Croatia
Labor law has changed since Croatia joined the EU on July 1, 2013, notably in order to make its economy more competitive and more flexible. In the private sector, the number of collective agreements has gone down and the industrial relations system has gotten worse. As soon as it joined, the government launched talks with the social partners to reform labor law. Employers particularly requested more flexibility regarding working time and layoffs in order to cut unemployment (22 percent).
In January, the government proposed amendments to the law in order to make the labor market more flexible. Layoff procedures, notably in the event of mass layoffs, are allegedly simpler and shorter. The workweek can reach up to 56-60 hours but the monthly duration cannot exceed the number of weeks multiplied by 40 hours. Besides, employers apparently have more flexibility to recruit temporary or part-time workers.