no. 07-00-589/2025-02 date: 22.10.2025.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in proceedings based on a complaint filed by A.A. against the Center for Social Work, due to discrimination on the grounds of political beliefs. The complaint states, among other things, that on 24 April 2025 he was present at the premises of the Center for Social Work, upon invitation of the Acting Director of the institution, for a job interview related to a vacancy announced on the website of the National Employment Service, for which he had applied, for the position of case manager. In the complaint, he emphasizes that on that occasion the Acting Director asked him to state his political affiliation and that he considers himself discriminated against because he chose, in his presentation, to present himself as a neutral professional who is not politically aligned. In the response to the complaint, it was stated, among other things, that the personal characteristic of the complainant was not the reason why it was decided that he would not be hired for the position of case manager, but rather the qualifications of another candidate who was hired and who was the only one who met the requirements for this position. Bearing in mind that no one else was present at the job interview except the complainant and the Acting Director, and that the allegations in the complaint and the response are contradictory, the Commissioner was unable to determine what exactly was said on that occasion. Furthermore, the Commissioner pointed out that regulations in the field of social protection prescribe that the duties of the case manager position involve tasks requiring independent work, that these tasks fall under professional duties in the field of social protection, and that the law prescribes the conditions a person must meet in order to perform these tasks, as well as that Article 142, paragraph 1 of the Law on Social Protection stipulates that professional workers and professional associates in social protection may not work independently until they complete an internship, and that professional workers are also required to pass a licensing exam. In the proceedings, it was established that at the time of applying, the complainant did not meet the legally prescribed conditions for the position for which the vacancy was announced, and that the female candidate who was hired on a fixed-term contract was, in comparison with all other candidates, the only one who had the required work experience, completed training, and submitted a request to the Chamber of Social Protection to take the licensing exam. Considering the subject of the complaint, the Commissioner pointed out that, in recent years, there has been an increasing number of cases brought before the institution concerning discrimination based on membership in political, trade union, and other organizations, most frequently in the field of labor and employment. In this area, it has been observed that complainants or witnesses often state that they cannot get employed because they are not politically active and do not belong to any political party, or are members of a party that is not in power, and that due to their different views or opinions they are reassigned to lower positions, or even dismissed. After conducting the proceedings, the Commissioner issued an opinion that by hiring another female candidate under the announced vacancy for the position of case manager on a fixed-term contract, instead of the complainant, the Center for Social Work did not violate the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. Based on the competences prescribed by the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, namely Article 33, paragraph 1, item 9, the Commissioner recommended to the Center for Social Work, that is, to the responsible person in the social protection institution, that in the future, when hiring, care should be taken not to ask candidates questions relating to personal characteristics which, in accordance with Article 16 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, do not represent a genuine and decisive requirement for performing the job.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković