Quick facts

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Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Neighboring countries include Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine. The geography of Slovakia is known for its mountains, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. The government system is a parliamentary democracy; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Slovakia has a mixed economic system in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Slovakia is a member of the European Union (EU). Slovakia EOR receives a great feedback for expats, see its specifics below.

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Employment contracts

Slovak law allows employers and employees to agree upon one of two basic types of job contracts:

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• Fixed-term employment contract is limited to up to two years, can be prolonged or renewed, but only twice within two years.
• Employment contract for unlimited time does not state a fixed period for the contract’s validity.

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An employment relationship shall be established by a written employment contract.

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Probation period

Probation period: an employment contract may specify a probationary period which should not be more than 3 months (some senior managerial positions can have 6 months probationary period); the probation period may not be extended.

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Travel allowances

From the 1st of January 2023, the amount of business travel allowances to increase came into effect, as follows:

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• EUR 6.80 for a duration of 5 to 12 hours,
• EUR 10.10 for a time duration that is longer than 12 hours capped at 18 hours,
• EUR 15.30 for a time duration that is longer than 18 hours.

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Meal vouchers

In Slovakia, new meal allowance amounts will come into effect starting January 1, 2023, as reported by KPMG. These changes will impact employers who provide meal vouchers or reimburse employees for meal expenses during work hours. The updated meal allowance amounts aim to better reflect the increasing costs of living and inflation in the country.

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From 1 April 2025, The employer's contribution will be at least EUR 3.63 (55% of the minimum value of the meal voucher). When providing food for employees through a legal entity or a natural person authorized to mediate catering services, the price of the meal is understood to be the value of the meal voucher.

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Working hours

Working time of an employee shall be 40 hours. An employee’s average weekly working time including overtime may not exceed 48 hours. There are certain exceptions to the given rule related to the planning of working time, nature of work, age of an employee.

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Vacation days

Employees are entitled to 20 working days of vacation (25 days from the age of 33 per legal provision).

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Sick leave

Income compensation provided by employer:

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• From the first to the third day of temporary incapacity: 25% of the ‘daily measurement basis
• From the fourth to tenth day of temporary incapacity: 55% of the ‘daily measurement basis

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Sick pay from the state social insurance system from the 11th day of temporary incapacity for work:

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• From the 11th day of temporary incapacity: 55% of the ‘daily measurement basis

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Sick pay is paid up to a maximum of 52 weeks from the first day of temporary incapacity for work.

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Maternity / Paternity Leave

Maternity leave – lasts for 34 weeks (37 weeks for a single mother or 43 weeks if the mother has two or more babies at the same time). As a rule, the entitlement to maternity leave starts at a minimum of six and a maximum of eight weeks before the due date.‍

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Parental leave – employees may request parental leave from their employer in order to spend more time looking after their children. Slovakia EOR or regular employers must grant such a request. Parental leave is provided for as long as the parent requests it (as a rule for at least one month) until the child reaches three years of age. If a child suffers long-term ill health requiring special care, employers must approve a request for parental leave until the child reaches six years of age.

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Wages and Salary Payment

The current minimum wage in Slovakia is €816.00 per month, effective January 1, 2025.

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As per the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, wages need to be paid to employees by employer or Slovakia PEO before the expiry of the 7th day of the last day of the wage period, where the number of employees is less than 1000. In case the number of employees is less than 1000, wages must be paid before the expiry of the 10th day of the last day of the wage period.

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Benefits

There are 13th and 14th salaries in place in Slovakia:

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The 13th salary must be paid out at least in the amount of the average monthly earnings of the employee, and in June. As of 30 April of the respective calendar year, the employee must have worked for the employer at least 24 months in a row;

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The 14th salary must be paid out at least in the amount of the average monthly earnings of the employee, and in December. As of 31 October of the respective calendar year, the employee must have worked for the employer at least 48 months in a row.

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Bonuses / Expenses

In the case of business trips, an employee is entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses and travel per diems according to the valid regulations (the amount differs according to the length and the country of a business trip).

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Employer Taxes

Social Security Contribution:

‍As of January 1, 2024, the employer's health insurance contribution rate increased from 10% to 11%. Consequently, the total mandatory monthly pay-related insurance contributions paid by the employer rose from 35.2% to 36.2% of an employee’s gross salary. In addition, the employer is required to withhold the employee’s contribution of 13.4% of gross salary.

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Some components of these contributions are subject to caps. The Social Security Contribution (SSC) includes both social insurance and health insurance components.

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Effective January 1, 2025, the maximum assessment base for social insurance will increase from EUR 9,128 to EUR 15,730. This change will increase labor costs for employers hiring high-earning talent and will reduce the net pay of employees earning above EUR 9,129 gross per month.

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Employee Taxes

Annual taxable income exceeding EUR 47,537.98 is taxed at a rate of 25%. Effective January 1, 2025, the withholding tax on profit distributions (dividends) will be reduced from the current 10% to 7%. The higher tax rate on profit distributions will apply only to profits earned after January 1, 2025.

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Notice Period

The minimum notice period is one month.

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But the notice period is at least two months for the employee that has been in service for at least one but less than five years and at least three months for the employee that has been in service for at least five and more years if the employer terminates the employment relationship:

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• for economic reasons (the organization or its part is abolished or relocated and the employee does not agree with the change in his or her agreed place of work or the employee became redundant from technical or organizational reasons)
• or due to changes in the health condition of the employee.

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An employer can give immediate notice when the employee has breached the work discipline or was condemned for a premeditated criminal act.

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Termination and Severance Pay

Severance pay must only be paid if the employment has been terminated  by notice of the employer / Slovakia PEO or by agreement between the employer and  the employee for the reasons of winding-up or relocation of the employer or a part thereof, the redundancy of the employee, the employee’s long-term medical inability to perform work, or the inability to perform work due to accident at work, occupational disease or its threat or due to reaching the maximum exposure at work set by the public health authority.

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The employee has the right to severance pay amounting to one monthly salary if his/her employment relationship has lasted more than two years. The employee obtains twice his average monthly earnings if he/she has worked from five to ten years for the employer.