On 15 March 2022 proposals for amending the Employment Act were endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers and submitted to Parliament for approval. The amendments are being made in order to transpose two EU directives that Latvia must pass by August 2022 and to implement the Constitutional Court’s ruling No. 2019-33-01 of 12 November 2020, which recognises that section 155(1) of the Employment Act, giving a childbirth leave entitlement to the father, is not consistent with the first sentence of the Constitution’s section 110 insofar as it offers no protection or support for a female partner of the child’s mother due to the birth of the child. This article explores key changes and how they affect workers and employers.

The State Revenue Service (SRS) is increasingly exercising its statutory power to have a company’s board member pay an overdue tax liability if that debt cannot be collected from the company. For the board member this often means thousands of euros to pay, private accounts blocked, and properties seized. This article explores the legal grounds for such actions and outlines substantial errors in decisions made by the SRS.

Entering into contracts for services is an inevitable part of business, but this cannot be undertaken without fully assessing inherent risks. Over the years the courts have developed sufficient case law allowing us to make conclusions about how they approach situations that involve assessing the nature of a legal relationship to determine whether the contract is one for services or one of employment. This article explores some of the case law that prescribes the conduct of parties entering into either type of contract.