Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Hungary (Ratification: 1961)

Article 1 of the Convention. Discrimination in employment and occupation. Legislation. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that: (1) the basis for developing the Equal Treatment Act 2003 was to ensure that provisions for equal treatment and promotion of equal opportunities, including in employment and occupation, be contained in a stand-alone Act; (2) the grounds of race, colour,sex, religion,political opinion and social origin are contained in Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Equal Treatment Act, in harmony with Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention; (3) two court cases considered the application of the Equal Treatment Act 2003 in their decision-making process; however, the Government does not specify whether the rulings addressed any specific grounds of discrimination or imposed sanctions based on those grounds and if they related to employment or occupation; and (4) several cases from the Equal Treatment Authority (ETA) were provided, including decisions addressing discrimination based on sex, such as pregnancy and maternity. The Committee wishes to recall that where legal provisions are adopted to give effect to the principle of the Convention, they should include at least all the grounds of discrimination specified in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 853) and that the ground of national extraction is missing from the list mentioned above. The concept of national extraction covers distinctions made on the basis of a person’s place of birth, ancestry or foreign origin. Discrimination based on national extraction may be directed against persons who are nationals of the country in question, but who have acquired their citizenship by naturalization or who are descendants of foreign immigrants, or persons belonging to groups of different national extraction living in the same State (see 2012 General Survey, paragraph 764). The Committee notes that the scope of the Equal Treatment Act is general and extends to several sectors, including employment. In this regard, it wishes to recall that the principal objective of the Convention is to eliminate all discrimination, as defined in the instrument, concerning all aspects of employment and occupation, which include access to vocational training, access to employment and particular occupations, and terms and conditions of employment. The Committee requests the Government: (i) to include “national extraction” as a prohibited ground for discrimination in its legislation to ensure that all grounds listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention are considered; (ii) to indicate if “all” aspects of employment and occupation are protected against discrimination; and (iii) to provide information on court case decisions involving discrimination in employment and occupation based on the grounds of discrimination prohibited under the Convention.

Article 1(1)(a). Sexual harassment. The Committee takes note of the Government’s statement that the Hungarian labour safety authority does not investigate incidents of workplace violence and harassment. It also observes the lack of information provided on any assessment of the effectiveness of the existing complaint procedures or on any progress regarding the requested amendments to the Labour Code. The Committee wishes to recall in that regard the critical importance of implementing effective measures to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment at work, given its grave and serious repercussions (see 2012 General Survey, paragraph 789). Therefore, the Committee urges the Government to: (i) assess the effectiveness of the currently available complaint procedures; and (ii) introduce provisions that define and prohibit both quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment in employment and occupation, establish sanctions and remedies and specify a distinct role for labour inspectors in that regard.

Enforcement. Labour inspection. The Committee notes that the ETA merged with the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary (OCFR) on 1 January 2021 and that a separate organizational unit, the Directorate General in Charge of Equal Treatment, will henceforth be the competent body responsible for dealing with equality issues. One of the objectives of this change, according to the Government, is to enhance the protection of fundamental rights, since the Commissioner is elected by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, whereas the ETA President was appointed by the President of the Republic. The Committee also notes with regret that the 2021 replacement of Act No. LXXV of 1996 on labour inspection by Government Decree No. 115/2021 (III.10) on the activity of the employment supervisory authority still does not extend the scope of labour inspection to the enforcement of equal treatment provisions. Additionally, the Committee observes that statistics on the number and nature of cases related to discrimination in the field of employment and occupation disclosed on the OCFR website have not been updated since 2012 and that no information on training programmes for labour inspectors or members of the ETA, now the Directorate General in charge of Equal Treatment, was provided. Recalling that labour inspectors have regular access to workplaces and workers and have a crucial role to address discrimination and promote equality in employment and occupation, the Committee urges the Government to provide them with adequate training to effectively prevent, detect and remedy cases of discrimination. It reiterates its requests to the Government to consider reviewing the labour inspectorate’s competences extending them to cover the legislation addressing equal treatment in employment and occupation, and to provide information in this respect. The Committee also requests the Government to report on: (i) how the labour inspectorate, the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary and the Directorate General in charge of Equal Treatment cooperate to raise public awareness and enforce the right to be free from discriminatory employment practices; and (ii) the number and nature of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation referred to the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights by the labour inspectorate, as well as the grounds of discrimination invoked and their outcome.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.