Protection of the Dignity of Workers

PROTECTION OF THE DIGNITY OF WORKERS

Protection of the dignity of workers is one of the fundamental rights of employment. If you have workplace issues, doubts or questions, do read this article which deals with the application for the protection of the dignity of workers.

Application for the protection of dignity of workers

The application for the protection of the dignity of workers stems from the fact that the Labour Act prohibits direct or indirect discrimination in the field of work and working conditions, including selection criteria and conditions for employment, promotion, professional guidance, professional training and development, and retraining.

The employer is obliged to protect the dignity of workers during their performance of their duties from unwanted and illegal actions of superiors, associates and persons with whom the workers regularly come into contact while performing daily duties of their workplace (e.g. customers, users, parties, business partners, etc.).
When dealing with violations of rights of workers, it should be noted that an application for the protection of rights (which, effectively, is a established name for an application addressed to the employer reporting on a case of a violation of rights of employment) is a fundamental and starting institute of exercise and protection of rights of workers.
The procedure for the protection of dignity may be regulated by a collective agreement, by an agreement between the employer and the workers council, and by labour regulations.

An employer who employs at least 20 workers is obliged to adopt a labour regulation which, among other things, must regulate the procedure and measures for the protection of dignity of workers and for protection against discrimination.

Application for the protection of dignity of workers and the procedure for submitting the application

A application for the protection of the rights of workers should be submitted by a worker who believes that his employer has violated a right pertaining to employment.

It is a common occurrence that workers fail to exercise and protect their rights of employment due to ignorance of relevant regulations. This is partly a consequence of the avoidance of the topic of rights of workers, both in the media and in the education system - therefore it is very important to explain workers their rights and the means in which they may be protected. The application for the protection of rights of workers is one of the main means of protection of rights of workers.
That worker may, within fifteen days of receiving a decision which violates one of their rights of employment, i.e. within fifteen days after finding out about the violation of any other right, demand from the employer the exercise of that right, or they may submit an application for protection of rights. If the employer fails to comply with the worker’s application within fifteen days from the delivery of the application in question, the worker may, within a further period of fifteen days, demand the protection of the violated right before the competent court.

Failure to submit an application for the protection of rights may have severe consequences for the worker. Namely, when dealing with the protection of rights of workers, it should be noted that the worker may take the issue to the competent court only if they have previously submitted an application to the employer.  If a law, other regulation, collective agreement, or work rulebook provides for a procedure for the amicable resolution of a dispute, the fifteen-day period for submitting a claim to the court starts from the day such procedure ends.

Competent court and reasons for failure to submit an application

In terms of the Labour Act(official gazette of the Republic of Croatia ˝Narodne novine˝, Nos. 93/14, 127/17, 98/19), labour dispute court shall be the competent court.
A application for the protection of a violated right does not have to be submitted by an employee who is (only) requesting a compensation for damages or another monetary claim related to the employment

Application for the protection of dignity of workers - Obligations of the employer

An employer who employs at least 20 workers is obliged to adopt a labour regulation which, among other things, must regulate the procedure and measures for the protection of dignity of workers and for protection the dignity of workers. The adoption of labour regulations is a very important issue because the employer may prescribe in detail the course of the dignity protection procedure, specify and describe behaviors which constitute harassment or sexual harassment, and prescribe sanctions for the perpetrator (e.g. warning before dismissal, dismissal). Such unwanted behaviors represent a violation of obligations of  employment, i.e. they constitute a justified reason for the termination of the employment agreement.

The employer is obliged to appoint a person who, in addition to the employer themselves, is authorised to receive and resolve complaints related to the protection of the dignity of workers.

Protection of dignity of workers from harassment and sexual harassment

The worker can submit a complaint to the officer for the protection of dignity at work, who must, within 8 days from the submission of the complaint, carry out the procedure for the protection of dignity at work, i.e. examine the allegations in the complaint and take appropriate measures to prevent the further harassment or sexual harassment against the worker (e.g. an apology, warning, change of shift schedule, relocation of the perpetrator or the victim, interview with the persons involved, taking their statements or witness testimonies, etc.)
The officer is obliged to investigate the complaint and take all the necessary measures required in that specific case in order to prevent further harassment or sexual harassment (should it be established) within the time limit established by the Collective Agreement, the agreement concluded between the works council and the employer, or with the work regulations, and no later than within eight days of the submission of the complaint. If the employer does not take measures to prevent harassment or sexual harassment within the deadline, or if the measures they have undertaken are clearly inappropriate, the worker who is harassed or sexually harassed is entitled to stop work until they receive protection, provided that within a period of eight days therefrom they request protection before the competent court.

Application for protection of worker's dignity - Burden of proof

In the case of a dispute related to employment, the burden of proof is on the person who believes that a right pertaining to employment has been violated, i.e. on the person who initiates the dispute, unless otherwise specified by law.
In the event of a dispute over holding an employee in a less favourable position than other employees due to the employee's complaint for a justified suspicion of corruption or submitting a report about that suspicion to responsible officers or competent state authorities in good faith, which led to the violation of one of the employee's rights pertaining to employment, and if the worker proves that it is likely that they were held in a less favourable position and that one of their rights pertaining to employment was violated, the burden of proof shifts to the employer, who must prove that they did not hold the worker in a less favorable position than other workers, i.e. that they did not violate their right pertaining to employment.
In the event of a dispute over the termination of an employment agreement, the burden of proving the existence of a justified reason for the termination of the employment agreement lies on the employer if the employment agreement was terminated by the employer, and on the employee only if the employment agreement was terminated by the employee without notice.

The right of workers to stop work

In the event that there are circumstances due to which it is not justified to expect the employer to protect the worker's dignity at work, the worker is not obliged to submit a complaint to the employer and is entitled to stop work, provided that they have requested protection before the competent court, and that they have informed the employer about this within eight days from the day of the stopping work.
During the stoppage of work, the worker is entitled to receive the amount of the salary which they would have earned if they remained working.
If it is established by a final court decision that the worker's dignity has not been violated, the employer may demand the return of the paid salary.

Protection of the dignity of civil servants and clerks

The procedure for protecting the dignity of civil servants and employees is regulated by the Collective Agreement for Civil Servants and Clerks from 2017. It stipulates that in order to protect their dignity, civil servants and clerks may contact a superior civil servant, trade union commissioner or confidential adviser who is authorised to receive and resolve complaints. Confidential advisors are appointed by the head of a state body for state bodies with more than 20 employees, and for organisational units with less than 20 employees, the confidential advisor of a hierarchically superior organisational unit shall be in charge. The list of confidential advisors in state bodies can be found on the website of the Ministry of Administration of the Republic of Croatia.

Conclusion

Protecting the dignity of workers is an important obligation of the employer. In doing so, employers must take into account that the legal rules governing this matter are contained in the provisions of the Labour Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act. All information obtained by the employer during the dignity protection procedure must be kept confidential. If the legal requirements are met, the employer must allow the employee to exercise their right to stop work and receive salary. If it is eventually established that no harassment occurred, the amount of salary received during the stoppage of work must be reimbursed by the worker.