Debate has intensified regarding seasonal and casual employment regulations in Hungary, especially following the implementation of new rules on February 1, 2023. These regulations included an increase in public burdens and additional changes set to take effect on July 1, 2023. Reports indicate that the government may consider further adjustments in response to concerns raised by the agricultural sector.

A professional association representing fruit and vegetable producers has openly criticized the regulations, emphasizing the challenges faced by agricultural operations in adhering to the new guidelines.

Sándor Czomba, the state secretary responsible for employment policy at the Ministry for National Economy, acknowledged that they are reviewing initial experiences with various professional associations, particularly within the agriculture sector, and have not ruled out modifications.

The nature of seasonal work often necessitates flexibility, as exemplified by grape harvesting, which requires a large workforce for a brief period.

Likewise, the demands of summer festival setups or film production also highlight scenarios where traditional employment practices may not be viable.

Critics argue that applying standard employment rules in such cases is impractical.

Nevertheless, there have been concerns about potential abuses of the previous casual labor regulations.

Instances were noted where companies that operated year-round employed only seasonal workers or casual laborers, raising suspicions when the same individuals were repeatedly utilized on an irregular basis.

The changes to simplified employment regulations aim to address these concerns by shifting some of the regulatory burden onto the employees themselves.

This change is designed to ensure that employers cannot evade their tax responsibilities, thereby increasing budgetary revenues without causing a decline in overall employment in sectors reliant on casual labor.

Effective January 1, 2025, the minimum wage will rise to 290,800 forints, up from 266,000 forints.

Under the new regulations, employers will be required to pay daily public burdens based on the established minimum wage across different sectors.

The rates for contributions have increased, moving from 0.5% to 0.75% for agricultural and tourism seasonal work, and from 1% to 1.5% for casual labor, while the rate for film industry extras remains unchanged at 3%.

Significant changes are set to occur on July 1, when regulations will stipulate that the limit on seasonal and casual work will cap the number of days worked by an employee rather than by employer.

Specifically, workers can only engage in seasonal work for a maximum of 120 days per year in agriculture and tourism, and 90 days in other sectors.

These adjustments are intended to mitigate any manipulation of the system, preventing employees from spending the entire year in seasonal or casual employment across multiple employers.

Despite maintaining some tax advantages for casual work, the government aims to ensure that workers do not excessively lean on this classification at the expense of stable employment.

Immediate reactions to the new measures have included criticism regarding their potential impact on agricultural labor availability.

Leaders in the agricultural sector have expressed concerns that the stricter regulations might jeopardize the ability to secure sufficient seasonal labor.

Czomba highlighted that the number of individuals engaged in simplified employment had approached 320,000, suggesting that the government views the challenge as extending beyond simple compliance in agriculture to address broader tax avoidance issues.

Data indicated that while the number of film extras is minimal, there are over 31,000 agricultural seasonal workers, with an additional 280,000 engaged in other sectors.

Compliance responsibilities will shift to employers, who must check, before each workday, the number of days remaining for each worker in the tax authority's system.

If workers have exceeded the stipulated limits, they cannot be registered for work.

In the context of social implications, the state anticipates that re-integrating casual workers into the formal job market could yield significantly higher tax revenues.

Although there are potential financial benefits from the new regulations, there remains concern about ensuring that workers are not pushed out of the labor market by administrative changes.

The government has been analyzing last year's data to assess the extent of previous non-compliance, discovering that only a limited number of agricultural workers exceeded the new limits.

The numbers indicated that even with these regulatory changes, the administration does not foresee dramatic increases in tax burdens for most workers, aiming to maintain a balance between compliance and the need for seasonal labor.