Resilience in Labor Regulation: Evaluating Serbia's Post-Pandemic Occupational Safety and Health Reform

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed fundamental weaknesses in labor law systems worldwide, revealing their limited capacity to manage public health crises. In Serbia, it highlighted longstanding gaps in regulations on remote work, occupational safety and health (OSH), and the continuity of labor rights during emergencies. This paper examines the post-pandemic evolution of Serbian labor law, focusing on the 2023 Occupational Safety and Health Act, and evaluates its effectiveness in addressing lessons from the crisis. Although the 2023 OSH Act updated certain safety standards, it largely neglects mental health protection and the systematic management of psychosocial risks – issues increasingly recognized as central to occupational safety internationally. The law remains focused on physical risks, offering limited provisions for stress prevention, psychological well-being, or emergency support mechanisms. Temporary pandemic measures, such as flexible work arrangements, were not codified, leaving gaps in social dialogue, employer obligations, and protections for workers’ rights. The study concludes that Serbia’s labor law remains structurally unprepared for future public health emergencies. Enhancing resilience requires integrating psychosocial risk management into OSH regulations, formally recognizing mental health as a core aspect of workplace safety and establishing robust legal mechanisms for emergency labor governance. These reforms are essential to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure safe, inclusive, and adaptable work environments during societal disruptions.