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45 New Articles

In pursuit of solutions to the problem of unemployment and the flexibility of the labor market, Lithuania has endorsed a new Labor Code, which will come into force on July 1, 2017. The main objectives of the new legislation are to adapt the country’s laws to reflect progress in the market and to allow more liberal labor relations between employers and employees. The changes are intended to facilitate job creation, reduce the unemployment rate, ensure clarity in labor relations, and make the Lithuanian market more attractive to investors. 

On January 1, 2017, a number of new provisions in Polish labor law came into force introducing some sig-nificant changes for employers and employees and, to a certain degree, for persons hired on the basis of contracts for work and service contracts. 

The development of modern technologies and the growing role of electronic documents in commercial relations influence the employment sphere, among others. Companies increasingly use electronic employment agreements and electronic policies, which increases the efficiency of employment paperwork turnaround. However, the positions of Russian employment law and the courts on electronic employment documentation are not uniform. 

A number of changes to the Labor Code expected to come into force on July 1, 2017, will not do so. These amendments to the Code – which were submitted to the President of the Parliament by the head of the Economic Committee – would primarily have affected work-time scheduling provisions, making the Labor Code more sensitive to the needs of the improving economy and changing labor market. According to Parliament, the amendments would have significantly improved production for businesses over a period of six to seven years. 

Almost nine years since the onset of the Greek debt crisis, the country’s deep and prolonged recession has led to a substantial decline in ordinary financial activity and has swept away a quarter of Greece’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an aftermath usually observed in times of war. 

The Polish Act on Temporary Employees dated July 9, 2003 (Journal of Laws of 2003, No. 166, item 1608, as amended) has been in force since 2004. The Act contains many flaws, however, resulting in the unequal treatment of temporary employees compared to employees hired directly under employment agreements.