Lidiya Shuleva, member of the Board of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria (CWBB) and managing partner at Business Intellect, took part in the Next Level HR 2024 forum, organized on June 12 by the magazine. Manager. Ms Shuleva joined the first panel discussion “Flexibility Beyond the Home Office”, which focused on the challenges and opportunities for employers and employees in a dynamic and flexible work environment. She drew attention to the legal framework, highlighting that the current regulations in the country restrict the freedom of employees rather than providing them with flexibility. “This law compared telecommuting to the requirements of homeworking. They pin an employee from one workplace to another, which is written into the employment contract. So this so-called flexibility that is so beloved of employees is in no way legally allowed,” Ms. Shuleva explained.

She also touched upon another important aspect related to the topic – working parents and childcare, which is also a priority in the work of the CWBB. Lydia Shuleva said that the CWBB has proposed changes to the existing law to allow parents of children under 12 to benefit from both teleworking and a hybrid approach, and flexible working hours. “The Child Protection Act says that children under 12 cannot be left home alone. How are some parents who go to work from 9am to 5pm and their child is in school until 12pm or 1pm going to meet that requirement? Not to say that in divorce cases this is used for policing measures. That is why we at the Women’s Council have made new proposals. The Labour Code says that for children up to the age of 8, the employer can allow some flexible working hours or teleworking. We believe that if both laws are to be respected, either the first law for children up to 12 years should be changed or the other should be made so that the worker has the right to work remotely. In this way, people will really have the right to benefit from both teleworking and hybrid working and reduced working hours. Let’s have a flexible regime that is regulated in a proper and legal way, not one that permits one and requires the other and prohibits the other,” she said.

During the discussion, Ms Shuleva also noted that in Bulgaria women are well represented in middle management positions, but as far as boards of directors are concerned, statistics show that only 16% of the positions are held by women. “By the end of the year, this directive should be transposed in Bulgaria,” she explained, adding that it is not a question of appointing people who cannot handle the task, but of equal treatment. “The fact that women are only 16% does not mean that only that many are qualified. We are talking about a level playing field. We have purely feminised professions where men should be given preference. We have to somehow achieve equal representation,” Lydia Shuleva said.