Hire employees in Slovakia

Along with other Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria or the Czech Republic, Slovakia has become a popular outsourcing destination in recent years. The country’s workforce is available at very competitive rates while delivering good work results at the same time.

Especially for companies based in other European countries, Slovakia is a very attractive outsourcing market as communication is made easy by the fact that time difference as well as cultural differences are minimal. Given that most university graduates have a very good command of English, there also is no need to worry about language barriers.

Employment agreements in Slovakia have to be in writing in order to be legally valid. Both employee and employer must receive a copy. The employment contract must contain all the basic terms of employment including but not limited to:

• Identification of both parties

• Date of commencement (and employment duration for temporary contracts)

• Workplace

• Type of work and job description

• Basic salary as well as other compensation or benefits – unless stated in a collective agreement – and details on payment

• Working hours

• Total number of holidays

• Notice periods for employment termination

• Probation period, if any

Unless stated otherwise in the individual employment contract, employment agreements in Slovakia are considered to be permanent. Fixed-term contracts are possible as long as their duration does not exceed two years. Employment contracts must be concluded no later than on the employee’s first day at work.

Probation Period

Probationary periods should not be longer than three months – six months for managers.

Working Hours and Breaks

According to Slovakia’s Labour Code, an employee’s standard working time should not exceed eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. Shift workers have shorter weekly working hours – 37.5 or 38.75 hours depending on their shift pattern.

Employers have to make sure that employees receive two consecutive rest days per week including Sunday and either Saturday or Monday. Daily rest periods should not be shorter than twelve hours. Employees must be given a rest break of at least 30 minutes if their working day is longer than six hours.

Overtime

Employees are allowed to perform up to eight hours of overtime work per week which leads to a maximum weekly working time of 48 hours – in healthcare, working hours can be extended to up to 56 hours. Overtime is limited to a total of 150 hours per year – 250 for employees working in healthcare – and must be remunerated at a rate of 125% of the employee’s normal wages.

It is common practice to pay employees once a month.

Minimum Wage

Slovakia’s national minimum wage is currently (February 2023) set at EUR 700 per month. The minimum hourly rate is EUR 4.023.

However, the actual minimum wage an employee is entitled to depends on the type of work they perform and the complexity involved in their work-related tasks and may go up to EUR 1,226 per month.

Sick Pay

Employees who are unable to work because of temporary sickness or injury are entitled to sick pay. Employers are obligated to provide income compensation for the first ten days of sick leave at the following rates:

• first three days: 25% of the employee’s usual wages

• fourth to tenth day: 55% of the employee’s usual wages

Any following days – up to a total of 52 weeks – are covered by the Social Insurance Agency. Sickness benefits are usually equal to 55% of the employee’s normal earnings.

Bonuses

Although there is no legal requirement, it is common practice to pay employees an annual bonus.

Employees and employers in Slovakia are subject to the following tax and social security contribution rates (last review February 2023):

Taxes

Employers

21%

---

• 21% corporate tax (standard rate)

• 20% VAT (standard rate)

Employees

up to 25%

---

Individual income tax rates:

• up to EUR 38.553,01: 19%

• over EUR 38.553,01: 25%

Social security

Employers

35.2%

---

• 14% pension insurance

• 10% health insurance

• 3% disability insurance

• 1.4% sick leave insurance

• 1% unemployment insurance

• 4.75% reserve fund

• 0.25% guaranty insurance

• 0.8% injury insurance

Employees

13.4%

---

• 4% pension insurance

• 4% health insurance

• 3% disability insurance

• 1.4% sick leave insurance

• 1% unemployment insurance

Please note that the social security contributions indicated above do not necessarily reflect the actual employment costs. These may differ depending on the employment contract and due to other factors (e.g. 13th and 14th salary, health insurance allowances, accrual for severance pay, etc.).

Annual Leave

Employees who have completed at least 60 days of work with their employer are entitled to a minimum of four weeks of annual leave – five weeks for employees over 33 and those with children.

In addition, Slovakia’s labour law identifies 15 public holidays – including Easter Sunday – on which employees are generally not required to work. If the nature of the employee’s job renders work on that day necessary, the employee is entitled to double pay.

Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave

Maternity leave can be taken for a period of up to 34 weeks – 37 weeks for single mothers and 43 weeks in case of multiple births. A female employee can start her maternity leave up to eight weeks prior to the expected due date. Maternity benefits are paid by the Social Insurance Agency and amount to 75% of the employee’s usual daily wages.

In November 2022, Slovakia introduced 14 days of paid paternity leave. The leave must be taken within the first 6 weeks after the birth. During this time, fathers receive  statutory benefits equal to maternity benefits.

The two weeks are part of the overall leave entitlement of 28 weeks fathers are entitled to. The other 26 weeks can be taken until the child reaches the age of three (see next section).

Parental Leave

Parents can take parental leave until the child reaches the age of three – until the age of six if the child has a medical condition. During this period, parents receive statutory benefits amounting to EUR 301 per month.

Additional Leave and Benefits

Paid study leave must be granted to employees looking to obtain further professional qualifications which are linked to their current position. Other additional leave entitlements include:

• leave for health examinations

• bereavement leave

• leave on the occasion of the employee’s wedding or childbirth

• leave to care for family members and children

In addition to employment termination by default – i.e. in case of a fixed-term contract – resignation and mutual agreement, Slovakia’s Labour Code establishes the following reasons for employee dismissal (non-exhaustive list):

• redundancy due to company reorganisation or any other reason related to the company’s economic situation

• summary dismissal due to gross misconduct or breach of employment contract

• employee’s underperformance

• employee’s incapability to continue performing his or her work due to long-term illness or injury

Notice periods depend on the employee’s length of service:

• one month if the employment has lasted for less than a year

• two months if the employment has lasted for more than a year

No notice must be given during the employee’s probation period or for summary dismissals. Employees who are made redundant or whose dismissal is linked to a medical condition are entitled to severance pay. The amount of severance pay which must be provided also depends on the employee’s length of service:

• two to five years of service: one month’s wages

• five to ten years of service: two months’ wages

• ten to twenty years of service: three months’ wages

• more than twenty years of service: four months’ wages