BULGARIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Diana Milkova and Victoria Penkova, Penkova & Partners Law Firm
An employee assigned the responsibility of handling, storing, disbursing, or accounting for financial or physical assets shall be liable to the employer as fol - lows: • to the extent of the harm, but not exceeding three times the agreed monthly salary; and • for any shortage, the employee is liable for the full amount, along with legal interest from the day the harm occurred, or if the date cannot be deter - mined, from the day the shortage was discovered. Employee Disciplinary Liability A culpable failure to fulfil labour duties constitutes a breach of labour discipline. The respective employee may be subject to disciplinary actions (reprimand, warning of dismissal or dismissal) without prejudice to any financial, administrative, or criminal penalties that may apply. Any clauses in the employment contract that prevent employees from engaging in competitive activities for a specified period after the termination of their employment are considered null and void. Addi - tionally, any clause that imposes civil liability on an employee for failing to comply with a requirement not to enter into employment or civil legal relations with a competitor of the company after the termination of the employment agreement is also null and void, as it The Commission for the Protection of Competition has clarified that “no-poach agreements” between employers or competitors in the labour market, made with the intent of preventing the recruitment or hir - ing of employees, can restrict competition by limiting companies’ ability to effectively recruit staff. As such, these agreements are considered anti-competitive and are prohibited. 2. Restrictive Covenants 2.1 Non-Competes contradicts the law. 2.2 Non-Solicits Even in the absence of a no-poach agreement or non- solicitation clause, the act of soliciting employees from a competitor may, in some cases, be deemed
“unfair competition”. In such instances, an employer can bring a case before the Commission for the Pro - tection of Competition against the former employee if they violate competition laws or assist others in doing so, as well as against the relevant company. Possible actions include the following. • Any action or inaction in the course of economic activity that contradicts good commercial prac - tices and causes harm, or may harm, the interests of competitors. For instance, the use of resources and clients in a manner contrary to good commer - cial practice may be considered a violation, though there must be substantiated evidence to support such claims. • The use of a company name, brand, or geographi - cal indication that is identical or similar to that of another, in a way that could harm the interests of competitors. If the similarity between company names or brands is high enough to cause confu - sion among the public, leading them to believe they are dealing with a particular company, this may constitute unfair competition. • Unfair competition aimed at attracting customers in a way that results in the termination or violation of existing contracts, or the cancellation of poten - tial contracts with a specific competitor. This can involve unscrupulous actions designed to encour - age customers to break their contractual relation - ships or cancel agreements, leading to the com - pany benefiting from these customers by securing contracts of its own. • The knowledge, use, or disclosure of production or trade secrets in a manner that contravenes good commercial practice, including instances where such secrets are disclosed with the understanding that they will not be used or shared. 3. Data Privacy 3.1 Data Privacy Law and Employment The Personal Data Protection Act governs social rela - tions in connection with the protection of natural per - sons with regard to the processing of their personal data, to the extent that the relations are not regulated under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the pro -
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