The start of the 21st century has seen the biggest changes and developments in employment law since its birth in the flames and smoke of the industrial revolution. The norm of the second half of the 20th century, comprising eight-hour shifts and nine-to-five office jobs, is now being dismantled. From remote working, flexible hours, compressed workdays and workweeks, all the way to platform work, the spectrum of employment law has never had so many colors. Even though Croatia represents a small jurisdiction, worldwide trends are certainly not bypassing it.

On June 1, 2022, Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/720 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices (EU VBER) entered into effect in all EU member states. The new EU-level rules were adopted, inter alia, to align the existing framework with the specifics of the online platform economy which plays an important role in the distribution of goods and services across the whole EU. Still, although the new VBER has significantly changed the rules on the application of Article 101(3) TFEU to vertical agreements, the existing Croatian Regulation on Block Exemption of Vertical Agreements between Undertakings (Croatian VBER) has not (yet) undergone a similar revision.