BULGARIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Diana Milkova and Victoria Penkova, Penkova & Partners Law Firm
sanction may be from BGN250 to BGN2,500), and administrative coercive measures. The regional court may order the employer to cease the discriminatory act, restore the situation to its state prior to the violation, refrain from further violations, and pay liquidated damages to the claimant. In a discrimination proceeding, if the claimant pre - sents facts suggesting discrimination, the burden of proof falls on the employer to demonstrate that the right to equal treatment has not been violated. 8.3 Digitalisation Courts shall accept procedural actions in electronic form and are required to accept electronic state - ments through which procedural actions are carried out, provided that the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and the Law on Electronic Documents and Electronic Authentication Services are met. The statements must be signed with a qualified electronic signature when the law requires a handwritten signa - ture for the validity of certain statements. Participation of the Parties by Videoconference Any party may request to participate in a court hear - ing via videoconference if they are unable to appear in person. The court will determine the date and time for the hearing where videoconferencing will be used, after confirming the possibility of holding the hearing with the nearest regional court, located at the party’s place of residence, the witness’s or expert’s location, or the place of detention or deprivation of freedom where the person is being held. During the videoconference, the party must be pre - sent in a room specifically equipped for videoconfer - encing at the designated, approved location.
tionships, as well as disputes between the employees’ representative and the employer. These also include disputes over the performance of collective agree - ments, the determination of length of employment service, and disputes between employees and enter - prises providing temporary work. Labour disputes are to be settled by the courts (see 9.3 Costs ) through an accelerated court procedure, and must be initiated within the prescription periods outlined in the Labour Code. A class action may be brought on behalf of individuals harmed by the same infringement where, due to the nature of the infringement, the exact circle of affected persons cannot be precisely defined, but is identifi - able. In cases of non-performance of obligations under a collective agreement, legal actions may be brought before the court by the parties to the agreement, as well as by any employee to whom the agreement applies. Collective labour disputes should be resolved through direct negotiations between employees and employ - ers or their representatives, according to a procedure they freely determine. Regarding situations where no agreement is reached, see 9.2 Alternative Dispute Resolution . 9.2 Alternative Dispute Resolution Except for collective labour disputes, all labour dis - putes shall be settled by the courts in accordance with the procedure established by the Civil Procedure Code, unless otherwise specified by the Labour Code. Collective labour disputes may be resolved through the National Institute for Reconciliation and Arbi - tration, which assists in the voluntary settlement of disputes between employees and employers. The National Institute for Reconciliation and Arbitration is not an arbitration court, but rather a corporate body under the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, head - quartered in Sofia, and operating as an executive agency. A collective labour dispute may be referred for settlement to a sole arbitrator or an arbitration
9. Dispute Resolution 9.1 Litigation
Labour disputes are disputes between an employee and an employer regarding the formation, existence, implementation, and termination of employment rela -
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