According to Latvian labor law, if an employee is posted to perform work in Latvia, regardless of the law that applies to the employment contract and employment legal relationships, such posted employee is entitled to the working conditions and employment provisions outlined in Latvian regulatory enactments, as well as collective agreements that have been recognized as generally binding and regulate.
Maximum working time and minimum rest time
The Labour Law specifies the requirements for working time and rest time, including the duration and types of work time, working time organization, and various types of rest periods, such as work breaks, daily and weekly rest periods, and leave. According to the general rule, an employee’s normal daily working time cannot exceed 8 hours, but his or her regular weekly working time cannot exceed 40 hours. At the same time, overtime work (work performed outside of regular working hours) cannot exceed an average of 8 hours in seven days measured within a four-month accounting period. Furthermore, the duration of a one-day rest within 24 hours must not be less than 12 consecutive hours, but the length of a weekly rest period during seven days must not be less than 42 consecutive hours, according to Labor Law.
Minimum annual paid leave
According to labor law, every employee is entitled to an annual paid leave. Without considering public holidays, such leave cannot be shorter than four weeks.
Minimum wage rate and as well as additional pay for overtime work
The Labour Law establishes the standards for job recompense and payment, including the minimum wage rate and supplemental payment for overtime work. In Latvia, a minimum wage has been established, and it must not be less than the state’s minimum wage. The Cabinet of Ministers determines the minimum monthly income and minimum hourly wage rates within the limits of normal working time. The minimum wage in Latvia has been established at EUR 380.00 for normal working hours as of January 1, 2017. The following formula is used to compute the minimum hourly wage rate:
HRmin = MMW / h, where
HRmin – the minimum hourly rate in euros
MMW – Monthly minimum wage determined under the provisions of paragraph 2 of these regulations in Latvia
h – normal working time hours per month (a five-day working week and 40 hours a week or a five-day working week and 35 hours a week, or a six-day a seven-day workweek and 40 hours per week, or a six-day workweek and 35 hours per week), including holiday hours, if the employee does not perform work on public property. a holiday that falls on an employee’s working day.
Other provisions
Provisions relating to worker security, particularly concerning the intermediation of work placement services. The Labour Law and other legislative documents, such as the “Support for Unemployed Persons and Persons Seeking Employment Law” and the relevant Cabinet of Minister’s regulations, contain regulations on the provision of job placement services, particularly through a provider of work placement services.
In the foregoing scenarios, the basic requirements of the Labour Law shall apply to employment legal ties, to the extent that the law does not put down special provisions on the employees employed by the provider of work placement services. In such instances, both the provider of job placement services as an employer and the individual to whom the aforesaid service is offered have obligations. The “Support for Unemployed Persons and Persons Seeking Employment Law” establishes the legal foundation for work placement service providers’ actions.
Workplace safety, health protection, and hygiene
The Labour Protection Law and some Cabinet of Ministers Regulations include provisions for workplace safety, health protection, and hygiene.
Protection measures for people under the age of 18, pregnant women, and women in the postpartum period, as well as work and employment opportunities for these people
If an employer employs people under the age of 18, pregnant women, or women in the postnatal period, the law specifies the number of additional standards that must be met.
The law prevents the permanent employment of children. However, the Law and the Cabinet of Ministers’ underlying regulations provide for some exceptions in the employment of those under the age of 18.
Equal treatment of men and women, as well as the prohibition of discrimination in any other form.
