Globalization and the development of technology, especially information and
communication, have had substantial impact on the way we work and provided new,
different ways of organizing work. All this brings completely new challenges, though, not
only for employees and employers but also for the state and legislators. Using the
telephone, the internet, mobile applications, and e-mail creates a permanent availability of
employees. Most of them are no longer strongly tied to the employer's premises. Such
forms of work bring many benefits to employees, who can be more "free" in organizing
their working time. In addition, they pose several risks, including more difficult record
keeping and, consequently, reduced control over its limitations. Most notably, such forms
of work allow for a disregard of rules regarding uninterrupted breaks and rest and overtime
work, which threatens the safety and the health of workers and also harms the
reconciliation of work and family. The consequences of this are reflected at the employee
level as well as in organizations and, last but not least, at the state level. After 2020, marked
by the covid-19 pandemic and a marked change in the way we work and adapt to change,
there has been a growing debate among social partners at both EU and national levels on
how new forms of work are emerging. There are many benefits to all parties involved but
also the inevitable consequences of digitalization, which lead to rules on working time
restrictions to prevent overburdening of employees, and in particular how to adapt or
upgrade legislation to keep pace with changes in the field of working time.
This master's thesis studies the Slovenian legal regulation in the field of limiting the working
hours of employees and the legal aspect of providing rest for employees, the lack of
regulation in the field of accessibility of employees outside working hours, and the
possibility of introducing good practices from other EU countries into Slovenian law. The
analysis of the Slovenian legal system in the field of limiting working hours and limiting outof-
hours working hours shows a flawed legal system. It thus emphasizes the state's role
(with its restrictive institutes) in influencing workers' rights to exclusion. Furthermore, in
the last year, the covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to curb it - the most
widespread of which was work from home - highlighted the lack of legal regulation of
reachability of employees while highlighting the need to regulate this area.
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