Court Decision Prohibits Working Beyond Retirement Age

In a recent decision, the Constitutional Court of Montenegro abolished the provisions of the Montenegrin Labor Law that allowed employers to extend employment beyond retirement in certain circumstances.

The Montenegrin Labor Law specifies that employment is terminated by virtue of law when an employee reaches the age of 67 and has a minimum of 15 years of pension insurance.

However, prior to the Constitutional Court’s decision, the law allowed employers to extend the term of the employment without specifying the legal basis for the further engagement or the criteria or duration of the extension. The practical consequences were that employers were able to cherry-pick which employees they wanted to keep on and the conditions under which they would work.

The Constitutional Court decided that there was a risk that employers would abuse this provision through arbitrary conduct and that the extension provisions were not in accordance with the standards of the rule of law and legal security. The abolishment of the extension provisions aims to protect the rights of employees.

Comment

The consequence of this decision is that employment is terminated by virtue of law when an employee reaches the age of 67 and has a minimum of 15 years of pension insurance. There is no longer the possibility of extending the employment.

Written by Milena Jakšić Papac and Srđan Šijakinjić in cooperation with Karanović & Nikolić and Roger James of Ogletree Deakins