An employment contract shall be an agreement entered into in writing between the employee and the employer prior to the commencement of work regarding the work to be performed and the remuneration. A written contract of work is compulsory.

The employer shall make a contract of employment in 2 copies, one of which shall be stored with the employee, the other being with the employer. For what is required to be included in the contract of employment, read moreSection 40 of the Labour Law. Interpretative information can also be found at:On the website of the Ministry of Welfare (LM).

There are 2 types of contract:

• contract of employment for an indefinite period: the final date by which the contract of employment is in force is not specified;
• a fixed-term contract shall be concluded only in certain cases, such as working on individual projects, seasonal work, occasional work, replacing colleagues and others. It is mandatory to specify the time-limit for the termination of the contract of employment or the conditions for the termination of the job. The contract of employment concluded for a specified period may not exceed 5 years. Detailed information on cases where a fixed-term contract is to be entered into and can be foundSection 12 of the Labour Law.

An employee with whom an employment contract has been concluded for a specified period shall be subject to the same rules as an employee with whom an employment contract has been concluded for an indefinite period.

If, at the end of the period for which the contract of employment has been concluded, neither of the parties has requested the termination of the contract of employment and the legal relationship of employment actually continues, the contract of employment shall be deemed to have been concluded for an indefinite period of time. More information on the extension of the contract of employment is available at:Section 45 of the Labour Law.

For the preparation of the contract of employment, you are obliged to present your personal identity document to the employer as a future employee. Therefore, make sure that your document has not expired before entering into a contract. If necessary, you can apply for a new personal identification document via the e-service “Latvija.lv”.The issue of personal identification document log". In the course of the service, payment of the State fee for the issuance of a personal identification document must be made.

If the performance of the work requires special knowledge or skills, the employer shall have the right to require you to present documents certifying your education or professional training prior to the conclusion of the contract of employment. Similarly, if the specific nature of the work so requires, the employer may request a statement of yourcriminal records.

More detailed information on the documents needed to prepare a contract of employment can be found at:Article 35 of the Labour Law.

It is recommended that you obtain information on the status of the potential employer before starting the employment relationship, for example, whether there are tax debts, whether the company has not entered the minimum wage list, or whether it is a micro-enterprise taxpayer. Such information may be useful in drawing conclusions on the solvency of the employer. Data can be verified using the State Revenue Service (SRS)Database to be disclosed.

If you want the employer to apply the minimum to your salary and other tax incentives (not to the employer - the micro-enterprise taxpayer), then connect after entering into the employment contractVID EDSand mark in your payroll tax book your employer as the main source of income. In the payroll tax book, dependants can be identified in addition to benefiting from relief, and it is possible to note “Show information on additional benefits to the place of income” if there are disability information or the status of the person being repressed. For more information:On the SRS websiteand the steps, for markings in the electronic payroll tax book, are shown in the video instruction.

To make sure that your employer has recruited you officially (with a contract), connect toVID EDSand on the left of the system, select “Reports” and the “Reports submitted by taxpayers” section, where you can view information about your locations and periods of employment.

The contract of employment guarantees your rights as an employee, so if your employer employs you without a contract of employment, it is the unregistered employment to be reportedState Labour Inspection (NSA).

To notify the NSA of unregistered employment, use the section on the NSA's website “To report on unregistered employment”.

Use a free e-service on the Latvija.lv portal for advice from the NSA or for NSA action on labour rights or job protection.Submit an application to Labour Inspectorate and get a response from Labour Inspectorate”.

For people belonging to a specifically defined group of employees, such as young people, people with disabilities and foreign citizens, additional information can be found in the description of the life situation.Employment for different groups of society”.

The working time shall be the period from the beginning of the work to the end of which the employee performs the work and is at the employer's disposal, except for breaks at work. The beginning and end of the working time shall be determined in the terms of the agenda, in terms of the timetable or in the contract of work.

The normal daily working time of the employee must not exceed 8 hours but the normal working time of the week: 40 hours. If the daily working time of one of the working days of the week is shorter than the normal working time of the day, on another working day of the week the normal working time of the day may be extended, but not more than 1 hour, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week.

For workers whose work is associated with a special risk (with increased psychological or physical load or increased risk to the safety and health of the employee), the normal working time must not exceed seven hours a day and 35 hours a week, provided that they are employed at least 50 per cent of the normal daily or weekly working time. The Cabinet may also determine the normal shortened working time for other categories of employees.

The job that an employee performs over normal working time is overtime work. It shall be admissible if the employee and the employer have agreed in writing. In some exceptional cases, the employer has the right to employ an employee in overtime without his written consent (Article 136 of the Labour Act).

In the contract of employment, the employer and the employee may agree on the determination of part-time less than the normal daily or weekly working time. The employer shall prescribe part-time if requested by a pregnant woman, a woman in the post-natal period up to one year, but if a woman is breast-feeding, throughout the feeding period, as well as an employee who has a child under 14 years of age or a disabled child under 18 years of age.

An employee employed for part-time work shall be subject to the same rules as the employee employed for normal working hours.

Night work means any work carried out during the night (from 22:00 to 06:00) for more than 2 hours.

If it is necessary to ensure continued work, the employer may, after consulting the employees, determine the work of the shifts. In this case, the normal weekly working time of 40 hours should be taken into account.

If, due to the nature of the work, it is not possible to comply with the normal daily or weekly working time specified for the worker concerned, the employer may, after consulting the employees' representatives, determine the aggregated working time so that the working time during the reporting period does not exceed the normal working time specified for the worker concerned.

Rest time means a period within which an employee does not have to perform his or her duties and which he or she may use at his or her discretion. Rest periods include breaks at work, daily rest, weekly rest, holidays and vacations.

Every employee shall be entitled to a break at work if his or her daily working time is longer than six hours. The duration of the break must not be less than 30 minutes.

The daily rest period of 24 hours shall not be less than 12 consecutive hours. This provision may not apply if the aggregated working time has been determined.

The weekly rest period for a seven-day period shall not be less than 42 consecutive hours. This provision may not apply if the aggregated working time has been determined. If a five-day working week is specified, the employee shall be granted two weekly rest days; if a six-day working week is specified, one weekly rest day. Both weeks' rest days are usually granted in succession.

The employer is obliged to accurately list the hours worked by each employee as a whole, as well as the hours worked separately during overtime, night work, week rest and holiday days. The employee has the right to verify, in person or through employees' representatives, the time records performed by the employer.

More information on working time and rest time is available at:Chapter 31-35 of the Labour Law.

An employee shall be required to perform on-the-spot work in the company unless otherwise agreed between the employee and the employer. If the performance of the duties is not provided for in a particular workplace, the contract of employment shall indicate that the employee may be employed in different places.

On the rules for employing different groups of society, such as young people, please refer to the description of the life situation.Employment for different groups of society'and'Work and taxes”.

An employer sending an employee to perform work in another Member State of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) State or the Swiss Confederation shall be obliged to comply with the administrative requirements of that State and to comply with the requirements of the supervisory and control authorities to which the employee is seconded.

Information on the requirements in the country concerned must be consulted before the staff member is sent.

When sending an employee to another country, the employer must comply with the following minimum requirements laid down by another country:

• maximum working and minimum rest periods;
• minimum paid annual leave;
• minimum wage rates, including overtime rates;
• conditions for the dispatch of employees;
• health, safety and hygiene at work;
• protection measures for pregnant women or women in the post-natal period, child and youth labour rules;
• equal treatment of men and women and other non-discrimination rules.

More information on employment outside Latvia is available at:Ministry of Welfare (LM) websiteandOn the website of the State Employment Agency (NVA).Advice and information on the transfer of staff to another EU Member State or Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway may be provided by EURES consultants to the NVA. Contact details availableOn the SEA website. 

Pay

The employee has the right to receive regular remuneration for work - pay. Remuneration shall be the remuneration to be paid regularly to the employee for work, which shall include the salary and the supplements specified in the regulatory enactments, the collective agreement or the contract of employment, as well as the premiums and any other type of remuneration in relation to work.

An employer shall organise a time salary system or chord salary system, as well as a premium and premium system in an undertaking in accordance with regulatory enactments and a collective labour agreement. The time salary shall be calculated according to the working time actually worked, regardless of the amount of work done. The chord salary is calculated according to the amount of work done, regardless of the time it was done.

The employer has an obligation to set equal pay for men and women for the same work or equal value work.

The employer must provide employees with a salary of not less thannational minimum, as well as from that remunerationin the State budget Personal Income Tax (IIT)andMandatory State social security contributions (social security).

If the employer pays you less than the national minimum wage for full-time work, it is a violation to be reported to the National Labour Inspectorate (NSA). For this, you can use the free e-service portal Latvija.lv "Submit an application to Labour Inspectorate and get a response from Labour Inspectorate”.

To check whether taxes are deducted from your pay, connectState Revenue Service Electronic Statement System (SRS EDS), select “Reports” and select the “Reports submitted by taxpayers” section where you will be able to request an online overview of your employer:

• the calculated mandatory national social security contributions;
• the withheld personal income tax.

Additional information on the amount of mandatory social security contributions made by your employer can also be viewed on the Latvija.lv portal, use the free e-service “Information on social insurance contributions and periods of insurance”.

Read more about the binding taxes on employees in the description of the life situation “Work and taxes”.

Surcharges

The amount of the premium shall be determined in the employment contract.Chapter 18 of the Labour Lawthe right of employees to receive premiums shall be determined in the following cases:

• Additional work;
• Work involving particular risks;
• Night work;
• About overtime work or work on a holiday.

The employer must calculate taxes from the premiums in the same way as from the basic salary.

Payment of wages

The employer has an obligation to pay the salary not less than 2 times a month, if the employee and employer have not agreed to pay the salary once a month. If the day of payment of the salary coincides with the rest of the week or the holiday day of the week, the payment of the work must be paid before the relevant day.

The employee has the right to receive the salary in cash. The employer has the right to pay the salary in non-cash cash with a transfer only if the employee and employer have agreed to it.

Together with the paid salary paid, the employee has the right to receive from the employer a calculation of the salary, which includes the paid salary, withholding taxes and mandatory State social insurance contributions made, as well as the hours worked, including overtime, hours worked during the night and holidays. At the request of the employee, the employer is obliged to explain this calculation. For more information on working hours and overtime, see “Work and rest time and place of work”.

You can read in more detail about the cost of payChapter 19 of the Labour Law.

Social insurance is a set of measures organised by the State to insure a person's risk of losing an occupational income due to the sickness, disability, maternity, paternity, parental care, unemployment, age, occupational accident or occupational disease of a socially insured person, as well as additional costs related to or dependent on the socially insured person the death of an existing person. Social insurance is part of the national social security system. National social insurance system is governed by lawOn the state social insurance, which determines which types of social security the person is subject to.

Socially insured persons who perform (or for which the employer performs) mandatory State social insurance contributions from their employment income, upon the occurrence of an insurance case and in fulfilling the criteria for the granting of the service, have the right to receive the relevant social insurance services - pensions, benefits and reimbursements. They shall be paid on the basis of the State social security contributions made, the higher the income from which the contributions were made, the higher the amount of the benefit, pension or remuneration, respectively.

Use the free e-service on the Latvija.lv portal to verify the amount of social contributions made by your employers.Information on social insurance contributions and periods of insurance”. Data on employers' social contributions can also be consideredState Revenue Service Electronic Statement System (SRS EDS)in choosing “Reports” - “Information provided by taxpayers” - “National social insurance mandatory contributions calculated by employers”.

As a socially insured person, you are entitled to a number of typessocial insurance servicesdepending on the situation of life. For example, in case of illness you are dueSickness benefits. In this case, you should have a “Disability Sheet (DNL)” issued by your doctor. Use a free e-service on the Latvija.lv portal to check your DNL“Sick sick leaves received”.Information on open or closed incapacity leaves can also be consulted by authorisingEHealth Portal, under the heading “Disability leaves”. Read more about incapacity in the description of the life situation “Workplace health”.

State social insurance also provides for the granting of sickness benefits to persons who have suffered an accident at work or for whom an occupational disease has been determined, compensation for loss of capacity and compensation for additional expenses (Insurance indemnity). In order to claim insurance, you must submit an application to the State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA) for the granting of insurance compensation. You can optionally submit it to one of the following:For VSAA departmentspersonally or by post, or bysecure electronic signaturesending a signed application to an institution's e-mail or usinge-address. Together with the application in the event of an occupational disease,opinion on occupational disease. It may be necessary to submitadditional documentsfor individual reimbursements.

Information on the degree of loss of capacity and disability determined for a person in the electronic format of the SSIA shall be received from:State Commission of Health and Health Examiner Doctors (VDEATH).If you want to personally verify your data, use the free e-service on the Latvija.lv portal “My data VDEĀVK”.

More of the disability formalities can be read in the description of the life situation “Formalities related to disability and disability”.

The act on an accident at work in an electronic format of the SAA shall be received from:State Labour Inspectorates (NSA).More about dealing with accidents at the workplace, read the section of the description “Safe and safe working environment”.

It is the employer's responsibility to provide his or her employees with a safe and safe working environment. The conditions for implementing this are laid down inLabour Protection Lawand the Cabinet regulations issued on that basis. The working environment within the meaning of the Law is a workplace with its physical, chemical, psychological, biological, physiological and other factors to which the employee is exposed when performing his or her work.

Workers shall have the right to be informed of potential risks at the workplace as well as of measures to preserve safety and health.

The employer must provide adequate training (briefing) for each employee on matters of job protection directly related to his or her place of work and performance of his or her work. The employer must also provide secure work equipment and personal protective equipment if they are necessary for the safe performance of the work.

The employer must provide a mandatory health check (OVP) for those employees whose health status is affected or likely to be affected by health-related factors in the working environment and those employed with special conditions at work. Expenses related to THE OVP prior to the commencement of the employment relationship shall be borne by the employee, by mutual agreement, by his or her own resources or by the employer. The costs related to the periodically employed OVP should be borne by the employer. Read more about OVP in the description of the life situation “Workplace health”.

If you are in contact with conditions at your workplace that are detrimental to your health and safety, you have the right to require your employer to avoid these conditions. If you fail to reach an agreement with your employer, you can turn to helpState Labour Inspection (NSA).

For more information on labour protection issues, see:Stradavesels.lv.

If an accident has occurred at work, the employer must ensure that it is investigated and accounted for.

If you have suffered an accident at work, or if you are a witness to an accident, report it immediately to the employer, direct job manager or labour protection specialist.

If you want to notify the NSA of an accident at the workplace, use a free e-service on the Latvija.lv portal.The announcement of the accident at work”.

After an accident at work or illness with an occupational disease, if you have been issued a temporary incapacity sheet or a specified disability and the degree of loss of capacity, apply to the State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA)insurance compensation for an accident at work or occupational disease.