Latvia

Impact date: Draft Law was prepared by the Ministry of Welfare on 18 March 2025. It has been approved and forwarded to the State Chancellery for submission to the Saeima (the parliament of the Republic of Latvia). Currently no provisional date as to when (if) the Draft Law will enter into force. Additionally, during the deliberations in the parliament, the contents of the Draft Law may change The Draft Law was developed to improve the regulation of employment relations, addressing key areas such as the employee’s right to refuse work and terminate the employment contract in cases of wage non-payment, overtime, idle time, part-time work, collective agreements, and periods of incapacity for work. It also aims to reduce formal requirements imposed on employers, without compromising the overall level of legal protection for employees.

The proposed key amendments are as follows:

• The employee will have the right to terminate the employment contract immediately if the agreed or legally mandated salary is delayed by more than two weeks beyond the scheduled payment date and will be entitled to receive severance pay
• Periods during which an employee is on sick leave to care for a sick child will not be counted towards the time that entitles the employer to terminate the employment contract
• The amount of overtime pay may be reduced to 50 % or 75 %, but only through a collective or general agreement, and only if certain conditions are met
• An employee and employer may agree to a four-day working week either at the time of signing the employment contract or during the term of an existing contract. This means that an employee could agree to work ten hours per day from Monday to Thursday, with Friday off
• If a new collective agreement is not concluded within two years after the expiry of the previous one, either party has the right to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement’s application, provided that the other party is given six months’ written notice in advance
• If the downtime exceeds five consecutive working days, the employer may reduce the compensation paid during this period to 70 percent, provided that the employee’s retained remuneration does not fall below the minimum monthly wage, pro-rated according to the agreed working hours. If the downtime lasts more than four consecutive weeks and the employee does not agree to the reduction in downtime compensation, they will have the right to terminate the employment contract immediately

Impact date: Adopted on 18 March 2025 and entered into force on 22 March 2025 The amendments to regulations were made to extend the procedure for investigating and recording accidents involving state defence civilian service personnel, recognizing the need to include them under the regulations. It has been decided that all accidents, including those involving civilian service personnel, will be investigated and officially recorded moving forward.

Impact date: Adopted on 6 May 2025 and entered into force on 15 May 2025 The amendments to the regulations have been developed to support the reorganization of the State Revenue Service and the establishment of the Tax and Customs Police, as endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers. Additionally, the amendments aim to introduce a new special allowance reflecting the specific nature of duties for officials of the Tax and Customs Police Department of the State Revenue Service. They also establish special allowances and bonuses for employees of the Tax and Customs Police, effective from 1 January 2026, when the Tax and Customs Police will become a direct state administration institution under the supervision of the Minister of Finance.

Impact date: Adopted on 18 March 2025 and enters into force on 1 June 2025 The purpose of the amendments to the regulations is to revise the procedure for diagnosing occupational diseases, specifically regarding the preparation of hygienic assessments of the working environment. The changes aim to reduce the involvement of the State Labour Inspectorate in this process and enhance the effectiveness of its preventive work. Under the proposed procedure, responsibility for preparing the hygienic assessment of the working environment will be assigned to the employer of the individual applying to the medical commission for the diagnosis of an occupational disease. These changes are expected to improve the overall diagnostic process for occupational diseases and optimize the operations of the State Labour Inspectorate, enabling more efficient use of existing personnel resources in the supervision and control of occupational safety.