SLOVENIA: An Introduction to Employment

Slovenian Labour and Employment Law in 2023 

 In Slovenia, labour and employment law is seeing significant change due to legal shifts and societal trends. This overview looks into important issues affecting the professional environment, covering topics such as developments in video surveillance and biometrics, recent changes in the Employment Relationships Act, concerns about public sector salaries, new responsibilities for employers in construction, potential rules for digital nomads, reforms in working time record-keeping, and the effects of updated regulations on occupational illnesses.

Video Surveillance and Biometrics 

 In response to the adoption of the Personal Data Protection Act, employers have begun taking steps to apply changes to video surveillance at the workplace rules. This includes publishing more detailed notices with QR codes to informative websites and providing employees with comprehensive written information on video surveillance. Trade unions are also being consulted when adopting any new video surveillance measures.

 The beginning of 2024 also marked the entry into force of the rules requiring employers to consult with employees and to obtain approval from the information commissioner before processing biometrics. This provides additional safeguards to employees when biometrics is not strictly necessary and other alternative methods of ensuring compliance exist.

Public Sector Salaries 

Salaries in the public sector have been a contentious issue at the end of 2023 and into 2024. While the government reached an agreement with representative trade unions on a rate of salary adjustment with inflation, certain professions, particularly in the field of medicine, feel they are significantly underpaid. Additionally, the Slovenian Constitutional Court has ruled that the salaries of judges and prosecutors are unconstitutional, yet the issue remains unresolved even after the deadline for implementation has passed.

Recent Amendments to the Employment Relationships Act

In November 2023, Slovenia implemented significant changes through an amendment to the Employment Relationships Act (“ZDR-1D”), aligning with EU Directives 2019/1152 and 2019/1158. Notably, the law introduces the right to disconnect, requiring employers to implement measures by November 2024. The time frame for potential termination due to employee breaches is reduced from one year to six months, affecting both employment contracts and branch collective agreements. Employees now have the right to provide a statement following a written warning, mirroring termination cases.

The amendment mandates new employment contracts to include provisions on additional payments and employer-provided training. Employees can propose changes to enhance working conditions, prompting employer responses. Compensation for agency workers during non-employment periods increases to 80 percent. Parents caring for children under eight can propose part-time fixed-term contracts. Measures for domestic violence victims include part-time employment options, up to five paid working days off, and special protections. Additional provisions include a possibility for employees to propose work-from-home.

The law introduces the suspension of termination effects for employee representatives pending court decisions, up to six months. Salary compensation during work prohibition increases. Probationary periods in fixed-term contracts must align with the contract duration, and consecutive contracts cannot include a probationary period. Annual leave options expand, and education time is now considered part of working hours.

New Obligations for Employers in Construction Sector

ZDR-1D further introduced a new obligation on the side of the contractor if an employer who is a subcontractor of the contractor and provides a service in the context of a construction activity fails to provide its employees with a salary in accordance with the provisions of the ZDR-1 for the work carried out in the context of providing this construction service. In such circumstances, the contractor whose direct subcontractor is the employer is subsidiarily liable for the fulfilment of obligation to pay salary to the employees of the subcontractor as long as unpaid salaries are related to the work performed for the contractor.

Prior to the amendment to the ZDR-1, the Transnational Provision of Services Act (ZČmIS-1) already provided that in the case of subcontracting in the construction sector where the foreign employer failed to provide the posted worker with a salary, the contractor established in Slovenia was subsidiarily liable for the fulfilment of this obligation. The Slovenian legislator has therefore introduced a similar regime for domestic relations as was previously applicable in the case of cross-border supply of services and thus complied with a formal notice of the European Commission who viewed previous regulation as discriminatory towards subcontractors established in other member states.

Digital Nomads 

It seems likely that Slovenia may offer a residence permit to digital nomads mirroring Croatia’s approach. This potential change is outlined in the proposed amendment to the Foreigners Act. If adopted, non-EU foreigners working remotely for a foreign business not directly offering services in Slovenia may be eligible for a temporary residence permit lasting up to one year. Permit extensions will not be possible; however, individuals will be able to apply for a new permit after a minimum break of six months. To qualify, the individual must earn at least double the average monthly net salary in Slovenia during their stay. Family unification for digital nomads will be possible right away if the proposal is enacted.

Working Time Records 

The keeping of working time records for all employers has been mandatory since 2006. At the end of last year, however, we have witnessed an enactment of important legislative changes in this regard. The main purpose of the amendments introduced is to ensure more effective monitoring of compliance with the legislative requirements on working time, breaks, rest periods and other rights of workers related to working time, as this is essential to ensure health and safety at work. Amongst other amendments, the reform introduced the obligation to keep records electronically in the event of detected breaches of the working time regulations, that can last for a period of up to two years.

Occupational Illnesses 

In the beginning of 2023 new Rules on occupational illnesses have been adopted, which, after 30 years, provide for an effective route for the identification of occupational diseases and corresponding assessment procedures. It is expected that the claims deriving from work related diseases, which have in the past been exercised mainly in the field of asbestos, will now increase and in consequence significantly contribute to improvements in ensuring health and safety at the workplace.