Remote Working Legislation, Laws & Regulations in Hungary

Hungary's Act No. 2012/I on the Labour Code (the “Labour Code”) regulates teleworking, which must be agreed on mutually by the employer and the employee in the employment contract or an amendment to it. There is no legislation in Hungary separately regulating WFH, however, the employer may assign the right to choose the place of work to the employee, also to be agreed in the employment contract or an amendment to it.      

Full or partial teleworking must be specifically agreed in the employment contract on an individual basis. The company may have internal regulations on the rules governing partial teleworking but from a labour law perspective, teleworking cannot be implemented by a unilateral decision, collective bargaining agreement or internal policy. 

No, since teleworking must be mutually agreed in the employment contract or an amendment to it.

No, since teleworking must be mutually agreed in the employment contract or an amendment to it.

The employer should provide the employee with the IT equipment (such as laptop, mouse, etc.) necessary to perform telework. It may be agreed that the employee uses his/her own devices for teleworking, but in our experience, this is very rare and employers usually provide their employees with the necessary devices.

The employer does not have to provide the employee with other office equipment (such as desk, chair, etc.). As a good practice, employees usually have to expressly declare in the employment contract that they have all the necessary office equipment to perform work while teleworking. Such equipment must also be in compliance with occupational health & safety requirements (see our answers regarding the question “Is the employer responsible for the employee's proper working conditions at home from a health and safety perspective?”).

The employer is in general obliged to reimburse necessary and reasonable costs arising from the performance of the duties stemming from the position. The employer may provide a lump sum payment proportional to the days of teleworking in a given month.

No, the employer does not have to pay a specific teleworking allowance.

In case of teleworking with IT equipment, the employer must inform the employee in writing about the rules relating to working conditions to ensure compliance with occupational safety and health requirements. The employee is then obliged to comply with such requirements and choose the place of work accordingly. The employer is entitled to remotely monitor the compliance with health & safety requirements via the information technology equipment unless agreed otherwise.

In case of teleworking by means other than IT equipment, the employer and employee must agree on the place of teleworking in advance. The employer must also approve of the place of teleworking regarding occupational health & safety standards. The employer may inspect the working conditions in person at the place of teleworking.

No.

There is no legal obligation for specific insurance.

Yes, however if the work accident or occupational illness is the result of the employee not complying with the health & safety requirements that the employer specifically informed him/her of, the employer may be exempted from liability.

N/A.

No.

As of 1 January 2022, “digital nomads” are able to apply for a white card (in Hungarian: “fehér kártya”) in Hungary.

A white card will be granted to a third-country national who:

1. has a verified employment relationship in a country other than Hungary and performs his/her work from Hungary using an advanced digital technology solution, or owns a share in a company with a verified profit in a country other than Hungary and performs his/her work or manages his/her company from Hungary using an advanced digital technology solution,
2. meets the general conditions for staying in Hungary for more than 90 days within any 180-day period and is not subject to any of the disqualifications provided by law, and
3. does not pursue any gainful activity in Hungary and does not hold shares in a Hungarian company.

Please let us know, if we can provide you with further details regarding the procedure to obtain white card in Hungary.

Should you have any further questions or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact us.

“Remote work abroad” as such is not defined under Hungarian law. In general, it refers to the situation where an employee temporarily performs work at a self-chosen location in another country than the place of work defined in the individual employment contract by using technology to remain connected.

There is no Hungarian legislation that specifically regulates remote work abroad. Nevertheless, there are general rules and regulations that should be considered, such as IT security, data protection and tax-law matters.

All provisions of Hungary’s Act No. 2012/I on the Labour Code are applicable to remote work abroad. However, the employer has only limited health-and-safety liability.

Generally, employees remain subject to social security insurance based on their employment relationship in Hungary. An employee might become subject to the social security laws of the working state if Hungary has concluded a social security treaty with the relevant jurisdiction that deals with social security liability in cross-border situations.

Within the EU, the rules of the EU Coordination Regulation apply to social security status in remote work.

In the case of short-term remote work, tax residency (i.e. unlimited income tax liability) will normally remain with the jurisdiction where this person has a permanent home (i.e. the ‘home state’). However, the work performed from the foreign place of employment could also trigger an income tax liability in that jurisdiction on grounds that differ from tax residence. To avoid double taxation on the income of the employee, Hungary has concluded double tax treaties with most countries.

On the basis of most double tax treaties, there would be generally no tax exposure on the employee’s salary in the foreign jurisdiction if this employee spends less than 183 days in the foreign jurisdiction (i.e. not the residence state) during a 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned, provided that the employer does not have a permanent establishment through the activities of the employee in that foreign jurisdiction (see the question below) and salary costs for this employee are not recharged by the employer to one of their companies in that foreign jurisdiction (if and to the extent that there are any group companies present in that jurisdiction).

An employee with nationality of the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland (i.e. EU National) is allowed to live and work in other EU/EEA countries and Switzerland without a visa or residence permit.

However, if (1) an EU National wishes to work in a country outside of the EU, EEA and Switzerland or (2) if the employee is a national from outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland and works in Hungary or works in Hungary based on a Hungarian work permit, the company should determine if the employee needs a valid residence permit and/or work permit to be able to work legally in that country. These requirements should always be confirmed with a local legal counsel.

N/A.