Changes To The Contract
Generally, an employment contract can be amended by agreement between the employer and the employee. The employer is obliged to make the amendment to the employment contract in writing. However, under certain conditions some temporary changes may be made without the consent of the employee (e.g. type of work, place of work).
In case of a change of a condition stated in the answer to question No. 6, the employer is obliged provide the employee with written information on the changed terms and conditions of employment and on the changed data without undue delay, but at the latest on the day on which the change takes effect.
The change of working conditions due to the event of change of location of place of work by the secondment of an employee, the domestic employer concludes with domestic employee an agreement on secondment, in which they agree namely on: the date of commencement and termination of the secondment; the type of work during the secondment and a brief description of it; the place of work during the secondment; the pay conditions during the secondment. The domestic employee shall be informed (if those information are not included in the mentioned agreement) on the following:
- details of the working and employment conditions applicable during the secondment in the scope of information stated in the answer to the question No. 6 above;
- details of reimbursement of travel expenses, reimbursement of accommodation and subsistence expenses or other reimbursement of expenses relating to the secondment;
- a link to the official website published by the Member State of the European Union to whose territory the domestic worker is posted, which shall contain information on the terms and conditions of employment applicable to workers posted to its territory.
The employer is obliged to reassign the employee to another work position if the employee has lost the ability to perform work due to his health condition, also in the case of a pregnant woman and mother under the conditions already mentioned in the section on special rights related to maternity and parental leave, and also due to a quarantine measure, due to a valid decision of a court or a competent public authority as well as due to incapacity of employee for night work.
In the case of an extraordinary event or in order to mitigate its consequences, the employer may reassign the employee without his/her consent to the time of necessary need for work other than was agreed in employment contract.
Change In Ownership Of The Business
Based on the law, if a business has a change in ownership, all rights and duties arising out of the employment relationship are transferred from the transferor employer to the transferee employer. A transfer of rights and duties occurs when the ownership of the business is changed by merger, consolidation, or division of the business/employer or upon division of a part of the owner’s business or upon transfer of the employer´s tasks.
Both the transferor and the transferee employer are obliged to inform the employees concerning the date, reason, impacts of the transfer and planned measures relating to the transfer one month prior to it. At the same time, the employer is obliged to discuss the proposed transfer with the employees’ representatives with a goal to reach an agreement one (1) month prior to the transfer date. If the terms agreed on in the employment contract change due to the transfer, and the employee does not agree with such a change, the employment is considered to be terminated by agreement of the parties as of the date of the transfer. Such an employee is entitled to a severance payment (i.e. in the amount of 1 month of average month earnings, if employed more than 2 years and less than 5 years; 2 months of average month earnings, if employed more than 5 years and less than 10 years; 3 months of average month earnings, if employed more than 10 years and less than 20 years; 4 months of average month earnings, if employed more than 20 years).
Social Security Contributions
Both the employer and the employee have a duty to levy a certain percentage of the employee’s income as a contribution to the Social Insurance Agency (the amount of the contribution is set by the Social Insurance Act).
Accidents At Work
The law imposes a series of duties on the employer to ensure the occupational health and safety of the employees. When an employee starts to work the employer is obliged to provide the employee with health and safety information, as well as identify any potential risks to them. The employer is under a duty to keep employees up-to-date on health and safety regulations in the workplace every two (2) years. The employer must notify the respective authorities of any occupational accidents that occur (respective health and safety inspectorates which are competent with respect to the registered office of the employer etc.). It is the employer who is liable for injury occasioned upon to the employee as a result of an industrial accident. This applies even in the case where the employer has fulfilled all the duties related to ensuring health and safety protection in the workplace. The Labour Code provides relief for employers from liability for injury where the employer is only partially liable. The employer will not be held liable upon proving that the reason for the injury was that i) the injury was caused by the aggrieved employee breaching any legal regulation or instructions aimed at ensuring health and safety in the workplace and that it occurred despite she he being duly and demonstrably notified of these and their awareness were constantly requested and verified; or ii) the injury was caused by the aggrieved employee being intoxicated and the employer was unable to prevent the injury.
The employee is primarily obliged to immediately report the occupational accident to the employer.
The employer is obliged to determine by internal regulations to whom and in what way the occurrence of such an occupational accident is reported, so that each employee knows how to proceed. The employer is also obliged to keep records of occupational accidents.
If, as a result of an occupational accident, the employee's incapacity for work lasts for more than three (3) days and/or the employee dies as a result of this occupational accident (hereinafter also referred to as "serious occupational accident"), the employer is obliged to register this occupational accident – i.e. that he is obliged to find out the cause, draw up a record and take such measures as to prevent the recurrence of a similar occupational accident in the future.
It is also necessary to report such occupational accidents to the employees' representatives (if they operate at employer), and at the same time to the police, if the established facts indicate that a criminal offense has also been committed in connection with the occupational accident. In the event of a serious occupational accident, this shall also be notified to the relevant labour inspectorate or to the competent supervisory authority.
The employer is obliged to write the record of the registered occupational accident within eight (8) days from the day when the employer knows about this occupational accident and subsequently he is obliged to send the record to the relevant labour inspectorate or supervisory authority, and also deliver the record to the employee who suffered the registered occupational accident or survivors if the employee died as a result of this registered occupational accident.
Discipline And Grievance
The employee is obliged to maintain discipline in the workplace – i.e. to meet all legal duties following from the employment contract, collective agreement, legal regulation, and other regulation they have been familiarised with. The employee is obliged to obey the in-house directions of the employer only if properly informed about them. Upon an employee breaching work rules, the employer might impose legal sanctions in the form of curtailing their period of holiday (in case of unexcused absence); terminating their employment according to the notice period, as a result of the breach; instant dismissal due to a material breach. Employees who are aggrieved can file a complaint with the appropriate body of the Labour Inspectorate (Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, National Labour Inspectorate, and individual labour inspectorates).
Harassment/Discrimination/Equal pay
The employer is obliged to comply with the equality principle laid down in the Discrimination Act and the Labour Code. It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on grounds of marital status, skin colour, language, political or other beliefs, professional activity, national or social origin, property, descent, or other status. According to the Discrimination Act, discrimination shall include harassment, unfair sanctions, cause others to discriminate and encouraging others to discriminate someone. An employer must apply the principle of equal pay to all employees. Where employees perform the same kind or work of an equal value they must receive equal pay. The rights and duties of the parties inside the labour relationship should be exercised in compliance with good morals. Employees are protected from victimisation in the workplace either from the employer or from a fellow employee. An employee is entitled to file a complaint with an employer for alleged violation of the principle of equal treatment. The employer is obliged to reply to the employee’s complaint without undue delay, remove the discriminatory behaviour and refrain from such conduct and remove its consequences. An employee, feeling they are being discriminated or persecuted against, might turn to the court, and seek legal protection pursuant to the Discrimination Act.
Compulsory Training Obligations
The Labour Code does not provide for any obligatory training. However, some occupations/professions require certain qualifications or experience. A special fulfilment of certain prerequisites must be regular retraining of each employee in the field of safety and health at work, as the employer is obliged to inform each employee of the relevant legislation and other facts regularly, clearly, and demonstrably in accordance with Act No. 124/2006 Coll. on Occupational Safety and Health and on the amendment of certain laws.
Offsetting Earnings
The Slovak Labour Code allows for monthly deductions from the employee’s wage. However, the pay-as-you-earn system is subject to a statutory maximum. Further deductions exceeding the statutory minimum are only permissible with the written agreement of the employee. The Labour Code in its section 131 par. 1 and 2 exactly specify which deductions from the employee's salary can be made directly by law (especially advances for social security, health insurance and taxes). Other deductions could be performed only on the basis of a special written agreement between the employer and the employee.
Payments For Maternity And Disability Leave
Female employees provided they have paid their contributions for least 270 days during the previous two (2) years are entitled to statutory maternity pay from the beginning of the sixth week prior to the expected day of childbirth, or as early as eight (8) weeks prior to the birth-date. If the child is born before the due date, maternity leave can be taken from the delivery date. Employees are entitled to receive maternity pay for a period of 34 weeks after maternity pay was initiated. A single woman is entitled to 37 weeks maternity leave and a woman who has given birth to two or more children at the same time is entitled to 43 weeks maternity leave. A man shall be entitled to 28 weeks paternity leave from the date of birth in respect of the care of a child born to him, 31 weeks paternity leave for a single man and 37 weeks paternity leave in respect of the care of two or more children born to him. The father is entitled to paternity leave of 2 weeks (14 calendar days) within a period of no more than six weeks from the birth of the child. Then the paternity leave will be subsequently reduced by the mentioned two weeks.
Disabled employees fulfilling statutory conditions imposed by the Social Insurance Act (an employee who i) is disabled; ii) has fulfilled the necessary requirement for the number of years of contributing to the national pension insurance scheme; and iii) as of the day of commencement of disability has not met the requirement to become entitled to an old-age pension or has not been granted an early old-age pension) are entitled to disability benefits. The purpose of the disability benefit is to provide the employee with income in case of their impaired ability to undertake work. Both maternity and disability benefits are paid by the Social Insurance Agency. Employees dismissed by the employer, either by termination on notice or by the parties’ agreement, due to their becoming incapable of performing their job as a result of medical problems are also entitled to redundancy payment in the amount of one (1) to five (5) months’ pay depending on the length of their employment. If the employment was terminated, on notice or by the parties’ agreement, due to an industrial accident or industrial illness, the employee is entitled to a redundancy payment amounting to 10 months’ salary.
Compulsory Insurance
The employer is obliged to pay contributions to the health insurance scheme, sickness insurance scheme, pension scheme, disability scheme, unemployment scheme, and accident insurance scheme, as well as to a guarantee fund for claims arising from the employer’s possible insolvency, and the reserve solidarity fund.
Absence For Military Or Public Service Duties
The law enables the employee to hold a public office or perform military service. At the same time, it provides these employees with protection against termination of their employment during this period of service. However, it should be pointed out that compulsory military service was abolished in 2006, therefore this provision has almost no relevance anymore with regard to military service. The time off work referred to above is provided by the employer without compensation unless the law provides otherwise.
Works Councils or Trade Unions
Employees take part in the decision-making process of the employer where decisions relate to their economic and social interests. Employees become involved either directly or through their trade union (unincorporated association), works council or employee´s representative. The works council is a body representing all employees of an employer who has at least 50 employees. If the employer has between three (3) and 50 employees an employees’ representative can be appointed. The members of a trade union, works council or the employees’ representative enjoy certain benefits. The employer provides such individuals with paid time to carry out their duties. The employer can only terminate the employment of such an employee with the prior consent of their employee representatives. This consent is deemed to be given if the employer does not receive a response from the employees’ representatives within 15 days subsequent to any request.
Employees’ Right To Strike
The right to strike is provided for in Article 37(4) of the Constitution. The right to strike in relation to collective labour disputes is defined separately in the Collective Bargaining Act. Some kinds of jobs are subject to certain restrictions. A legal strike does not breach an employee’s employment contract.
Employees On Strike
The employer must grant the employee time to strike; however, a striking employee is not entitled to pay. If the court decides that the strike is unlawful, continued participation in the strike is deemed as unexcused absence from work.
Employers’ Responsibility For Actions Of Their Employees
The employer is vicariously liable if the employee causes damage to a third party whilst performing work tasks. However, the employer may (in recourse) claim the respective damages from the employee. Damages payable as a result of an employee’s negligence are limited to the sum of four months’ average salary. If the employee caused damage wilfully then lost profit might also be claimed.