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Hungary - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Budapest

 

CLIMATE

Temperate. Cold, cloudy and humid winters and warm summers.

 

LANGUAGES

Hungarian (98.2%) and other (1.8%).

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

The rule of law in Hungary is based on the Western model.

 

CURRENCY

Hungary Forint (1 USD = 278.520 HUF as of March 15, 2002)

 

HUNGARY - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

HUNGARY - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Budapest

Szabadság tér 12., H-1054

Budapest, Hungary

Telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400

Fax: [36] (1) 475-4764

E-Mail: infousa@usis.hu

http://www.usis.hu/

 

Embassy of the Republic of Hungary at Washington D.C.

3910 Shoemaker Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 364-8218

Fax: (202) 966-8135

E-mail: office@huembwas.org

http://www.hungaryemb.org/

 

HUNGARY - HOLIDAYS

HUNGARY - LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum 20 days paid annual leave each year.

 

Maternity Leave: 24 weeks – 100% of pay (paid for by social security).

 

HUNGARY - MINIMUM AGE

The Labor Code prohibits labor by children under the age of 15 and regulates labor conditions for minors (14 to 16 years of age), including prohibitions on night shifts and hard physical labor. Children may not work overtime.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Hungary – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

HUNGARY - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

In 2000, the minimum monthly wage was increased 56 percent to 40,000 HUF (approximately $140) from 25,500 HUF (approximately $90).

 

However, the national monthly minimum wage still does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage is only about 42 percent of the average wage.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Hungary – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

HUNGARY - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessor are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

HUNGARY - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Labor Code recognizes the right of unions to organize and permits trade union pluralism. Workers have the right to associate freely, choose representatives, publish journals, and openly promote members' interests and views. There are six trade union federations; each is targeted broadly at different sectors of the economy. The largest labor union organization is the National Confederation of Hungarian Trade Unions, the successor to the former monolithic Communist union, with over 735,000 members. In 2000 the Democratic League of Independent Unions and the Federation of Workers' Councils had approximately 100,000 and 56,000 members, respectively.

 

With the exception of military personnel and police officers, workers have the right to strike.

 

There are no restrictions on trade union contacts with international organizations, and unions have developed a wide range of ties with international trade union bodies.

  

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Labor Code permits collective bargaining at the enterprise and industry level, although the practice was not widespread and has discouraged actively in the growing private sector. Labor organizations appeared willing to cooperate with one another; this particularly was evident in their relationship in forums such as the National Labor Affairs Council (OMT), which succeeded the Interest Reconciliation Council in 2000, and which provides a forum for tripartite consultation among representatives from management, employees, and the Government. The OMT discusses issues such as wage increases and the setting of the minimum wage, which is negotiated centrally within the OMT in order to control inflation (see Section 6.e.). Individual trade unions and management may negotiate higher wages at the plant level. Under a separate law, public servants may negotiate working conditions, but the final decision on increasing salaries of public servants rests with Parliament. In 1998 the Government disbanded the Ministry of Labor and split its work between the Ministry of Economy, which is responsible for policy issues, and the Ministry of Social and Family Affairs, which is responsible for employment issues and drafting labor-related legislation.

 

Employers are prohibited from discriminating against unions and their organizers. The Ministry of Economy enforces this provision.

 

There are no export processing zones, but individual foreign companies frequently have been granted duty-free zone status for their facilities. Employees in such facilities and zones are protected under the labor laws.

  

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation and in men for forced labor was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

The law prohibits forced or bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in children was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The Government has adopted laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. The Labor Code prohibits labor by children under the age of 15 and regulates labor conditions for minors (14 to 16 years of age), including prohibitions on night shifts and hard physical labor. Children may not work overtime. The National Labor Center enforces these regulations in practice, and there were no reports of any significant violations of this statute.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in children was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

The OMT establishes the legal minimum wage, which subsequently is implemented by a Ministry of Economy decree. However, in 2000 the OMT and the Ministry of Economy were unable to reach an agreement, which entitled the Government unilaterally to establish a minimum wage. The Government increased the minimum wage from $90 (25,500 HUF) to $140 (40,000 HUF), an increase of 56 percent; however, the national minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage is only 42 percent of the average wage. Many workers supplement their incomes with second jobs, and there are reports that many citizens, while officially earning the minimum wage, actually were paid higher wages informally so that their employers could avoid high payroll taxes. Since the establishment of the National Labor Affairs Supervising Authority, approximately 48,000 employers have been audited on an annual basis.

 

The Labor Code specifies various conditions of employment, including termination procedures, severance pay, maternity leave, trade union consultation rights in some management decisions, annual and sick leave entitlement, and labor conflict resolution procedures. Under the Code, the official workday is set at 8 hours; however, it may vary depending upon the nature of the industry. A 48-hour rest period is required during any 7-day period. In July Parliamentary amendments to the Labor Code entered into effect, which incorporate into law nine European Union (EU) directives that cover protection and rights of employees, conditions of employment, and equal opportunity in employment; the amendments brought the Labor Code into conformity with EU standards. However, labor groups have criticized the amendments for allowing employer flexibility in scheduling the obligatory 2 days of rest per week.

 

Labor courts and the Ministry of Economy enforced occupational safety standards set by the Government, but specific safety conditions are not consistent with internationally accepted standards. The enforcement of occupational safety standards is not always effective, in part due to the limited resources. Under the Labor Code, workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment; this right is respected in practice.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, trafficking in persons is a serious problem. Border officials facilitated trafficking.

 

The country primarily is a transit, but also is a source and destination country for trafficked persons. Women and children are trafficked for sexual exploitation mostly from Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Yugoslavia, and China to and through the country to Austria, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United States. Trafficking victims from Hungary typically are women from the eastern part of the country, where unemployment is high. They are trafficked to other European countries or other parts of the world, primarily to Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, but also to Canada, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. Men trafficked for forced labor through Hungary to the EU and the United States come from Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

 

Corruption is a major problem among border officials, who generally do not earn a living wage and thus often take bribes from traffickers. In many villages in the eastern part of the country, the local police know who the traffickers are, but are reluctant to pursue investigations for fear of reprisals from the better financed, better equipped, and better armed traffickers.

 

HUNGARY - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

HUNGARY - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The official workday is set at 8 hours; however, it may vary depending upon the nature of the industry. A 48-hour rest period is required during any 7-day period.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Hungary – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)