10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10783
In this national report, the author will, chronologically, in an informative form, introduce the measures enacted in the Republic of Serbia in order to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, with an emphasis on those that are affecting on employment relations and working conditions. Also, in this report the specific problems in practice and the recommendations of the line ministries, that have been enacted with the aim of facilitating the resolution of numerous contentious practice situations, will be highlighted.
application/pdf
1561-8048
10783
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Dragana Ranđelović
Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Health and safety
COVID-19 and Labour Law: Republic of Serbia
Text.Serial.Journal
https://illej.unibo.it/
13
National Reports
2020-04-15
2020-04-14
2020-04-15
2020-09-15
ILLeJ
Dragana Ranđelović
2020/04/15
10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10783
Constantine the Great, Niš, Republic of Serbia
1561-8048
1S
Health and safety
en
COVID-19 and Labour Law: Republic of Serbia
https://illej.unibo.it/article/download/10783/11129
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Republic of Serbia                                      Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Dragana Ranđelović                                                              Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
dragana.randjelovic@elfak.ni.ac.rs                                Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                              ISSN 1561-8048
                                                               https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10783




        COVID-19 and Labour Law: Republic of Serbia
                  Dragana Ranđelović*

                                                Abstract
     In this national report, the author will, chronologically, in an informative form, introduce the
     measures enacted in the Republic of Serbia in order to prevent and control the spread of
     COVID-19, with an emphasis on those that are affecting on employment relations and
     working conditions. Also, in this report the specific problems in practice and the
     recommendations of the line ministries, that have been enacted with the aim of facilitating the
     resolution of numerous contentious practice situations, will be highlighted.

     Keywords: Covid-19; Labour Law; Remote work; Health and safety.




 1. Measures enacted in the Republic of Serbia in order to prevent and to control the
 spread of disease COVID-19


    Since registering its first case of COVID-19 virus infection the Republic of Serbia has
 joined the global fight for the preservation of human lives and the health and legal systems
 of the countries.
    By closely following the experiences of other countries, with a certain time advantage,
 the Republic of Serbia could see the danger and seriousness of this disease, as well as the
 far-reaching and pernicious consequences, not only on human lives, but also on the health,
 economic and legal systems of the country.
    Exceptionally intense, everyday, activity of the competent authorities in the enaction of
 measures, which gradually but comprehensively covered all segments, began.
    Government Decision (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 23/20) has declared COVID-19
 a contagious disease which prevention and control are of interest to the Republic of Serbia.
    The Order on Prohibition of gathering in RS in public places indoors (“Official Gazette
 of RS”, no. 25/20) was passed, at first no more than 100 people, but this number gradually
 decreased, and at the height of the epidemic no more than two people were allowed.
    Regulation which prescribed a number of measures: closing access to public facilities,
 prohibiting the convening and holding of meetings and all other gatherings, orders for
 compulsory residence of certain persons or groups of persons in a particular area, was also

 *
  Assistant Professor for Civil Law, Faculty of Law, Security and Management „Constantine the Great“, Niš,
 Republic of Serbia.
    Dragana Ranđelović                                                         Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                              Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                                 Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                   Section: National Reports




enacted. In the height of the epidemic, all services requiring close contact between service
providers and service users, as well as service users between each other, are banned, which
jeopardized the business of many employers and employees.
   Also, a number of judicial, economic and tax measures were enacted, as well as a
package of economic measures to mitigate the economic consequences1.


2. Enacted measures-emphasis on those that are affecting on employment relations
and working conditions.

    On 16th March, a Decree on Organizing Employers during Emergency Situations
(“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 31/20), which stipulates that during an emergency the
employer is obliged to enable employees to perform activities outside the premises of the
employer (work on distance and work from home), was enacted. Employees who work
from home in accordance with the Labor Law and the Regulation have the right to wages,
the only difference is that they don’t have right to reimbursement for transportation
expenses for coming and going to work. An employer whose job is such that it is not
possible to organize work from home, needs to harmonize his business with the conditions
of emergency: to enable all business meetings be held electronically (video link, video call,
etc.), to postpone business trips in the country and abroad.
    In order to ensure the protection and health of employees and clients, the employer is
obliged to provide all measures related to the hygienic safety of facilities and persons in
accordance with the Law on Population Protection from Infectious Diseases.
    In accordance with the Labor Law of the Republic of Serbia, if the employer has
reduced workload or has stopped work altogether, employees may be referred to the so-
called “forced vacation” for a period of 45 working days, or longer in accordance with the
Law, and employees have entitlement to a remuneration of at least 60% of the average
wage in the previous 12 months, but it cannot be less than the minimum wage.


3. Practical problems and recommendations of the line ministry

   In praxis, employers and employees were confronted with a number of questions, which
bothered both employees and employers, to which the regulations did not answer, whether
employees would lose their jobs, whether their wages would be reduced and how to
organize work in this condition.
   Practical problems are also caused by the ban of gathering more than two people in a
public place and the required 2m distance between people.
   Difficulties were also caused by the introduction of police curfew that imposed a double
obligation on employers, first to submit a request for their employees to the Ministry of the
Interior, and second to issue daily work permit to their employees.

1   https://www.paragraf.rs/dnevne-vesti/010420/010420-vest1.html.

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10783                                                                2
 Dragana Ranđelović                                                     Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                       Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                          Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                            Section: National Reports




   In order to help employers and employees, but also to specify the intentions of the
competent authorities, the line ministry gave out recommendations.
   These recommendations specify that persons with established chronic diseases and
persons over the age of 60 are particularly at risk, and that a parent of a child up to age of
12 has special protection, and that they need to enable them to work from home.
   The Government of the Republic of Serbia has recommended to all employers that their
employees who are in self-isolation or who have COVID-19, because of their direct
exposure to the risk of doing their job, should be entitled to 100% wage compensation.


4. Instead of conclusion

   Given that new measures are being enacted in the Republic of Serbia on a daily basis, it
can only be concluded whether or not they were adequate when the epidemic ends and
when a certain amount of time has passed.
   What is undeniable, is the incredible amount effort of all governmental structures and
the incredible intensity of everyday enaction of measures, first in order to prevent and
repress the disease, and then to minimize the negative economic consequences.




Copyright © 2020 Dragana Ranđelović. This article is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License.




https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10783                                                         3
