New changes in work relationships in Bulgaria

Recently, the Bulgarian parliament adopted a new law bringing some changes to the Bulgarian Labor Code. These changes concern the length of a trial period in a fixed-term labor contract, the employer’s obligation to disclose information to the employees, and most importantly, the employees’ right to receive a motivated answer in the cases when the employers refuse changes in the contract, initiated by the said employee. Also, the new law introduces paternity leave as an individual and independent right for all fathers.

These changes in the Labor Code led to changes in other acts too. The most important ones are in the Regulation on working hours, breaks and vacations. Along with the new rules on paternity leave, the said Regulation brings some changes in the statute of working on duty or stand-by, as well as the length of employment service required to get a vacation right. All of those came into force on 01.08.2022. They fulfill Bulgaria’s obligation to transpose Directive 2019/1152 and Directive 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and the Council. Given that the changes relate to the labor contracts solely in Bulgaria, we have summarized them only in Bulgarian.