The Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, with the support of the Belgrade Open School, organized presentations and professional discussions on the Draft Law on Internships in Novi Sad, Nis and Belgrade.

The aim was to implement a broader consultation process, and interested citizens had the opportunity to get acquainted with the text of the Draft Law on Internships, exchange of opinions through an open discussion and give their proposals, comments and suggestions in order to create the best solution for legal regulating working practices. 

The professional meetings highlight the importance of the legal framework for regulating practices for future interns, as this prevents abuses and ensures the quality of internships. Regulating internships is also important because establishing a clearer legal framework enables a quality process of searching for a new workforce and transition from formal education to the labour market.

Through the discussion, citizens present expressed certain doubts about articles of law relating to the age limit for performing internships,  conditions  for termination of employment internship contracts, the level of education in which work practices can be performed, and the amount of compensation  for interns, thus opening the space for further improvement of the quality of the Draft Law on Internships.

Regardless of the public discussion, the BOS team conducted additional consultation meetings with representatives of employers, trade unions, as well as with youth. The meetings collected additional comments on the Draft Law, and the BOS team introduced interested stakeholders in which ways comments can be sent to the Ministry.

Since 2015, Belgrade's open school has been through numerous initiatives, promotional events, legal analyses and research  advocating for quality internships, which will continue in the coming period. Quality internships are of great importance for improving employment, and legal editing practices are an important step in this direction.

We invite you to engage in a public discussion that lasts until 23th of December and give your opinion.

More information about how you can send comments can be found here.