Work and Wages

This page was last updated on: 2023-12-23

Minimum Wage

Workers cannot be paid lower than the minimum wage which is the lowest remuneration that an employer should pay to the employee according to the degree of work difficulty of the relevant job. The minimum wage in Slovakia is determined by the Economic and Social Council of Slovak Republic, created under an Act of 2007 (103/2007), to concert on important issues of interest for workers and employers, mainly to economic, social, working and wage conditions, employ conditions and business conditions. The social partners (with 7 representatives each from Government, workers and employers side) have to come up with a recommendation about minimum wage level in the country by. If the social partners cannot agree on its level, the government decides unilaterally the level of minimum wage in the country by considering the growth rate of average monthly minimum wage in the previous year. Wages of an employee can also be set through collective agreement or an employment contract provided that these are not less than the minimum wage.

Minimum wage is determined by taking into account the needs of workers and their families (subsistence level), cost of living (consumer prices), level of wages and incomes in the country (average wages), economic development (socio economic situation) and level of employment for the last two years.

If minimum wage of a worker is not determined through collective bargaining agreement, the employer is required to pay the employee the minimum wage that is determined in accordance with the difficulty of position. The scale of job difficulty ranges from level 01, the basic minimum wage to level 4 (1.6 times the minimum wage) to level 6 (double the minimum wage). Employer is required to assign each job to degree (1-6) according to the characteristics of job difficulty. Employers are also required to provide a wage supplement to the workers to make up the difference between the agreed wages and the wage claim. 

Compliance with provisions of Labour Code including minimum wage is ensured by the National Labour Inspectorate which is a body under Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic. A worker may contract a trade union at the workplace or send a direct complaint to the Labour Inspectorate. The labour inspectorate is authorized to impose a fine for violation of obligations (as defined in the scope of the Inspectorate), including wages and working conditions, and for violations of obligations implied by collective agreements. The amount of fine may be up to €100,000.

Source: §119 & 120 of the Labour Code No. 311/2001; §6-8 of the Minimum Wage Act (Regulation No. 663/2007); §2 and 19 of the Labour Inspection Act No. 125/2006 Coll.

For updated minimum wage rates, kindly refer to the section on minimum wage.

Regular Pay

The Labour Code allows employers to pay wages in kind except in the case of minimum wages. The wages in kind may be provided only with the consent of employee and under conditions agreed with the worker.

The wage period is Slovak republic is one month and employers are required to pay wages to their workers no later than the end of consequent calendar month unless otherwise agreed in the collective agreement or individual employment contract. If a wage will be due while worker is on leave, employer should pay this wage to the worker before commencement of leave, if requested by the employee. Wages have to be paid in monetary form. Wages are paid on agreed payment days however employer may provide a wage advance prior to the wage payment day. Wages have to be paid during the working time and at the workplace.

Employees are also eligible for wage compensation for work in difficult conditions if a competent public health body has placed such activities in the third or fourth categories and where the intensity of environmental factors requires that the employee used personal protective equipment. Employees are entitled to a wage compensation (of at least 20% of the minimum wage in Euros per hour) if their work is affected by chemical, carcinogenic & mutagenic, biological, dust and physical factors which include sound, vibration and ionizing radiation.

Source: §124-132 of the Labour Code No. 311/2001

Regulations on Work and Wages

  • Zákonník práce č. 311/2001, znenie od 1. 1. 2017. / Labour Code No. 311/2001, amended in 2017
  • Zákon č. 663/2007 o minimálnej mzde / Minimum Wage Act (Regulation No. 663/2007)
  • Nariadenie vlády Slovenskej republiky, ktorým sa ustanovuje suma minimálnej mzdy na rok 2014, predpis č. 321/2013 / Regulation No. 321/2013 establishing the minimum wage for 2014

Check Out WageIndicator's Newsletters on Gig Work

Loading...