacity for work due to illness. However, termination is not permitted if the incapacity is the result of an occupational disease or a work-related injury.
For example, if an employee commits a serious breach of work duties of such nature that it would be unreasonable to expect the employer to continue the employment relationship, and the employer learns of this breach during the employee’s temporary incapacity due to illness, the employer may proceed with extraordinary termination (without observing the notice period), during the incapacity period, provided that it is done within the time limits prescribed by Article 100 of the Labor Law of the Federation of BiH.
Other Questions:
After a first-instance judgment ordering the employer to reinstate the employee to the same or a similar position, and while an appeal against the judgment is still pending, is the employer authorized to invite the employee to return to work before thesecond-instance court renders its decision? In that case, is the employee obligated to respond and report to work upon the employer’s request?
Question:
Can a fixed-term employment contract be converted into a permanent (open-ended) employment contract if the employee is on medical leave due to a work-related injury at the time the fixed-term contract expires?
Question:
Can the theft of low-value property belonging to the employer by an employee constitute grounds for termination of the employment contract without observing the notice period?
Question:
If an employee has received a payroll statement from the employer, but the salary has not been paid and contributions have not been calculated or paid, can the employee initiate enforcement proceedings directly against the employer and request payment of the salary and contributions?
Question:
If an employee has received a payroll statement and the salary has been paid, but the employer has not paid the required contributions, can the employee initiate enforcement proceedings directly against the employer to demand payment of the contributions?
Question:
Is the termination of an employment contract valid if the employer delivers the termination to the employee without conducting a disciplinary procedure, but has filed a criminal complaint with the competent prosecutor’s office based on reasonable suspicion that the employee has committed a criminal offense?
Question:
Can an employer collect their claim against an employee by withholding a portion of the employee’s monthly salary?
If you need an answer to any of the questions listed above, or if you have another question or dilemma about how to proceed in a specific situation, please contact an attorney.
