„Progressive Bulgaria“ will reintroduce the changes to calculate seniority in part-time work, after the Constitutional Court annulled the adopted texts. This was stated by the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance Konstantin Prodanov.
„The change is part of the reforms planned by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, and will be reintroduced in due course“, Prodanov told bTV. According to him, the court did not rule on whether the reform was good or bad, nor did it deny the right of the National Assembly to change the method of calculating seniority.
What did the Constitutional Court annul
The decision is No. 17 in constitutional case No. 15/2026 and was issued on October 20. The provisions were annulled, by which the calendar principle for calculating seniority was to be replaced with a calculation based on actual hours worked.
The change was scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027. With a standard eight-hour working day, four hours of work per day would be counted as half a day of seniority. Thus, one year of work on a four-hour contract would carry six months of seniority, not one year. The smaller recognized seniority would also affect paid annual leave and other rights related to seniority.
The Constitutional Court does not accept that parliament cannot change the rules at all. According to the reasons, the problem is that a permanent change in labor law was made through the transitional and final provisions of the annual budget law. Since the new regime was supposed to be in effect from 2027, the court accepts that it did not have a direct impact on the 2026 budget.
The current order remains in force
After the decision on one day of seniority, work continues to be recognized for at least half of the statutory daily working time. With an eight-hour working day, an employee with four hours retains the right to accumulate one full day of seniority for each day worked.
The basic paid annual leave of at least 20 working days is also maintained. The planned reduction of the leave for employees to four hours will also not come into force, which under the new regime would have been a consequence of the proportional calculation of seniority.
A new attempt through a separate bill
Prodanov pointed out that after the decision, the ruling party will have to use another legislative path. The most likely moment for the re-submission is the discussion of the 2027 budget, which, according to him, is expected to be submitted to parliament in the first week of November.
The change was defended by the ruling party as a measure against undeclared work and as a way to tie insurance and labor rights more closely to the actual time worked. KITUB and CT „Podkrepa“ declared themselves against it, while employers' organizations defended its compliance with the Constitution.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg, fakti.bg, economic.bg