Slovenia PEO & Employer of Record

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

Traditional approach requires establishing a subsidiary in Slovenia.  However our solution allows you to start the operations in Slovenia within days hence save time and money.  WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf while you maintain full operational control of their work. So legally they would be our employees, on our local payroll, 100% compliant but will work on your behalf. 

Slovenia fast facts

Population, million: 2,1

Land area, sq. km: 20,271 km2

Capital: Ljubljana

Local currency: EUR

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Slovenia

Necessity of written employment contract

An employment contract must generally be concluded in writing, although the fact that it is not concluded in writing does not mean that it is automatically assumed that no employment relationship exists. In the case of a dispute regarding the existence of an employment relationship, it is presumed that it exists if elements of an employment relationship exist.

The law prescribes that the following mandatory matters must be covered by an employment contract:

• Names and other data of the contracting parties.
• Date of commencement of the work.
• Title of the position of employment or type of work, with a brief description of the work.
• Place of performance of the work.
• Period for which the employment contract has been concluded in the case of a fixed-term employment contract.
• In the case of a fixed-term employment contract, the reason for concluding the contract on a fixed-term basis and a provision on the method for taking annual leave.
• Description of whether the employment contract is for full-time or part-time work.
• The length and distribution of daily or weekly working hours.
• The amount of the basic salary.
• Provision on other payments or salary components, the payment period, and the date and method of salary payment.
• Provision on annual leave or the method of determining annual leave.
• Length of notice periods.
• Binding collective agreements and the general rules of the employer.

There are no statutory obstacles to the contract being concluded in a foreign language. However, it must also be concluded in the Slovenian language.

Slovenia Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

Employee/worker. Only an employee who has concluded an employment contract is entitled to statutory employment rights. See below, Entitlement to statutory employment rights for the conditions to be classified as an employee.

Independent contractor/self-employed. An individual can perform work as:

• A worker in an employment relationship.
• A sole trader (that is, a natural person who performs an activity in the market within the scope of an organised company). Registration is required to commence pursuing an activity as a sole trader, first in the primary register of his/her activity (for example a journalist in a register of list of freelance journalists), and then in the Business Register of Slovenia.
• A self-employed person.
• An economic dependant (that is, a self-employed person who performs work personally under a civil law contract in return for payment, who does not employ any other person and who is economically dependent on one client (they must earn at least 80% of their income from the same client to be considered economically dependent)).

Slovenia working hours

Full-time work cannot exceed 40 hours per week. Under certain conditions, an employer can order overtime work without the employee’s consent. However, this cannot be for more than eight hours per week, 20 hours per month and 170 hours per year. If the employee consents to the overtime work, it cannot be longer than 230 hours per year. An exception to the general rules governing overtime work is that overtime work must be performed in cases of natural or other disasters (or when such a disaster is imminent), and that overtime work can last as long as is necessary for human lives to be saved, human health to be protected or material damage to be prevented.

Overtime work cannot be ordered for certain categories of workers (for example, pregnant workers, employees younger than 18 years of age and those older than 55 years of age).

Vacation leave in Slovenia 

All employees are entitled to paid annual leave of no less than four weeks per year. The duration of annual leave is therefore dependent on the length of the working week. Older workers (those older than 55 years of age) the disabled and caretakers are entitled to at least three additional days of annual leave, with each collective agreement containing different provisions which govern the duration of the annual leave. In addition to the annual leave, workers are entitled to paid absence from work of up to seven days within a calendar year for personal circumstances (for example, their own wedding, or the death of a spouse, common-law partner, child or parents). The right to unpaid leave is not a statutory right, but this is possible where it has been agreed with the employer.

Sick leave: 

Entitlement to paid time off

In the case of an absence from work on account of an illness or injury not related to work, a worker is entitled to 80% of their salary or wage in the previous month. In the event of an occupational illness or injury related to work, they are entitled to receive their normal salary payment, calculated as an average of their salary over the previous three months. There is no time limit for this and the worker will receive the payment until he/she is deemed permanently disabled and has his/her employment contract terminated as a result.

In the event of illness or injury, workers are entitled to be absent from work provided that they have provided a medical certificate to their employer, with no maximum amount of time prescribed by law.

Entitlement to unpaid time off

All persons, that are in an employment relationship, have the right to wage compensation, during their temporarily absence from work in case of illness or injury (Health Care and Health Insurance Act).

Slovenia Maternity Leave

A mother is entitled to maternity leave of 105 days. During this period, she is entitled to maternity compensation. A worker who breastfeeds a child that has not yet turned 18 months old, and who works on a full-time basis, is entitled to a breastfeeding break during working hours that lasts at least one hour per day. During the breastfeeding break, she is entitled to a salary compensation in the amount of the proportionate part of the minimum wage until the child turns nine months old, and to her social security contributions being paid from the proportionate part of the minimum wage in the period when the child is from nine to 18 months old.

To receive paid maternity leave, an employee must have been insured a day prior to entering into the leave, or the contributions to parental protection insurance must have been made for a period of at least 12 months in the last three years prior to claiming the leave. The amount of the paid maternity leave is calculated based on an average of the employee’s salary, though there is a minimum amount of 55% of the minimum net monthly wage in Slovenia.

Slovenia Severance Laws

Notice periods

The length of the notice period depends on the type of dismissal:

• Regular dismissal. This is a dismissal issued for a business reason (redundancy), employee incompetence, an at-fault reason (misconduct), for unfitness for work on account of a disability, or for a failed probationary period) has variable applicable notice periods (see below).
• Extraordinary dismissal. There are eight reasons for an extraordinary dismissal:
  • violation of contractual and other obligations arising from the employment relationship where the violation is deemed to fit the definition of a crime;
  • violation of contractual and other obligations that was committed intentionally or due to gross negligence;
  • presentation of false data or certification by the employee in the process of concluding an employment contract;
  • absence from work for at least five days in succession, where the employee does not inform the employer of the reasons for absence, although he/she should and could have done so;
  • because the employee is prohibited from carrying out certain works within the employment relationship by a final judgment, or if he/she is pronounced unfit to work by an educational, safety or protection measure or a sanction for a minor offence, on the basis of which he/she cannot carry out the work for longer than six months, or if he/she is serving a prison sentence and must be absent from work for longer than six months;
  • because the employee declines the transfer to, and to perform his/her duties under, an employment contract for a transferee;
  • because within five working days after the cessation of the reasons for the suspension of the employment contract, the employee unjustifiably fails to return to work;
  • because during the period of being absent from work because of disease or injury, the employee fails to respect the instructions of the competent doctor and/or of the competent medical commission, or if he/she in this period carries out gainful work or leaves his/her residence without the approval by the competent doctor and/or by the competent medical commission.

The minimum notice periods for regular dismissals are as follows:

• For a dismissal for business reasons (redundancy) or employee incompetence, the notice period depends on the employee’s length of service with the employer, from 15 to 80 days, as follows:
  • employed for up to one year: 15 days’ notice;
  • employed for more than one year but less than two years: 30 days’ notice;
  • employed for two years or more: 30 days’ notice, plus an extra two days’ notice for every additional year’s service above two years, up to a maximum of 60 days’ notice;
  • employed for 25 years or more: 80 days’ notice (unless a collective agreement governs otherwise).
• For a dismissal for at-fault reasons, the notice period is 15 days.
• For a dismissal for a failed probationary period, the notice period is seven days.

Slovenia Tax

PIT is calculated considering five tax brackets. The tax brackets are determined for one year in advance. In 2020, the following tax brackets and tax rates are applicable in line with the recent amendments of the PIT Act.

Note that capital gains, interest, dividends, and rental income are taxed at a flat rate of 27.5%. The tax rate on capital gains is decreased according to the length of the holding period. 

In addition to PIT, individuals must pay compulsory social security contributions. Both employer and employee must contribute. Contributions are withheld by the employer at the time of payment of income. Self-employed persons must pay income tax and social security contributions themselves. The basis is the gross amount of income. The types of contributions are generally as follows:

Payers of tax are obligated to pay social security contributions on the day of payment of wages or salaries.

Additional Benefits in Slovenia

Additional private health insurance coverage is typically not provided by employers.

Large corporations typically provide meal vouchers to their employees.

Slovenia Holidays

• 1 and 2 January: New Year.
• 8th February: Slovenian Cultural Holiday.
• 12 April: Easter.
• 13 April: Easter Monday.
• 27 April: Day of the Resistance.
• 1 and 2 May: Labour Day.
• 31 May: Whit Sunday.
• 25 June: Statehood Day.
• 15 August: Assumption Day.
• 31 October: Reformation Day.
• 1 November: All Saints’ Day.
• 25 December: Christmas.
• 26 December: Independence Day.

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.