On 25 September 2024, the Croatian Trade Union and the Croatian Employers' Association - Trade Association signed a Collective Agreement for the trade sector, which came into effect on November 1, 2024.
The Collective Agreement was concluded for a fixed term of three years.

Following the conclusion of the Collective Agreement, on 22 October 2024, the Minister of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy issued a Decision on the expansion of the application of the Collective Agreement for the trade sector (published in "Official Gazette" No. 126/2024), which also took effect on 1 November 2024.

Based on this Decision, the Collective Agreement applies not only to employers that are members of the Croatian Employers' Association - Trade Association but also to other employers in the Republic of Croatia operating in the trade sector, in accordance with the areas specified in Article 3 of the Collective Agreement. It is worth noting that Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Collective Agreement specifies areas where employers are exempt from its application.

The Collective Agreement provides for a range of material rights for workers and other employment rights that are more favorable compared to those prescribed by the Labor Law (e.g., number of days of annual leave, employment anniversary awards, financial benefits, severance pay upon retirement, etc.). Therefore, employers and workers in the trade sector should familiarize themselves with the content of the Collective Agreement as soon as possible.

Namely, according to Article 9, Paragraph 3 of the Labor Act, if an employment right is regulated differently by various aspects of labor law (act, employment rulebook, collective agreement, etc.), the most favorable right for the worker applies unless the Labor Act or another law explicitly provides otherwise.