As the one of the main aim of the reform of Lithuanian labour law was indicated the need for providing more flexibility in employment relationships based on the Danish model of flexicurity, according to which the lower level of employment permanence is compensated by the system of effective benefits and facilities for employees in undertaking suitable work. This aim was accompanied by redefining of different instruments and legal regulations of individual labor law focused on fundamental changes related to employment protection and rights of dismissed employees, the types of employment contracts and working terms, as well as by introducing the new quality into collective labour relations. The changes introduced into Lithuanian labour law are along with the contemporary discussion on working standards in employment relationships and are demonstrating the new direction for development of Lithuanian labour law followed by Lithuanian legislator. Accordingly, the presented study is concentrated on legal analyses of the new types of employment contracts, which are aimed at providing more flexibility for parts of employment contracts accompanied by appropriate guarantees and security for employees.

There is a great deal of legislation that has been adopted by the European Union which, in one way or another, aims at ensuring equal opportunities and a good work–life balance. One specific issue in this area relates to childcare leave. In practice, providing for equal opportunities has meant enabling women to integrate into the labor market, to advance their careers, and to have more guarantees and rights at work. In reality, thus far these measures have not been effective enough. The new Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work–life balance for parents and carers, adopted on 20 June 2019, seeks to increase the take-up of family-related leave and flexible working arrangements by men (fathers). The purpose of this article is to assess what effects this new EU directive will have upon Lithuanian law in this area.

This article assesses the significance of social partnership in the regulation of employment relations. It is pointed out that the legal regulation of employment relations in Lithuania lacks stability, and the hypothesis is raised that this situation has been partly determined by the vanishing, negligible role of social partnership. The presumption is put forward that the regulation of employment relations can result in an effective and sustainable balance between the interests of employees and employers only if the possibilities of social partnership are used to their full extent and an optimal balance is achieved between contractual law-making and state law-making. The Lithuanian social partnership model is defined as gravitating from quasipartnership towards real social partnership; therefore, ways are still being sought as to how to strengthen the impact of social partnership on the regulation of employment relations by means of legislation and the use of soft law. To reveal the impact of social partnership on the regulation of employment relations in Lithuania, the article identifies and assesses the key indicators revealing the influence of social partnership on the regulation of employment relations and examines the positive legal regulation related to social partnership.

In the context of globalisation processes, technological changes, and business mobility, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are facing the necessity to modify their approach towards the legal regulation of employment relations. Labour laws of the Baltics States, namely concerning new forms of work, work-life balance, and social dialogue, were systematised, rectified, and clarified by analysing texts that consist of primary and secondary sources. The research conducted in the article showed that the move from strict regulation to more flexible arrangements between employer and employee in these states is an ongoing process, which has been delayed for more than 10 years, because during that period the old Soviet laws inherited from the past (with appropriate amendments) were in force. Therefore, the search for new forms of work is slow, the regulation of working time remains rather strict and inflexible, and the involvement of social partners in the processes of collective bargaining remains very formal and segmented. This legal research of transformation of legal regulation of labour relations in the Baltic States might be used to forecast future developments of such legal regulation, as well as to enrich the imagination and increase the set of alternatives to be considered when drafting possible future rules.

Santrauka. Šiame straipsnyje tiriamas terminuotųjų darbo sutarčių pobūdis, jų sudarymo ypatumai ir reguliavimo trūkumai Lietuvoje. Nemažai teisinių suvaržymų, numatytų Lietuvos Respublikos darbo kodekse, teikia tikėtinų darbuotojų apsaugos nuo piktnaudžiavimo sudarant terminuotas darbo sutartis prielaidų. Lietuvos Aukščiausiasis Teismas terminuotąją darbo sutartį pripažįsta teisėta, jeigu joje yra užfiksuotos aplinkybės, objektyviai pagrindžiančios darbo santykių laikinumą. Tačiau įstatymai terminuotą darbo sutartį leidžia sudaryti net nesant poreikio ar pateisinamos priežasties tokius terminuotus darbo santykius kaskart atnaujinti. Todėl manoma, kad Lietuvos Respublikos darbo kodekso nuostatos ne tik neatitinka tarptautinių ir Europos darbo standartų bei kitų įsipareigojimų, bet ir pažeidžia žmogaus darbo teises.Reikšminiai žodžiai: terminuota darbo sutartis, kadencija, laikini darbuotojai, darbo sutarties pratęsimas, objektyvios priežastys.