Slovakia

Slovakia PEO & Employer of Record

WeHG provides an International PEO and global Employer of Record service in Slovakia to companies willing to enter the Slovakian market or hire local/expat employees in this country.

A widespread approach requires establishing a subsidiary in Slovakia.  Still, our solution affords you to start the operations in Slovakia within days hence save costs and money.  WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf while you maintain full operational control of their work. Indeed, legally they would be our employees, on our local payroll, 100% compliant but will work on your behalf.

Slovakia fast facts

Population, million: 5
Land area: 49,035 km²
Capital: Bratislava
Local currency: Euro (EUR)

GDP per capita:$ 38,321
GDP in currency:$ 209.186

Slovakia is a country based in central Europe and shares its borders with Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava with a population of 440,948 people. The country is divided into 8 divisions (kraje), including Bratislava, Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov, Košice.

 

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Slovakia

Necessity of written employment contract

The employment contract in Slovakia is commonly established in writing and exists in three possible forms, claimed by the Slovakia Labor Code: work performance contract, work activities contract, and temporary student job contract.

Different forms of engagement: employment, contracting, work with private entrepreneur

According to Slovakia Labor Code, it’s illegal to establish employment relations with the unidentified parties that don’t belong to such categories of employees: 

  • Slovak citizens
  • EU citizens
  • NON-EU citizens

Conditions of EU citizens/NON-EU citizens employment

EU citizens

EU citizens are entitled to stay in Slovakia without any conditions or formalities for three months after the date of entry into the territory of Slovakia.

An EU citizen staying in Slovakia for more than three months is required to apply for registration of residence in Slovakia, while one of the reasons under which an EU citizen is authorized to stay in Slovakia is an employment in Slovakia.

NON-EU citizens

Citizens of other countries than the EU or EEA countries are entitled to work in Slovakia if they have work permits / temporary residence permits for the purpose of employment.

Throughout 2018 have been introduced several new regulations to make employment of non-EU citizens more flexible in areas of industry with lack of workforce, in particular in relation to shortening the time periods for granting of temporary residence permits and reducing of a related administrative burden.

Slovakia Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

Types of employment agreements

Fixed-term employment contract

The fixed-term contract can be prolonged or renewed, but only twice within two years.

Employment contract for unlimited

Such type does not state a fixed period for the contract’s validity.

An agreement on performing certain tasks 

It can be signed between an employer and a natural person, provided the performance of the tasks stated in the contract does not exceed 350 hours in a year.

An agreement on working activity 

It can serve as a basis for performing work not exceeding 10 hours per week.

An agreement on seasonal work for students 

This contract can be signed between employers and a natural person who is a student. This contract can be used for performing tasks that do not require, on average, more than half of the standard weekly working hours and the agreement must be accompanied by proof that the employee is a student.

Slovakia working hours

The total amount of working hours per week in Slovakia should not exceed 40 hours. In addition, there’s a system of shifts/hours allocation:

  •  two-shift working week – up to 38,75 hours (weekly)
  • three-shift working week – up to 37,5 hours (weekly)

Overtime

During one year, the overtime should not exceed 400 hours. The employer has a possibility to order 150 hours of overtime, but the rest of the overtime hours can be agreed upon with the employee. The employee is entitled to receive overtime payment that is claimed by the Slovakia Labor Code. 

Vacation leave in Slovakia

Employees in Slovakia are entitled to 60 days off per year. A paid annual vacation is available for everyone who works for the same employer continually. A common vacation lasts from 4 to 5 weeks (for workers elder than 33 years and those who have to look after kids).

Slovakia Maternity Leave

Maternity benefit calculated as 75% from one working day salary and is paid daily. Maternity insurance is available only for those female workers who have been insured not less than 270 days before maternity leave. The minimum duration for receiving a maternity benefit is 6 weeks before the birth of a child, but usually, it’s 34 weeks before the birth (for single mothers it’s 37 weeks and in the case of multiple births it’s 43 weeks). 

Additionally, a maternity benefit is provided in several cases such as: 

  • a paternity benefit (the death of a mother, medical assessment of mother’s inability to look after the kids)
  • agreement with the mother when she doesn’t receive a maternity benefit after elapsing six months after the birth 
  • based on the decision of competent authority to allow a natural person to take care of a child

Slovakian Severance Laws

The notice for terminating a contract can be written by both parties, equally by the employer and by the employee. No reasons are required for the employee to mention on writing a notice for employment termination. However, the employer has to follow the conditions of work termination claimed by the Labor Code. Such conditions may include:

  • in the case of the business relocation and a new place is not agreed by the employee
  • workforce reduction for improvement of a company’s effectiveness
  • if a worker doesn’t perform the main duties which are written in the employment contract and claimed by an occupied position. In this case, the worker has to be informed about the noticed breach of working duties by the employer 6 months before a termination notice  

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Slovakia Tax

Social and health insurance contributions are obliged for all employees and employers and are paid monthly. A total amount of taxes are presented here:

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Health Insurance Benefits in Slovakia

The social insurance system in Slovakia provides workers with sickness benefits starting from the first day of incapacity if the worker is insured and from the 11th day of incapacity for other workers. In case of the temporary incapacity of work, the employer provides a worker with benefit starting from the 1st to the 10th day, after the 11th day the benefit is provided by SIA (Social Insurance Agency in Slovakia)

As well as for the maternity benefit, sickness benefits are calculated on a daily basis: the first 3 days of incapacity are paid with 25% from a regular daily salary, from the 4th day it’s calculated as 55% from a regular daily salary.

Additional Benefits in Slovakia

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General market practice benefits/additional allowances

Gratefully to its perfect location in Central Europe, Slovakia is one of the best places for imports and exports, especially for westerns investors with the advanced infrastructure and transportation. The country shares its borders with Czech, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine. 

One of the best benefits for foreign business is that Slovakian Law allows foreigners to create a corporate entity, which means that anyone who would like to get into this region has no restrictions on doing business in the country. Foreign investments are provided by the possibilities of taking advantage of international arbitration, mutual protection of investments, and access to civil legal proceedings

Due to successful tax reform in 2000, businesses are able to use a simplified tax system that creates the most conducive ecosystem for foreign investments.  As an example, a tax rate of only 22% is available for such companies as Dell, HP, and Sony. Additionally, businesses are not obliged to pay abroad dividends, so a tax is fixed and minimum. Such a system of taxes provides foreign companies with crucial advantages in comparison with the tax rates in other countries.

Slovakia Holidays

The Slovak people celebrate 15 public holidays during the year, including:

Public holiday

The date/month

Republic Day

January/1st

Epiphany

January/6th

Good Friday

April/2d

Easter Monday

April/5th

Labour Day

May/1st

Liberation Day

May/8th

St Cyril and St Methodius Day

July/5th

Slovak Uprising Day

August/25th

Constitution Day

September/1st

Lady of Sorrows’ Day

September/15th

All Saints’ Day

November/1st

 

Freedom and Democracy Day

November/17th

Christmas Eve

December/24th

Christmas Day

December/25th

2nd Day of Christmas.

December/26th

Why Choose WeHireGlobally

WeHG takes care of all the onboarding hurdles, payroll, compensation and benefits, tax filing, and termination of employment. Our Employer of Record solution allows you to manage your overseas teams efficiently while minimizing cost and risk.

 

FAQ Slovakia

  • Working hours in Slovakia

    The maximum weekly working time is 40 hours, employees working on the basis of a two-shift system may work up to 38,75 hours per week and employees working on a three-shift system or who are involved in continuous operation may work up to 37,5 hours per week. It is also possible to agree on an uneven distribution of working time with the representatives of the employees. 

  • What are the main holidays in Slovakia?

    • Republic Day
    • Epiphany
    • Good Friday
    • Easter Monday
    • Labour Day
    • Liberation Day
    • St Cyril and St Methodius Day
    • Slovak Uprising Day
    • Constitution Day
    • Lady of Sorrows’ Day
    • All Saints’ Day
    • Freedom and Democracy Day
    • Christmas Eve
    • Christmas Day
    • 2nd Day of Christmas.
  • What are payroll taxes in Slovakia?

    • Payrolls and contribution of employee in total – 13,40%
    • Payrolls and contribution of employer in total – 35,25%
  • Hannah Kohl
    Author:
    Hannah Kohl. Head of Customer Success. Has extensive experience in the HR and IT industries. Helped 100+ international clients to achieve their global goals.

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