Conclusion of the employment contract
The Hungarian Labor Code ("Mt.") regulates in detail the establishment of an employment relationship. A basic rule is that an employment contract must be concluded, because the employment relationship is established with the employment contract. The employment contract must be in writing. In the event that the parties do not put the employment contract in writing for some reason, only the employee can claim the invalidity of the employment contract referring to the fact that it was not put in writing (but even the employee can only claim the invalidity within 30 days after starting work). Failure to put it in writing can later have other consequences, for example, it is significantly more difficult to prove the content of the employment relationship (i.e. the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties) and the employer can expect a fine during an official inspection.
Content of the employment contract
The Hungarian Labor Code also stipulates the minimum content of the employment contract, according to which at least the employee's basic salary and job title must be included in the employment contract. An employment contract can and typically includes other details of the employment relationship (for example, place of work, working hours, beginning of the employment relationship, etc.). At the same time, it is also possible to inform the employee of these conditions in writing in a separate document within 7 days of the beginning of the employment relationship (the employer's obligation to provide written information).
The Hungarian Labor Code also contains rules that make things easier for the parties if they do not agree on certain issues of the employment relationship. Such a rule is, for example, that the employment relationship - in the absence of a different agreement - is established for an indefinite period of time, the workplace must be considered the place of work usual for the job, and the employment relationship is established for general full-time employment (i.e. 8 hours a day).
It is also important to know that the employment contract may deviate from certain rules of the Hungarian Labor Code in favor of the employee. Of course, this must always be examined individually to determine what can be considered a deviation in favor of the employee.
In addition, the parties often agree on a trial period or a non-compete clause in the employment contract. We write about these topics in separate articles.
The reason why it is important to mention the trial period here is that the trial period can be stipulated in the employment contract from the beginning of the employment relationship, for a maximum of 3 months. Since the parties can no longer stipulate a trial period after the beginning of the employment relationship, it is worth thinking about the trial period when drafting the employment contract.
Dr. Hizsák Tamás
lawyer
The above article is not intended to be complete, it was created for information purposes, so it does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us using one of our contact details (e-mail: info@dunalegal.com, phone: +36 1 622 0436).