Europe

How to hire and pay employees in Slovenia


Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
1 Slovenia offers a strategic Central European hub with a growing economy, skilled workforce, and access to European markets, making it attractive for business expansion.
2 Employers must comply with Slovenia's payroll, personal income tax (progressive 16–50% rates), and statutory contributions, including social security and health insurance.
3 Employee wages must be paid at least once a month, with payment deadlines no later than 18 days after the pay period ends.
4 The national minimum wage is EUR 1,277.72 per month, effective January 2025, with additional allowances possible under collective agreements.
5 Terminations require proper notice based on length of service and may include severance pay, with clear procedures for regular and extraordinary dismissal.
6 Standard working hours are capped at 40 hours per week, with regulated overtime, daily and weekly rest periods, and mandated breaks.
7 Employees receive 4 weeks of paid annual leave plus 15 public holidays, with provisions for carrying over unused leave and holiday pay.
8 Slovenia provides family leave protections including maternity (105 days), paternity (15 days), and parental leave (160 days per parent), with extended leave for multiple or special-needs children.
9 Probation periods may not exceed 6 months, with proportional rules for fixed-term contracts.
10 Slasify offers end-to-end HR solutions in Slovenia, covering payroll, compliance, and EOR services to ensure efficient, legally compliant hiring and operations.

Discover the global hiring and employment landscape in Slovenia – centrally located in Europe and known for its growing economy, strong industrial base, and skilled workforce. Slovenia offers strategic access to European markets, making it a favorable destination for business expansion.

 


Personal Income Tax

 

Taxable Income (EUR) Progressive Tax Rate (%)
Up to 9,210.26 16
9,210.27–27,089.00 26
27,089.01–54,178.00 33
54,178.01–78,016.32 39
Over 78,016.32 50

 

Local Taxes

 
 

There are no local taxes on employment income in Slovenia.

Statutory Contributions

 

Social security contributions shall be calculated based on the employee's wages up to 3.5 times the last known average annual salary. The contribution base must also be at least 90% of the last known average annual salary.


Employer Contributions

  Contribution rate
Pension and Disability Insurance 8.85%
Health Insurance 6.56%
Parental Care Contribution 0.10%
Unemployment Insurance 0.06%
Occupational Risks Insurance 0.53%


Employee Contributions

  Contribution rate
Pension and Disability Insurance 15.5%
Health Insurance 6.36%
Parental Care Contribution 0.10%
Unemployment Insurance 0.14%

Employees are subject to and additional compulsory health insurance contribution (OZP). For the period from January 2024 to February 2025, the OZP is EUR 35 per month.

 

 

Payment of Wages

 

An employee's salary shall be paid at least once a month, no later than 18 days after the end of the pay period).

 

Minimum Wage

 
 

Effective January 1, 2025, the minimum wage in Slovenia is set at EUR 1,277.72 per month.

Statutory Bonus

 
 

Employees shall be entitled to a seniority allowance, the amount of which shall be determined in the relevant collective agreement.

Termination

 

An employment contract may be terminated, among other reasons, by mutual agreement or by the unilateral decision of either party, provided that the proper procedure is followed.

  Definition Termination by the employer Termination by the employee
Regular termination Termination of an employment contract with notice Valid reasons need, as stated in Article 89 of the Employment Relationships Act No reasons needed
Extraordinary termination Termination of an employment contract without notice Can be done in exceptional cases or for reasons stated in Article 110 of the Employment Relationships Act Can be done in exceptional cases or for reasons stated in Article 111 of the Employment Relationships Act

Generally, before dismissing an employee for culpable reasons, the employer must warn the employee in writing within a certain deadline.

Prior to regular dismissal on grounds of incapacity or culpable cause and before extraordinary termination of the employment contract, the employer must inform the employee in writing of the alleged violations or of the alleged reason for incapacity and give them the opportunity to defend themselves within a reasonable period of time.

A comprehensive outline of the procedure to dismiss an employee can be found in Articles 85–86 of the Employment Relationships Act.


Notice Period

The employee and the employer may terminate the employment contract within the statutory or contractual notice period.

Length of service Notice period for resignation Notice period for dismissal
Up to 1 year 15 days 15 days
1–2 years 30 days 30 days
Over 2 years 30 days 30 days + 2 days for each completed year of employment, up to a maximum of 60 days

For resignation, an employment contract or collective agreement may provide for a longer notice period, but not longer than 60 days.

In the event of termination of the employment contract by the employer for a culpable cause, the notice period shall be 15 days.

In the event of a dismissal of an employee with over 25 years of service, the notice period shall be 80 days. A different notice period may be stipulated in a collective agreement, but it shall not be shorter than 60 days.

Employees who are dismissed shall have the right to at least 2 hours of paid leave per week during their notice period to look for a new job.


Severance Pay

An employer who terminates an employment contract for business reasons or for reasons of incapacity shall be obligated to pay severance.

Length of service Severance
More than 1 year, up to 10 years 20% of the employee's monthly salary for each year of service
More than 10 years, up to 20 years 25% of the employee's monthly salary for each year of service
More than 20 years 33.33% of the employee's monthly salary for each year of service

The amount of severance pay may not exceed 10 times the basis for calculating severance unless otherwise provided for in the relevant collective agreement.

The basis for calculating severance pay is the average monthly salary received by the employee or that the employee would have received if he had worked, in the last 3 months prior to the dismissal.

 

 

Probationary Period

 

A probationary period may be agreed to in the employment contract, the duration of which shall not exceed 6 months. During the probationary period, the employee or the employer may terminate the employment contract on a regular basis.

  Termination during the probationary period Termination due to the unsuccessful completion of the probationary period
Notice period 7-day notice period 7-day notice period
Severance N.A. As determined in the event of regular termination for business reasons

 

 

Work Time Rules

 

Standard Working Hours

Standard working hours of a full-time employee are subject to a maximum of 40 hours per week and the total working hours in a day shall not exceed 10 hours, including overtime.


Break Period

During daytime work, a full-time employee shall be entitled to a paid 30-minute break. A break may be fixed only after an hour of work and no later than an hour before the end of working hours.

Furthermore, an employee who breastfeeds a child under 18 months old and works full-time shall be entitled to a breastfeeding break during working hours of at least an hour per day.

A full-time employed mother is entitled to an allowance for an hour a day during the breastfeeding break, on the basis of a certificate from a specialist pediatrician, until the child's 18th month of age, in the amount of a proportional part of the base calculated for maternity leave.


Overtime

An employee is obligated to, at the request of the employer, perform overtime work, provided that it can be justified, and they are compensated for it.

Overtime may last up to 8 hours per week, 20 hours per month and 170 hours per year. The daily, weekly and monthly time limits may be taken into account as the average limit over the period laid down by law or collective agreement and may not exceed 6 months.

Overtime work may, with the employee's written consent, exceed the given annual time limit, but it should not exceed a total of 230 hours per year.


Weekly Rest Days

Employees shall be entitled to a daily rest period of at least 12 consecutive hours and, in addition to the daily rest, a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours.

If an employee is required to work on a weekly rest period for objective, technical and organizational reasons, they shall be granted a weekly rest on another day of the week.

 

 

Holiday and Leave Entitlements

 

Public Holidays

Employers shall be obligated to pay wage compensation in cases of absence from work due to statutory holidays and non-working days. There are 15 days of public holidays in Slovenia for 2025.

Holiday Date
New Year's Holiday January 1–2
Prešeren Day February 8
Easter Sunday April 20
Easter Monday April 21
Resistance Day April 27
May Day May 1–2
Whit Sunday June 8
National Day June 25
Assumption Day August 15
Reformation Day October 31
All Saints' Day November 1
Christmas Day December 25
Independence and Unity Day December 26

The right of the employee to be absent from work on public holidays may be restricted if the work or production process is continuous or the nature of the work requires work to be performed even on a public holiday.

Employees required to work on public holidays and non-working days shall be entitled to receive an allowance, the amount of which are usually determined by means of a collective agreement.


Annual Leave

Employees shall be entitled to at least 4 weeks of paid annual leave. The minimum number of days of annual leave depends on the distribution of working days per week for each employee, and the leave shall be determined and taken on working days.

An employee who enters into an employment relationship or whose employment relationship is terminated during a calendar year and has a period of employment of less than a year in a particular calendar year shall be entitled to 1/12 of the annual leave for each month of employment.

An employee shall be entitled to an additional day of annual leave for each child who has not yet reached the age of 15. Moreover, certain employees, such as the elderly or the disabled, may be entitled to at least 3 additional days of annual leave.

Annual leave may be taken in several parts, provided that one part must last at least 2 weeks. The employer may require an employee to plan to take at least 2 weeks of annual leave for the current calendar year.

Carrying over annual leave Holiday allowance

The employer is obligated to ensure that the employee takes annual leave in the current calendar year, and the employee is obligated to use at least 2 weeks until the end of the current calendar year, with the remainder of the leave available until June 30 of the following year.

Annual leave that is still not taken by the current calendar year or June 30 of the following year due to sick leave, maternity leave or childcare leave can be taken by March 31 of the year following the year to which the annual leave may be carried over.

Employers are obligated to pay their employees who are entitled to annual leave holiday allowance amounting to at least the minimum wage. This must be paid to the employee by July 1 of the current calendar year at the latest.

If an employee is entitled to take only a proportionate part of their annual leave, they are entitled only to a proportionate part of the holiday allowance.

Employees working abroad may take full annual leave until the end of the following calendar year, provided that this is provided for in the relevant collective agreement.


Sick Leave

The employer shall pay wage compensation in the event of an employee's inability to work due to their illness or injury not related to work, up to 30 working days for an individual absence from work, but for a maximum of 80 working days in a calendar year.

The amount of wage compensation to the employee charged to the employer shall be 80% of the employee's full-time salary in the previous month.


Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees shall be entitled to 105 days of maternity leave, of which 15 days are mandatory. This leave may begin 28 days before the expected delivery date. Maternity leave benefits shall be granted in accordance with the regulations governing parental leave.


Paternity Leave

Employees who have become a father shall be entitled to 15 days of paternity leave, which can be taken up to the third month of the child's age. Paternity leave benefits shall be granted in accordance with the regulations governing parental leave.

In the event of the birth of 2 or more children at the same time, paternity leave for the second or subsequent child shall be extended by an additional 10 days.

Paternity leave shall also be extended for a second or subsequent child in the case of adoption or placement for the purpose of adoption or the granting of parental care to a relative of 2 or more children born at the same time or 2 or more children of different ages up to the age of 8 of the eldest child.


Parental Leave

Employees in Slovenia shall be entitled to 160 days of parental leave, which can be taken after exhausting their maternity or paternity leave. The 160-day leave is allocated for each parent (a total of 320 days for both parents), with 60 days being non-transferrable.

In the case of the birth of twins or more children, a premature baby, a child in need of special care and care, parental leave is extended. The non-transferable part of parental leave of up to 60 days may be transferred and used by each parent until the child is 8 years old.

A worker who takes parental leave is entitled to a salary allowance in accordance with the regulations governing parental leave.

  Maternity Paternity Parental
Benefit ceiling No ceiling 2.5 times the last known average gross earnings in the Republic of Slovenia for the previous year 2.5 times the last known average gross earnings in the Republic of Slovenia for the previous year

The basis for maternity, paternity and parental allowance is the average base from which parental care contributions were calculated in the condensed 12 months, whereby the last month is considered to be the basis from which contributions were calculated in the month before last from the submission of the first leave application.


Other Leave

Leave Paid/Unpaid Duration Note
Blood Donation Leave Paid 1 day This leave can be taken for the purpose of donating blood. Employers shall pay wage compensation to the employee at the expense of health insurance.
Carer's Leave Unpaid 5 days per year

This leave can be taken in the event of a need for significant care for health reasons of a family member or a member of the employee's household.

The employee is required to notify their employer of their intended use of this leave in accordance with Article 167 of the Employment Relationships Act.

Personal Leave Paid 7 days per year This leave can be taken for personal circumstances, including marriage, death of a family member, serious accidents or accompanying a child to school.
Victims of Domestic Violence Leave Paid 5 days

This leave can be taken by victims of domestic violence in a given year in the event of regulation of protection, legal and other procedures and elimination of the consequences of domestic violence.

The employee is required to notify their employer of their intended use of this leave in accordance with Article 168A of the Employment Relationships Act.

 

 

Get In Touch

 

Slasify is a one-stop platform offering Global Payroll, Employer of Record (EOR), and HR Outsourcing functions for the remote working generation. Our proven track record with Forbes Top 100 Companies and dedication to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) make us your ultimate payroll partner. Join us on a global HR journey, where we cater to your needs across 150+ countries and unlock HR solutions tailored to you—Book a free consultation now!

 

Similar posts

Subscribe to Newsletter

Stay on top of the global hiring trends and regional compliance updates with Slasify.