A New Ordinance on the content and method of maintenance of employees’ registry (NN 73/2017) is to enter into force on September 1, 2017, aiming at the simplification of the employer’s obligation to keep records of its own employees as foreseen by art. 5 of the Croatian Labor Act. It is important to remember that employers who fail to act in accordance with art. 5 may face penalties ranging from 61,000 to 100,000 kuna for the legal entity, with the addition of 7,000 to 10,000 kuna for the person responsible at the legal entity, the latter being also a fine for employers-physical persons.
In accordance with article 5 of the Labour Act, employers have the obligation to keep records on their employees. Such registry consists of information on employees and information on working hours. The Ordinance on the content and method of maintenance of employees’ registry prescribes in detail the type of information required. The new Ordinance abolished the collection of certain data and – what may be most important to employers – eliminated the requirement to update the working hours’ registry on a daily basis. Such updates may now be done the latest on the seventh day from the day for which the data is entered.
The Employees’ registry, according to the new Ordinance, no longer requires the maintenance of information about:
- – Place of birth, or country in case the place of birth is outside Croatia;
- – Occupation, job title, or nature and type of job the employee carries out;
- – Indication whether the employment agreement was concluded for a definite or indefinite period and the expected duration of the definite term employment agreement;
- – Duration of probation period;
- – Duration of internship, if contracted, along with the time and the score of the qualification exam;
- – Indication whether the job requires prior and regular determination of working capability for its performance;
- – Pensionable service prior to the employment starting date at the employer – this information is recorded only if relevant for exercising certain employment rights.
In special registries that employers must keep (e.g. on seconded employees, university and high school students etc.) it is no longer required to enter the job title.
The working hours’ registry, according to the new Ordinance, still contains the minimum information defined in art. 8 of the Ordinance, with the exception of the time spent on maternity and parental leave, in employment abeyance or exercising other rights in accordance with a special act, which is no longer required to be registered. Additionally, the new art. 8 uses a more precise term – “hours” instead of “time”. A novelty may also be noted in the fact that for the employees who work in the same duration of time, evenly distributed over days, weeks and months, there is no longer a need to record information on daily and weekly rest.
However, a new article 9 has been according to which an obligation is imposed upon physical and legal persons residing abroad who, under a cross-border provision of services, assign employees to work in Croatia, for a definite duration. Such persons have the obligation to maintain the working hours’ registry of an assigned (“expatriated”) employee, and particularly the information about:
- – Start;
- – Duration;
- – End of the working hours of the assigned employee.
This registry is kept at the working place or another clearly defined and accessible place in the Republic of Croatia. The employer assigning an employee to work in Croatia, has the obligation to nominate a person in charge of storing the said registry who shall deliver it to a competent body, translated into the Croatian language.
Archiving terms of the abovementioned registries are as follows:
- – Employees’ registry: indefinitely
- – Working hours’ registry: 6 years
- – Working hours’ registry of employees assigned to Croatia: 5 years after the termination of the assignment.
Your contact for further queries is:
Silvia Cancedda,
Client Relationship Advisor
T: +385 1 7980 646
E: zagreb@eurofast.eu