There are different employment statuses in Latvia - e.g. employees, self-employed, individual merchants, performers of economic activity. However, the employment laws apply only to the employees - natural persons, who work based on an employment contract with their employer (either natural or legal person).

The Labor Act recognizes fixed-term and indefinite-term employment contracts.

There are no general prohibitions to enter into indefinite-term employment contracts. 

Fixed-term employment contracts can be concluded only on the grounds provided in the Labor Act, e.g. Seasonal work, temporary works listed by the Cabinet of Ministers, replacement of absent or suspended employee, filling the vacancy until a new employee is hired, casual work normally not performed in the undertaking, temporary work related to the short-term expansion of the work in company or increase in the volume production and other.

Other types of employment contracts can be classified based on different criteria:
1. Employment contracts with a piece-work remuneration system or time remuneration system;
2. Full-time and part-time employment contracts;
3. Employment contracts with standard working hours, or aggregate working hours or night work.

The Labor Act provides that the employment contract must contain at least the following - employer and employee details, date of commencement of the employment relationship, duration of the employment relationship, place of work, the position of the employee pursuant to the Classification of Occupations, general description of the work, reference to the effective collective bargaining agreements and internal working regulations. 

The employment contract must also provide the remuneration and payday for the employee, the established daily or weekly working hours, the length of the annual paid leave and the time limit and procedure for giving notice unless a reference to particular internal working regulations, governing these provisions is indicated in the employment contract.

The Labor Act provides that the employment contract must be concluded in writing. If this is not done, the employee can request to express the employment contract in writing at any time. 

Furthermore, if the employee and the employer, or at least one of the parties, have commenced performing the agreed duties (factual employment relationship exists), such contract has the same legal effect as an employment contract expressed in writing.

Pursuant to the Labor Act, the employment contract, which is in contradiction with the laws, can be invalidated only for the following period. Only the court can establish that the employment contract is illegal, thus null and void.

If the employer is liable for entering into an illegal employment contract and entering into a legal employment contract with the employee is not possible, the employer must pay the employee remuneration in the amount of at least six months' average earnings.

The invalidity of one or more provisions of the employment contract does not make the whole contract null and void.

The Labor Act explicitly provides that part-time employees are subject to the same rules as full-time employees, e.g. such as the procedures for granting annual paid leave, length of the annual paid leave, rest periods, etc.

With respect to the salary - part-time employees are entitled to a pro-rated amount of the salary based on the hours worked or piece-work done.

Employment contracts cannot be assigned. The Labor Act provides that the employee is personally responsible for the fulfillment of the agreed work obligations.

The only case when employment contracts are assigned is in the event of a transfer of undertaking, where the transferee (receiving entity) takes over the transferred employment contracts of the transferor and must provide that the previous employment conditions are ensured and that the legal conditions applied to the employee before the transfer has not deteriorated. 

In the case of a share deal, when only the shareholding in the employer's company (as a legal entity) or its group company structure changes, if the employer remains the same, there are no specific rights to the employees, since their employment relationship is not affected.

In case of an asset deal, the transfer of an undertaking ("TOU") can occur pursuant to Directive 2001/23/EC and the Labor Act. TOU procedures related to employment relationships occur if the transferor loses its status as the employer, but the transferee becomes the employer as part of the transaction.

The employee representatives, but if there are none, the employees have the right to receive information from the employer on the date and reason for the anticipated transfer, as well as information on the legal, economic and social consequences of the transfer and measures that will be taken re the employees. The employer is responsible for providing this information no later than 1 month before the date of transfer.

If there are employee representatives in the company, they have the right to consult with the employer no later than 3 weeks before the organizational, technological or social measures are implemented to agree on such measures and the way of implementation (if any).

There are opposite opinions, if employees can object to the transfer. Usually, the companies accept the employee's rights to object to the transfer. In such a case, if their employment can't be retained with the previous employer, these employees can be dismissed based on redundancy. In case of termination due to redundancy, the employer is obliged to pay severance to the dismissed employee which is calculated based on the employee’s length of service. Before termination due to redundancy, the employer must offer the employee other positions available in the same or another undertaking, where the employee could continue to work.

No, there are no specific provisions, which provide employees' rights in case of change of control of the employer, if the employer remains the same (e.g. changes in the shareholding structure).

The employer can give orders to the employee to specify the employee's duties within the framework of the contract of employment.  

Employer's orders cannot establish new obligations. The orders clarify the obligations provided in the employment contract or effective internal working regulations. 

In particular, the employer cannot unilaterally establish additional work obligations, or unilaterally change the provisions of the employment contract.

The employer cannot issue orders, which are contrary to the laws and which deteriorate the position of the employee. Such orders are null and void from the moment they are issued. e.g. in case of idle time due to a decrease in production, the employer cannot unilaterally send the employee on unpaid leave.

There is no employment-at-will in Latvia.

The employer can terminate the employment contract only in cases provided in the Labor Act. In general words, the cases are: 

• A substantial breach of the employment contract or internal working regulations by the employee;
• Illegal conduct of the employee resulting in loss of trust by the employer;
• Acting against the principle of good faith by the employee, if such conduct is incompatible with the continuation of the employment relationship;
• Intoxication from alcohol, drugs or toxic substances during work by the employee;
• A material violation of labor protection rules jeopardizing the safety and health of other persons by the employee;
• Employee lacks adequate occupational competence to perform the work; 
• The employee's health condition disallows them to proceed to work in the contracted position based on the opinion of a doctor; 
• Reinstatement of a replaced employee to his / her position; 
• Redundancy; 
• Liquidation of the employer (legal entity)
• Non-performance by the employee due to long-term incapacity to work. 

The employer and the employee can also agree to terminate the employment contract by mutual agreement. 

If none of the previous can be applied, as a last resort the employer can bring a claim to the court to terminate the employment contract with the employee. Such a claim must be substantiated by an important reason, which due to morality and fairness does not let the employer continue the employment relationship with the employee.

The employee can bring the claim to the court and request to reinstate him/her back to the position or establish that the dismissal was unlawful. The court can reinstate the employee or establish that the dismissal was unlawful and terminate the employment relationship by judgment if the employee has expressed such a request. 

In both cases, the employer must pay the average earnings for the period of unfair dismissal - until the employee is reinstated or the employment relationship is terminated by the judgment of the court.

If the employment relationship with the employee is terminated without the breach by the employee, the employee is entitled to severance pay in the following amount:

• 1-month average earnings, if the employee was employed by the respective employer for less than five years;
• 2-month average earnings, if the employee was employed by the respective employer for 5 to 10 years;
• 3-month average earnings, if the employee was employed by the respective employer for 10 to 20 years;
• 4-month average earnings, if the employee was employed by the respective employer for more than 20 years.

Yes, there is protection for whistleblowers provided by the Whistleblowing Act. The Whistleblowing Act provides that from the moment when a whistleblower has blown the whistle and his submission has been recognized as a whistleblower's report, he or she, his or her relatives and related persons have the right to the following rights in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Whistleblowers Act and other laws and regulations:

• protection of the identity;
• protection against adverse effects caused due to whistleblowing;
• the State ensured legal aid;
• release from the payment of court expenses in civil proceedings and payment of the state fee in administrative court proceedings;
• temporary protection in civil proceedings and administrative proceedings in the court;
• release from legal liability;
• appropriate compensation for losses or personal damage, also moral detriment;
• consultations on the protection of his or her rights;
• exemption from the obligation to comply with the out-of-court procedures in administrative proceedings.

Yes, employees have a right to privacy pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR").
This means that any restriction of the right to privacy must be lawful and proportionate. Any action of the employer should be taken to minimize the impact on the privacy of the individual.

For example, there could be video surveillance in the offices for the protection of life, health and property, in order to identify the persons who caused the damage or loss, etc. However, video surveillance recordings should not be used to control the quality or quantity of the work done, for example, by continuously recording an employee's computer activity.

Yes, employees are afforded anti-discrimination protection. The Labor Act provides principles of equal rights and prohibition of differential treatment. This means that everyone has an equal right to work, to fair, safe and healthy working conditions, as well as to fair remuneration. These rights shall be ensured without any direct or indirect discrimination - irrespective of a person's race, skin color, gender, age, disability, religion, political or other conviction, ethnic or social origin, property or marital status, sexual orientation or other circumstances.

Pursuant to the Labor Act employees are entitled to:

(a)  4 calendar weeks of annual paid leave (public holidays excluded),
(b)  supplementary leave which is granted to the parents if they meet the preconditions provided in the Labor Act;
(c) sick leave in case a doctor has issued a sick leave certificate to the employee;

(d) prenatal and maternity leave;

(e) father, adopters or other persons who take care of a child leave;
(f) parental (childcare) leave;
(g) study leave;
(h) unpaid leave (including the statutory ones)

No, there have not been any changes in the past 12 months (there have been changes in the past 18 months) as well as there are no proposed legislation changes at this moment. 

There are several restrictive covenants provided in the Labor Act:

1. side job restriction which can be applied by the employer, if provided in the employment contract. Namely, this restriction could be used by the employer in case the side job could influence the performance of the current job duties or affect the legal interests of the employer (for example, a side job for a competitor);
2. non-compete restriction after the termination of the employment relationship could be applied for the maximum term of 2 years and the employer has an obligation to pay compensation for observance of this restriction. Such restriction shall be applied as narrowly as possible, namely, it could be applied for the performance of work for competitors which is related to the work done for the previous employer and could be applied only to the territory related to the performance of work for the previous employer.
3. confidentiality obligation provided in the Labor Act states that the employee has a non-disclosure obligation and an obligation to keep the trade secrets confidential. Labor Act does not provide that such restriction is limited in time. Therefore, unless provided otherwise, the employee is bound by a non-disclosure obligation for an unlimited period after termination of the employment contract.

No, an employee cannot be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant. For answers regarding considerations, please see the previous response. 

No, it is not mandatory, but the employer may provide payments to such scheme as a bonus provided to the employees. 

No, payments of benefits are at the discretion of the employer. 

No, it is not permitted to have a mandatory retirement age in Latvia.

Not applicable.

No, the employer cannot make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory to its employees. Vaccination against COVID-19 is at the discretion of every person in Latvia and there are no mandatory vaccinations in the private sector.

The Labor Act provides that the employer has the right not to allow the employee to work if the employee has symptoms of illness. If there is a reasonable suspicion that the employee is ill and causing risk to the health and safety of other employees or persons, the employer can send the employee to undergo a health examination by the employer’s order. If the employer suspects that the employee is ill, but the employee refuses to stop working and refuses to undergo a health examination pursuant to the employer’s order, the employer can suspend such employee from work to protect the health and safety of other employees/persons.

Any actions of the employers against their employees in the private sector for not getting COVID-19 vaccines will be deemed a breach of the principles of equal rights, prohibition to cause adverse consequences for using the employee’s legal rights and prohibition of differential treatment. There is no legal ground under the Latvian Labor Act to dismiss the employee for not taking a COVID-19 vaccine.

If government orders are in place regarding the restriction of office work (due to COVID-19 or other restrictions related to national security, health, etc.), any acts of the employer against government orders, including orders on office work, will be deemed as a breach of law. The employees have the right to refuse to comply with the employer’s orders that are contrary to the laws and the employer cannot take any legal actions against the employees for such conduct.

If there are no government orders on remote work, the employee’s obligation to return to work in the office depends on the provisions of the employment contract and/or agreement/arrangements between the employer and the employee. If an employment contract provides that the employee can be employed in different places pursuant to the employer’s orders and the employer has ordered the employee to work remotely, the employee will have to return to work only after the employer’s order.

If the employer and the employee have agreed that the employee works remotely for a fixed period of time, the employee has to return to the office after the term has expired. The earlier return would be subject to a separate agreement between the employer and the employee.

If the employer and the employee have agreed that the employee works remotely unlimited period of time, the return to office is subject to a separate agreement between the employer and the employee.