SUMMARY OF RELEVANT CHANGES OF THE HUNGARIAN LABOUR CODE ON THE USE OF COMPUTER DEVICES BY THE EMPLOYEES

SUMMARY OF RELEVANT CHANGES OF THE HUNGARIAN LABOUR CODE ON THE USE OF COMPUTER DEVICES BY THE EMPLOYEES

SUMMARY OF RELEVANT CHANGES OF THE HUNGARIAN LABOUR CODE ON THE USE OF COMPUTER DEVICES BY THE EMPLOYEES

We are hereby presenting the amendments of the Hungarian Labour Code, which will (possibly) come into force this spring in 2019 related to the usage of computers and other electronic devices by the employees, provided by the employer, especially granted for private usage purposes.

This summary is not exhaustive and only contains the most significant modifications. The analysis goes beyond the scope of this newsletter and in case of request, we gladly provide you further information on essential content.

1.       THE CURRENT RULES FOR USE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT PROVIDED BY THE EMPLOYER

The Section 2 of Art 197 of the Act I of 2012 on the Hungarian Labour Code (hereinafter: the “Labour Code”) regulates the use of computer devices by the employee on private purposes in the following way:

„The employer may restrict the use of computing equipment or electronic devices in a way, that it supplies solely to the work of the employee performed on its behalf.”

Based on this fact, the employee is entitled to use the computer devices for private purposes as well, if the respective labour contract, or other company regulation/internal policies are not containing any special regulation in this matter.

2.       THE RULES RELATED TO THE PROPOSAL LAID BY THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE

The possible forthcoming change of the Labour Code recently filed under nr. T/4479 by the Minister of Justice to the Hungarian Parliament revers the regulation of the Labour Code, as the following:

  • Under the new regulation, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the employee may not use the computer equipment, tools (pc, notebook, smart -, mobile phone etc.) provided by the employer for work purposes for any private purpose. (Currently the opposite is the case.)
  • Based on this rule, the employer may check compliance with the abovementioned prohibitions, though during the controlling process the employer is restricted for the purpose of reviewing employment relationship related data.
  • On the other hand, control check performed on private employee data it is strictly prohibited. However, any data necessary for the verification for compliance shall be deemed to be employment-related data based on presumption of the law.
  • The rules on control check shall apply in all cases when, based on the agreement of the respective parties, the employee uses own computer device, or tools for the purposes of fulfilling the respective employment relationship.

Once the proposal is accepted,

(i) There might be a need to modify labour contracts of the employees, to regulate whether the private use of computing devices (computers, mobile phone, etc) of the employer are allowed, and

(ii) The rules of private usage, plus the control for compliance with the abovementioned provisions possibly set as internal stated policy.

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This summary intends to raise awareness and does not constitute legal advice.

If you might have any question or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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