Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) - Hungary (Ratification: 2003)

Article 3(2) of the Convention. Conditions governing the operation of private employment agencies. Application of the Convention in practice. The Government provides in its report comprehensive information on the legislative and regulatory changes pertaining to temporary placement agencies and private employment agencies, as well as court decisions made during the reporting period. In this regard, the Government indicates that the new Labour Code, which entered into force on 1 July 2012, has made the labour relationship between the temporary placement agency and the user enterprise more simple and transparent. Moreover, modifications were made to Government Decree No. 118/2001 regarding temporary placement and private employment agencies, by adding provisions on the temporary placement of employment in public employment. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments concerning the replacement of the licensing system, the Government indicates that notification replaced the licensing system. Pursuant to Government Decree No. 118/2001, private employment agencies do not need to obtain a licence from a government office before commencing their activities, but they must satisfy certain requirements of the Decree, such as depositing financial security, which is then certified in the notification. The competent government office conducts regulatory inspections and may ban a private employment agency from the continuation of its activities and, simultaneously, deletes it from its records when it does not satisfy the requirements of registration. With regard to the application of the Convention in practice, the Committee notes from the report that, as of 31 December 2013, there were 733 private employment agencies operating in Hungary and 1,016 temporary placement agencies were operational. Private employment agencies successfully placed 24,800 jobseekers in employment in 2013 (a 15.3 per cent decrease when compared to 2012) and 120,704 people accessed employment through temporary placement agencies (18.9 per cent higher than the previous year). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the legislative and regulatory changes on the operation of private employment agencies. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including extracts from inspection reports in relation to private employment agencies investigated, the number and nature of infringements reported and sanctions applied, as well as statistics on the number of workers covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention.

Articles 11 and 12. Protection for workers and responsibilities of private employment agencies and user enterprises. The Government indicates that it is of the opinion that the right to freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively are provided to temporarily placed workers in view of the employment with the temporary placement agency. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to ensure adequate protection for workers employed by private employment agencies and user enterprises in accordance with Articles 11 and 12.

Article 13. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Government indicates that the public employment service and private employment agencies cooperate with each other during their activities. The Committee notes from the report that private employment agencies must supply information to the government offices on a yearly basis, in accordance with the provisions of Government Decree No. 118/2001, effective from 1 April 2015. The means of cooperation between the public and private employment services include: (a) regular professional contact; (b) exchange of information about the labour market; (c) exchange of data regarding vacancies that can be advertised and are available for placement; (d) joint training opportunities offered to employees; and (e) agreements on the improvement of the labour market situation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which efficient cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies is promoted and reviewed periodically.