Hungarian legislation follows both European and international trends in the field of labour law while showing characteristics inherent in national regulation, which was influenced palpably by German jurisprudence.

As for the routes of modern labour law, Hungary underwent a transition from state socialism to democracy and a market economy in the early 1990s. This societal change affected the regulation of the working environment. The state-owned company sector – which was dominant in the socialist era – has practically ceased to exist, with the exception of large public utility companies, and a privately owned economy has sprung up.