Quick facts

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Slovakia is a landlocked eurozone country in Central Europe, bordering Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. It has one of the highest shares of industry in the EU, led by automotive manufacturing, as well as a growing IT and shared services sector. Slovakia EOR receives great feedback from expats; see its specifics below.

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Employment Contracts

An employment relationship must be established by a written employment contract. Slovak law allows two basic types:

• Fixed-term contracts can last up to 2 years and can be extended or renewed no more than twice within that period; longer or repeated terms are allowed only for specific reasons.
• Indefinite contracts have no end date.

An EOR provider in Slovakia works as a temporary employment agency and needs a permit from the Central Office of Labour. An employee can be assigned to the same client for no more than 24 months.

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Visa and Relocation

Citizens of the EU, EEA, and Switzerland are exempt from work permit and visa requirements but must register their residence with the Foreign Police shortly after arrival. Non-EU/EEA nationals generally need a Single Permit, which combines a work permit and residence permit into one document and covers employment lasting more than 90 days. Before applying, the employer must notify the local Labour Office of the vacancy, giving Slovak and EU/EEA candidates priority for around 15–20 working days before a non-EU hire can proceed.

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Applicants outside Slovakia use a national Type D visa to enter the country and collect their residence card once approved; processing typically takes 30–90 days. Highly qualified professionals with a job offer paying at least 1.2 times the national average wage may instead apply for the EU Blue Card, valid for up to two years and renewable, while intra-company transferees can use a dedicated ICT permit.

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Probation Period

The probation period can last up to 3 months, or up to 6 months for senior managers reporting directly to the statutory body. It must be agreed in writing and cannot be extended, except by the time the employee was absent.

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Travel Allowances

From December 1, 2025, meal allowances for domestic business trips are:

• €9.30 for 5 to 12 hours
• €13.80 for over 12 to 18 hours
• €20.60 for over 18 hours

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Meal Vouchers

Employers must provide employees who work more than 4 hours a shift with a meal, usually as meal vouchers, a canteen or a cash meal allowance. The employer must cover at least 55% of the meal price; from December 1, 2025, this is at least €3.84 per meal voucher.

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Working Hours

The standard working week is 40 hours (37.5 hours for two-shift and 36 hours for three-shift work). Including overtime, average weekly working time may not exceed 48 hours. Overtime is paid at a premium of at least 25% (35% for employees in hazardous work) or compensated with time off, and is generally limited to 150 hours a year.

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Vacation Days

Employees are entitled to 20 working days of paid vacation a year, rising to 25 days from the year they turn 33 or if they permanently care for a child.

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Sick Leave

For the first 10 days of sickness, the employer pays wage compensation:

• days 1 to 3: 25% of the daily assessment base
• days 4 to 10: 55% of the daily assessment base

From the 11th day, the Social Insurance Agency pays sickness benefit of 55% of the daily assessment base, for up to 52 weeks.

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Maternity / Paternity Leave

Maternity leave lasts 34 weeks (37 weeks for a single mother and 43 weeks for multiple births), usually starting 6 to 8 weeks before the due date. Fathers can take maternity benefit for up to 28 weeks if they care for the child, including a 2-week period within 6 weeks of birth.

Parental leave must be granted on request, for at least one month at a time, until the child turns 3 (or 6 if the child has a long-term illness requiring special care).

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Wages and Salary Payment

The minimum wage in Slovakia is €915 per month from January 1, 2026. Wages are due no later than the end of the month following the month in which they were earned, unless the contract or collective agreement sets an earlier date.

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Benefits

Slovak law does not require 13th or 14th salaries, but many employers pay them voluntarily or under a collective agreement, and they enjoy partial tax and contribution relief if certain conditions are met. Employers must also contribute to employees’ meals (see above).

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Bonuses / Expenses

For business trips, employees are entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses and per diems under the Travel Reimbursement Act; the amounts depend on the length of the trip and the destination country.

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Employer Taxes

Employers pay contributions of 36.2% of gross salary: 11% for health insurance and 25.2% for social insurance (pension, sickness, disability, unemployment, accident, guarantee and reserve funds). Employees pay 14.4%: 5% for health insurance (up from 4% in 2026) and 9.4% for social insurance.

Social insurance contributions are capped at a maximum monthly assessment base of €16,764 in 2026. Health insurance has no cap.

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Employee Taxes

Since January 2026, income tax is progressive across four bands:

• 19% on an annual tax base up to €43,983.32
• 25% from €43,983.32 to €60,349.21
• 30% from €60,349.21 to €75,010.32
• 35% above €75,010.32

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Notice Period

The minimum notice period is 1 month. If the employer gives notice, it is at least 2 months for employees with 1 to 5 years of service and 3 months for employees with at least 5 years of service, where the dismissal is for organizational reasons or the employee’s health. The employer can terminate employment immediately only for a serious breach of work discipline or a conviction for an intentional crime.

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Termination and Severance Pay

Severance pay is due if the employer ends the employment by notice, or by agreement, for organizational reasons (such as closure, relocation or redundancy) or because of the employee’s long-term health condition. On top of the notice period, the employee receives at least:

• 1 month’s average earnings for 2 to 5 years of service
• 2 months’ for 5 to 10 years
• 3 months’ for 10 to 20 years
• 4 months’ for 20 years or more

If employment ends because of a workplace accident or occupational disease, severance is at least 10 months’ average earnings.

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Last reviewed: November 2026.