Amendments to Legislation of Labour Law in Lithuania in 2022

ECOVIS ProventusLaw provides the most significant amendments in the labour law which enter into force on 1 January 2022.

Increase of the minimum monthly wage

From 1 January 2022, the minimum hourly rate will be EUR 4.47.

From 1 January 2022, the minimum monthly wage will be EUR 730.

Remuneration will be paid only by the bank transfer

Upon entry into force of the amendments to paragraph 3 of Article 139 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, the employer is obliged to pay remuneration to the employee only by the bank transfer to the payment account specified by the employee; also, the following must be transferred by the employer to the employee:

Daily allowance;
Compensations for secondment expenses;
Other employment-related payments.

Important:

The employer must make a written request to the employees to indicate their payment account;
Remuneration and other employment-related payment must be paid by the bank transfer to the payment account held by the employee;
If the employee refuses to provide his/her bank account, the employer must deposit the employee’s remuneration and/or other employment-related payments in the company’s bank account until the employee provides details of his/her payment account.

Exception:

Remuneration to seafarers which is regulated by the procedure for remuneration payment prescribed by the Law on Merchant Shipping of the Republic of Lithuania.

A volunteer agreement may be concluded with the head of the public establishment

Paragraph 6 of Article 9 of the Law on Public Establishment of the Republic of Lithuania is supplemented with the provision which grants the head of the public establishment the right to conclude a volunteer agreement with the public establishment but such agreement may be concluded only in the cases where the public establishment:

is not a public entity; and
is registered as a non-governmental organization in the Register of Legal Entities.

It is also important to keep in mind that other amendments that are important for employers are already in force from November 2021. A review of the most important amendments is provided below.

Increased liability for violations of the laws on occupational safety and health and labour laws

Amendments to the Law on Administrative Proceedings, which provide for administrative liability for violations of the laws on occupational safety and health and labour laws, are in force from 1 November 2021.

In case of repeated violations of the labour laws, legislation of occupational safety and health by the heads of legal entities or other responsible persons, the fine will be EUR 900-1,400.
In case of repeated violation of the labour laws, legislation of occupational safety and health, which result in an accident at work, accident or other major consequences, the fine will be EUR 1,000-2,000.
The minimum fine to the employee who is under influence of narcotic substances or alcohol at work or after work, also if he/she avoids test of intoxication will be EUR 60.
The minimum fine for violations of remuneration calculation and payment order is increased up to EUR 300.
The minimum fine for violations of work time accounting is also increased up to EUR 300.
The minimum fine for engaging in undeclared self-employment is increased up to EUR 780.

Administrative liability is also provided for a natural person in case of failure to provide information to the State Labour Inspectorate about a foreigner posted for temporal work in the Republic of Lithuania. The State Labour Inspectorate will be able to impose a fine of EUR 360-660 through the SODRA’s information system. A repeated administrative offence will result in an administrative fine of EUR 720-1320.

Extension of the contractor’s liability in relation to the remuneration paid to the subcontractor’s employee

Amendments related to the contractor’s liability in relation to the remuneration paid to the subcontractor’s employee are in force from 1 November 2021 (amendments to Articles 108, 139 and 213 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania).

The new wording of paragraph 13 of Article 108 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania has extended the limits of the contractor’s liability and the subsidiary liability of the contractor for monetary obligations related to remuneration to the subcontractor’s employee applies not only to employees posted to Lithuania, but also to the Lithuanian employees.

Also, from 1 November 2021, the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania has been supplemented with two new paragraphs:

Paragraph 5 of Article 139 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania provides for subsidiary liability of the contractor for the payment of wages, including increased payment for overtime, night work, work on rest days and holidays, to the subcontractor’s employee who performs work specified in the Law on Construction of the Republic of Lithuania.
Paragraph 6 of Article 139 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania clarifies the above paragraph by stating that subsidiary liability applies only to the performance of the employee’s duties when the contract concluded by the subcontractor and the contractor is being implemented.

Along with this amendment, paragraph 3 of Article 213 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania has been supplemented and it states that the contractor may also be a party to an individual employment dispute under the above amendments.

Thus, if the employer is the subcontractor and they fail to comply with their obligation to pay remuneration to employees, in performance of the contract concluded by the subcontractor and the contractor, the employees will have a right to apply to the Labour Dispute Commission for the award of remuneration from their direct employer (subcontractor) as well as the contractor.

New rules apply only to work contracts concluded after 1 November 2021, i.e. subsidiary liability of the contractor applies to all contractors, regardless of whether the employee is posted or is the Lithuanian employee. In case of the work contracts concluded before 1 November 2021, the rule on subsidiary liability of the contractor only in relation to the posted subcontractor’s employee, which has been in force before amendments, is applied.

The lawyers of ECOVIS ProventusLaw are ready to assist you in preparation for the new amendments and to reduce the risks.

Prepared by Brigida Bacienė, the Head of Employment Practice of ECOVIS ProventusLaw, and Lina Bulovienė, Assistant Attorney at Law