Child care benefit payment period was reduced but parents enjoy the same level of protection
A new child care benefit (gyermekgondozási segély – GYES) is available to parents of babies who were born after 30 April 2010. Under the new measures, the maximum child care benefit payment period has been reduced to two years, instead of three, from the child's birth. In addition, the minimum eligibility period of employment for child care benefit entitlement was increased from 180 days to 365 days before the child's birth.
Termination of employment on notice is, however, still prohibited for a maximum period of three years from the child's birth. Therefore, a parent who returns to work from unpaid leave because he or she does not qualify for childcare benefit after two years is automatically protected from termination of employment for a further year.
An additional amendment to Act XXII of 1992 on the Labour Code, effective as of 1 May 2010, protects adopting parents by imposing a prohibition on the termination of one of the adopting parents' employment during the nursing period (gondozási időszak), which is a compulsory six-month trial period prior to the date of adoption.
New rules apply to payments to household staff
A new regulation, effective as of 1 August 2010, will help private individuals to employ other individuals for minor work relating to household management. Such payments are officially exempted from all generally applicable employment-related social security payment obligations of employers provided that the household employer (i) registers the names of both parties with the tax authority and (ii) pays a monthly registration fee of HUF 1,000 (EUR 4) to the Tax Authority. Should the household employer fail to comply with the registration and payment requirements, the household employee would be re-classified as a regular employee and unpaid taxes would be applied retrospectively.
Reported case law from Hungary
Excessive absence from work due to intermittent sick leave is not a justifiable reason for termination of employment
The Supreme Court in Hungary has confirmed in a recent case that an
employee's employment can not validly be terminated on the
grounds of her long and repeated, but at all times justified, sick
leave. The Supreme Court also repealed previous judgments of lower
courts, according to which such excessive absence periods can
justify the termination of employment where they have an adverse
effect on company productivity. The Supreme Court emphasised that
no such reasons could have been taken into consideration upon
termination of her employment because she was not subject to
performance-related problems when her health condition actually
enabled her to work.
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