Protection of trade secrets and confidential information in the employment relationship

Magistrsko delo obravnava varstvo poslovnih skrivnosti in zaupnih informacij v delovnem razmerju, ki je ena izmed temeljnih obveznosti delavca v razmerju do delodajalca. Podrobno smo proučili ustreznost implementacije Direktive EU 2016/943 o varstvu nerazkritega strokovnega znanja in izkušenj ter poslovnih informacij (poslovnih skrivnosti) pred njihovo protipravno pridobitvijo, uporabo in razkritjem v slovenski pravni red s poudarkom na delovnih razmerjih, saj se avtorji v dosedanjih raziskavah niso osredotočali na delovna razmerja, temveč so implementacijo Direktive EU 2016/943 proučevali zlasti z vidika gospodarskega prava. Ugotovili smo, da zakonska ureditev poslovne skrivnosti z Zakonom o poslovni skrivnosti izboljšuje pravno varstvo pred protipravno uporabo in razkritjem poslovne skrivnosti ter prispeva h konkurenčni prednosti gospodarskih družb. Ohlapno pa so urejena nekatera že prej odprta vprašanja, odgovore nanje moramo tako iskati v več različnih zakonih. V delovnopravni zakonodaji ni bilo zaznati bistvenih sprememb z implementacijo Direktive EU 2016/943 o varstvu nerazkritega strokovnega znanja in izkušenj ter poslovnih informacij (poslovnih skrivnosti) pred njihovo protipravno pridobitvijo, uporabo in razkritjem. Za raziskovanje smo v magistrskem delu uporabili deskriptivno metodo, analizo sekundarnih virov in proučitev sodne prakse. Z rezultati analize na podlagi pravnih virov in sodne prakse lahko delodajalci iz magistrskega dela izluščijo praktične smernice za ustrezno ureditev notranjih aktov za zaščito poslovnih skrivnosti. Glede na analizirano sodno prakso morajo delodajalci s pisnim sklepom, v pogodbi o zaposlitvi ter v (morebitnem) sporazumu o prenehanju delovnega razmerja konkretno določiti, kateri podatki oziroma informacije so poslovna skrivnost.The master\u27s thesis deals with the protection of trade secrets and confidential information in the employment relationship, which is one of the fundamental obligations of the employee in relation to the employer. In this paper, we examined in detail the adequacy of the implementation of EU Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed expertise and business information (trade secrets) against their illegal acquisition, use and disclosure in the Slovenian legal order with emphasis on employment, as in previous research they did not focus on employment relationships, but studied the implementation of EU Directive 2016/943 in particular from the point of view of commercial law. We found that the regulation of business secrets with the Trade Secrets Act improves legal protection against illegal use and disclosure of trade secrets and contributes to the competitive advantage of companies. However, some previously open questions are loosely regulated, so we have to look for answers in several different laws. No significant changes were made in the Labor Law legislation with the implementation of EU Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed expertise and business information (trade secrets) against their illegal acquisition, use and disclosure. In the master \u27s thesis, we used descriptive methods, analysis of secondary sources and case law. With the results of the analysis based on legal sources and case law, employers can extract from the master\u27s thesis practical guidelines for the proper regulation of internal acts for the protection of business secrets. According to the analyzed case law, employers must specify which data or information is considered a trade secret by a written decision, employment contract and (possible) agreement on termination of employment