Employment relations in the Republic of Croatia represent the fundamental legal and social framework that governs the relationship between workers, as the weaker party, and employers, with the Labour Act playing a crucial role. Extraordinary circumstances, such as natural disasters, pandemics, and economic crises, require adaptations of the existing legal framework to ensure the stability of the labor market, worker protection, and the sustainability of business operations. The analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic as a paradigm of extraordinary circumstances highlights significant weaknesses in Croatian labor legislation, including the lack of regulations for remote work, limited availability of flexible work models, and legal uncertainty regarding the implementation of crisis measures. Although intervention measures, such as job retention subsidies and reduced working hours, mitigated the immediate effects of the crisis, their implementation was burdened by administrative inefficiencies and a lack of systematic approach. Extraordinary circumstances underline the urgent need for a systematic redefinition of the labor legal framework, strengthening social dialogue, and establishing flexible yet legally secure legislation that balances worker protection with employer flexibility. These changes are essential to enhance the resilience of employment relations in the face of future crises.