Country Guidelines
With the exception of work performed abroad, all wages shall be established and paid in Hungarian forints.
Registration has to be made at the latest on the day the employee starts at the workplace but before the commencement of their work.
In the employment contract, the parties may stipulate a probationary period of not more than three months from the date of commencement of the employment relationship. In the event that a shorter probationary period has been stipulated, the parties may extend the probationary period once. In either case, the duration of the probationary period may not exceed three months (there’s no minimum prescribed in the law).
No extension is permissible after three months have been reached.
During the probationary period, the employer and the employee have the right of termination without notice.
The period of notice is 30 days.
The notice period shall begin at the earliest on the day following the date when dismissal is communicated. However, certain cases such as incapacity to work due to illness may delay the first day of the notice period.
Where employment is terminated by the employer, the 30-day notice period shall be extended:
- by five days after three years
- by 15 days after five years
- by 20 days after eight years
- by 25 days after 10 years
- by 30 days after 15 years
- by 40 days after 18 years
- by 60 days after 20 years of employment with the employer
By agreement of the parties, the notice periods may be extended by up to six months.
Pursuant to the Hungarian Labor Code, ‘daily working time’ shall mean the duration of working time fixed by the parties or specified by employment regulations for:
a) Full-time jobs; or
b) Part-time jobs
The daily working time in full-time jobs is eight hours.
The scheduled daily working time of an employee may not be less than four hours, with the exception of part-time work.
According to the work schedule:
- The daily working time of employees shall not exceed 12 hours
- The weekly working time of employees shall not exceed 48 hours
In a given calendar year, 250 hours of overtime work can be ordered.
In addition to the 250 hours, a maximum of 150 hours of overtime work can be ordered in a given calendar year subject to a written agreement between the employee and the employer.
If the employer requests the employee to perform overtime, then additional compensation is payable.
The parties may agree a salary which is inclusive of the compensation for the overtime. The parties may also stipulate a fixed monthly payment covering regular wages and wage supplements as well. In this case, if one hour overtime is requested, we would still need to pay the proportionate basic salary and the relating supplement.
This means that the overtime still has to be counted and (the proportionate salary) paid.
Employees who are ill are entitled to 15 days’ sick leave per year and receive 70% of their salary met by the employer. After these 15 days, the employee may receive a minimum of 50–60% of the base salary: two-thirds of this will be paid by the government, with the rest falling to the employer.
New mothers receive 24 weeks of maternity leave, at a minimum of 70% of their base salary. They may also take up to three years off and receive maternity benefits. Fathers are entitled to five days of paternity leave, which can be taken in the first two months following the birth.