Establishing an Employment Relationship: A Checklist Every Employer Must Follow
26.08.2026.
Every mistake made at the start of an employment relationship — an unsigned contract before the first working day, a missed CROSO registration, a missing risk assessment act — comes back to haunt the employer later, through a labor inspection, misdemeanor fines, or a labor dispute. The Labor Law sets out exactly what an employer must do before an employee starts work, and we’ve distilled it into ten steps every employer should go through.
- Employment contract — before the first working day, not after
The contract must be concluded and signed before the employee starts work, in at least three copies. It must contain all elements required by law: the parties’ details, job description, place of work, start date, type of employment (fixed-term or indefinite), salary amount, and working hours. A verbal agreement, or a contract signed “after the fact,” does not protect the employer — on the contrary, it exposes the employer to the risk that the employment relationship will be treated as established by operation of law, with all the consequences that follow.
- Informing the candidate before signing (Article 27 of the Labor Law)
Before concluding the contract, the employer is required to inform the candidate about the job, the working conditions, and the rights and obligations that arise from it. This is a formal legal requirement that is often overlooked.
- CROSO registration — mandatory before the employee starts work
Electronic registration of the employee with the Central Register of Mandatory Social Insurance (CROSO) must be completed before the employee starts working. A single registration secures pension, health, and unemployment insurance — delays here are one of the most common grounds for an employer’s misdemeanor liability.
- Rulebook on the organization and classification of jobs
If you have more than 10 employees, this rulebook is mandatory. Without it, it’s difficult to defend decisions on job assignments, the conditions for establishing employment, or later dismissals for incompetence.
- Personnel file for every employee
The contract, annexes, proof of qualifications, medical certificates, and annual leave decisions all need to be properly kept on file. A personnel file is not an administrative formality — it’s the first line of defense in every labor dispute.
- Occupational health and safety
A risk assessment act, safety training for employees, and, for positions with special conditions, mandatory medical examinations — all of this is the employer’s obligation from day one, not something to sort out later “when the inspection shows up.”
- Prohibition of discrimination in hiring
An employer may not ask about marital or family status or pregnancy plans, or require an advance resignation letter. Such practices, even when they seem harmless, can form the basis for a legal dispute.
- Protection from workplace harassment (mobbing)
The law requires employers to have an internal mechanism for reporting harassment and a designated person responsible for receiving such reports — too often, this is reduced to a single sentence in a rulebook rather than an actual procedure. Before starting work, the employee must be given a notice on the prohibition of workplace harassment, with a detailed explanation of the rights, duties, and responsibilities of both employees and the employer, in accordance with the Law on the Prevention of Workplace Harassment.
- Protection of employees’ personal data
Data collected during recruitment and throughout the employment relationship must have a clear legal basis for processing and adequate protection, in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection. Ideally, the employer should define — in a general act or in the employment contract — which data it collects, for what purposes, and whether it will be shared with anyone.
- Limit on fixed-term contracts
A fixed-term employment relationship, for the same position with the same employer, cannot last longer than 24 months cumulatively. This is one of the most common points of dispute when employers keep “renewing” the arrangement year after year without a clear strategy.
Not sure you’ve covered everything?
These ten points aren’t a formality — they’re the difference between a company that’s ready for a labor inspection and one that risks a fine or a dispute. The KSEL team will gladly run a quick compliance check and propose practical, efficient solutions tailored to your business.
