Mazars: The Labor Code, in support of the human resources team through the expert in employment legislation

The Labor Code was recently regulated by an important and long-awaited measure in the human resources sector: the Law 213/2020 states now, among other things, the need of a company to involve in their activity an expert specialised in employment legislation, regardless of whether it is an internal or an external one.

„In the context of changing the dynamics of the labor relations, the expert specialised in employment legislation or labor law will be that appointed consultant, who will solve many of the problems faced by companies: work flexibility (Kurzarbeit), telework, days off for parents, updating the Internal Rules and Procedures so as to adapt to the new framework legislation, the negotiation of the collective agreement or the conduct of the disciplinary investigation procedure. It is always a good idea to update the regulations by which the Labor Code addresses the aspects that have not been taken into consideration so far and we hope that in the near future we will have more experts in the human resources team, so that we can witness an accelerated professionalization of this field.”, mentioned Cătălina Călinescu, Head of HR & Payroll Department, Mazars Romania.

It is good to know that, in addition to the above mentioned activities, the expert also has the role of reconciling labor disputes, of drafting and/ or approving individual/ collective labor contracts, of drawing up employment and social security legislation specific documents, of enforcing equal opportunities and combating harassment in the workplace, assist workers, represent employers in negotiating/ concluding, amending, suspending or terminating individual/ collective employment agreements, including during disciplinary investigations and much more aspects that, very often, in daily activities, were encountered by errors and insufficiently validated practices.

In other words, the expert specialised in employement legislation will be that consultant who has the legal right to intervene in work relations, being specially trained, formed, and equipped to handle situations that are often delicate for employers.

The recent amendments to the Labor Code explicitly give the labor law expert the right to intervene in labor relations, including the conciliation of labor disputes, thus emphasizing the need to treat work relations with a certain level of expertise, as is required in all human resource functions.

In the current context, the companies that have had these kinds of experts in their teams or resorted to specialized help have managed to get through the legislative changes more easily, as they have adapted their internal regulations or employment contracts in record time.