flash news: #EU law
On the 12 July 2024, the AI Act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. It is the first comprehensive regulation that provides norms for the use of artificial intelligence. The regulation divides AI systems into four categories of risk: unacceptable, high, limited and low.
The AI Act introduces a number of new obligations, including for entities that use high-risk AI systems (which may affect employers). These include:
Legislative work is underway on an amendment to the Act amending the Accounting Act, the Act on Statutory Auditors, Audit Firms and Public Supervision and Certain Other Acts.
One of the objectives of the amendment is to implement the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will result in a new obligation for employers to report on corporate sustainability. Depending on the number of employees, employers will be required to provide information on environmental, social and human rights issues and corporate governance. Analysis of the social issues will be important from an employment law perspective.
On 22 January 2024, a draft regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy amending the regulation on maximum permissible concentrations and intensities of factors harmful to health in the working environment was published on the website of the Government Legislation Centre.
The amendment provides for:
- Introduction of new values of maximum permissible concentrations for certain harmful factors,
- Extension with new chemicals of the List of values of maximum permissible concentrations of chemical and dust factors harmful to health in the working environment.
The President signed the Act on Employee Participation in a Company Arisen from a Cross-Border Conversion, Merger or Division of Companies, dated 26 May 2023. The following are the most important issues that this Act resolves:
On 6 June 2023 the EU Pay Transparency Directive came into force. EU member states have until 7 June 2026 to implement the provisions of it into national law.
The provisions of the Directive are meant to enforce gender pay equality in member states and prevent wage gaps.
The most important employer obligations under the Directive are:
- an obligation to inform job applicants of an initial pay level or range of pay envisaged for a job based on objective and gender-neutral criteria;
- gender pay gap reporting obligations for companies (both public and private companies) employing more than 100 persons.
As a result of the Directive, it will be necessary for the employers to review recruitment processes, job descriptions, and remuneration policies in terms of gender-neutral remuneration criteria.
Workers will obtain a right to information on the pay levels of employees doing the same work or work of equal value.
Work is underway in the European Parliament on introducing electronic documents in the EU visa system, to replace stickers for Schengen visas.
It is also planned to create a uniform online platform for filing visa applications, without the need for the applicant to appear in person at the consulate.