If an employee has been posted to perform work in Latvia, then, irrespective of the law applicable to the employment contract and employment legal relationships, such posted employee shall be ensured the working conditions and employment provisions provided for by the regulatory enactments of Latvia, as well as by collective agreements which have been recognised as generally binding and which regulate:
- maximum working time and minimum rest period;
- minimum annual paid leave;
- minimum wage rate, as well as supplementary payment for overtime work;
- provisions regarding securing a workforce, especially with the intermediation of work placement services;
- safety, health protection and hygiene at work;
- protection measures for persons under 18 years of age, for pregnant women and women during the period following childbirth, as well as the provisions of work and employment of such persons; and
- equal treatment of men and women, as well as prohibition of discrimination in any other form.
If under an employment contract an employee posted to Latvia has more favourable working conditions and employment provisions compared with the minimum requirements set forth in the regulatory enactments of Latvia, as well as by the collective agreements, which have been recognised as generally binding, then in respect to the worker the conditions of the contract concluded with the worker continue to apply.
Please refer to the section "Information on working conditions and employment provisions" for detailed information on the Latvian legal framework with respect to the above matters.
An employer who posts an employee to carry out work in Latvia has an obligation to designate a representative of the employer in Latvia who is authorised to represent the employer in the State institutions of Latvia and in a court.
An employer who posts an employee to carry out work in Latvia, shall, if necessary, assign its representative, to whom the parties of the collective agreement may refer in order to launch negotiations regarding the entering into of a collective agreement in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Law. This person may not be different form the person referred to under Paragraph 3 of the Article 14 of the Labour Law, and does not have to be present in Latvia, but has to be available on a reasonable and justified request.
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS (GENERAL AGREEMENTS)
There are two branch collective agreements in force in the private sector.
Railway sector
General agreement in the railway sector is generally binding erga omnes collective agreement. It is concluded between „Latvijas Dzelzceļa nozares darba devēju organizācija” (Railway sector employers` organisation) and Latvijas Dzelzceļnieku un satiksmes nozares arodbiedrību Railway workers trade union . It does not set minimum wage rates but provides for guidelines for wage setting at the enterprise level in the railway sector.