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Undoubtedly, payroll is a critical process for any organization. The pay cycle in Slovenia refers to the period for which an organization pays its employees, and this can vary depending on the pay frequency that the organization chooses to adopt.

In Slovenia, it is common for employees to be paid on a monthly basis. 

The 13^th month salary/bonus is not mandatory. It depends on the organization.  

As of January 1, 2024, Slovenia's gross monthly minimum wage has increased by 4.2%, rising from 1,203.36 Euros to 1,253.90 Euros.

Overtime in Slovenia is usually considered to be work beyond 40 years a week. Overtime should not exceed 8 hours per week, 20 hours per month, and 170 hours per year. Compensation for overtime varies per industry and is usually part of the collective bargaining agreement.

In some cases, an employer may order overtime without consent from the employee. Some categories of employees cannot be ordered to work overtime, including pregnant women and those over 55.

Work on Sundays, night work, and holiday work also qualify for overtime payment based on the relevant collective bargaining agreements.

Employers are required to record the date, nature and amount of each payment, including the number of benefits. These records must be kept for a period of four years following the date the taxes are withheld.

New Employee Recordkeeping Requirement

With effect from May 20, 2023.

• The new employee recordkeeping includes In-time and out-time, break time and special working conditions such as night shift work time, Sunday or Holiday work time, 
• The past month's data should be reflected in the employer’s records by the end of each payday.
•  Fines on employers if not they do not comply with the regulations or if the records are not kept electronically for 2 years. 
• Unions or employee representatives can urge the employer to keep records electronically.

Slovenia requires you to use an employment contract to hire all employees. A general rule is that employment contracts extend for an indefinite duration, but you can also use fixed-term contracts if you have a specific project, want to replace a temporarily absent employee, or need to manage a temporary increase in workload. Fixed-term contracts cannot exceed two years.

Employee should be given their employment contract for review at least three days before the start date, and they should sign it on their start date. Contracts should always be in the local language and include terms related to compensation, benefits, termination requirements, collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and similar factors. Offer letters and employment contracts that include monetary amounts should always be in EUR instead of any other currency.

Employers must also register all new employees in Slovenia’s obligatory pension, disability, health, and unemployment insurance within 15 days of their start date.

No special legislation for this. It is completely company procedure.

The probation period cannot be more than six months. The probation period is outlined in the employment contract.

There are 11 public holidays observed in Slovenia:

• January 1 - 2: New Year’s Day  
• Febraury 8: Preeren Day
• April 9: Easter Sunday
• April 10: Easter Monday
• April 27: Resistance Day 
• May 1 - 2: May Day 
• May 28: Whit Sunday
• June 25: Statehood Day 
• August 15: Assumption Day  
• October 31: Reformation Day  
• November 1: Remembrance Day  
• December 25: Christmas Day  
• December 26: Independence Day

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave of at least four weeks in every calendar year, regardless of whether they work full-time or part-time.  An employee is entitled to this payment after six months of continuous employment, prorated accordingly.

The employer must let the employee take the annual leave entitlement by the end of the current calendar year. The employee must use at least two weeks of annual leave before the end of the current calendar year; the remaining part can be used in agreement with the employer up until 30 June of the following year.

Employees with children under the age of 15 are entitled to one additional day per year for each child that has not yet reached that age.

 Sick leave is unlimited provided that the employee provides a medical certificate. If the illness or injury was work-related, the first 30 days are covered by the employer. After that, it is covered by social security.

Paid maternity leave in Slovenia is 105 days, including up to 28 days before the birth of the child. Pay is based on average earnings over the previous 12 months.

Paid paternity leave is 30 days. Pay is based on the average earnings over the previous 12 months, up to 2.5x average monthly salary in Slovenia (currently EUR 3,664.31).

Slovenia grants each parent 130 days of parental leave to care for a child, this entitlement can increase in the case of multiple/complicated births.

A father may transfer their entire leave to the mother to care for their child, but the mother can only transfer the father up to 100 days of her leave to him.

Employees can now take five days of unpaid carer leave per year to care for a family member or a person with whom they live in the same home who needs extensive care for health reasons.

Employees must inform the employer of their intention to use carer leave before the absence, unless objective circumstances make this impossible. In such cases, the employee must notify the employer within three working days.

Employees must provide documentation to support their request for carer leave, such as a doctor's certificate or a certificate from the social work center.

Employers are responsible for paying contributions for employees on carer leave.

Employees who are victims of domestic violence can now take five days of paid leave per year to arrange protection, legal and other procedures at institutions, and eliminate the consequences of domestic violence.

Victims of domestic violence are defined as individuals who have experienced domestic violence within the past two years.

Employees must inform the employer of their intention to use leave for victims of violence no later than three working days before the start of the absence.

Employees must provide documentation to support their request for leave for victims of violence, such as a certificate from the social work center, proof of reporting to the police, and proof of content editing.

If the employee has not passed their probation period, the notice period is reduced to 7 days and an at-fault dismissal where the notice period is 15 days. 

No notice period is required in the case of an extraordinary dismissal. However, the employer must still provide termination of notice within 30 days of the incident that led to the termination. 

The notice period is dependent on the employee’s seniority as follows: 

• Up to one year, then the notice period is for 15 days.
• One to two years, then the notice period is 30 days. 
• For more than two years, then the notice period is for 30 days plus two days for every year served above two. 

Employees are entitled to severance pay depending on the employee’s seniority:  

• Employees between one and ten years of service receive 1/5 of the employees’ average salary from the previous three months for every year of service.
• More than ten years of service 1/4 of the average salary from the past three months for every year of service.
• Over 20 years of service, the severance is 1/3.

Work and residence permits are regulated under the Employment, Self-employment, and Work of Foreigners Act, enacted in 2015. The permits are obligatory for all non-EU nationals who wish to be employed in Slovenia. Unless they can be considered for the following exception:  

• Refugees

• Immediate family members of Slovenian citizens,

• Non-EU nationals with a permit for permanent residence,

• Non-EU nationals who have obtained the status of a long-term resident in another Member State of the EU after residing in the Republic of Slovenia for one year,

• Non-EU nationals of Slovenian origin up to the third successive generation.  

To obtain a long-term work permit, an individual should apply for a single residence permit for work and residence in Slovenia (The Single Permit).  

Single permits are issued by the administrative unit (“Upravna enota”) with the consent of the Employment Service of Slovenia (“ESS”) on the basis of the Employment, Self-employment, and Work of Foreigners Act and corresponding regulations.  

After applying for The Single Permit, the administrative unit will automatically begin the process of obtaining consent from the Employment Service of Slovenia. An application for The Single Permit may be submitted by a foreigner or by the employer. 

Employee background checks in Slovenia are not legally required but are allowed as part of a pre-employment screening process. Employers must adhere to local laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection while conducting these checks, and they must obtain proper consent from the individual before performing any background screening.

The types of background checks that employers in Slovenia can conduct include:

• Criminal record checks
• Credit and financial background checks
• Employment verification
• Education verification
• Reference checks
• Professional license checks
• Global database, sanctions, and politically exposed persons (PEP) checks
• Adverse media checks
• Address checks
• Digital address verification
• Identity verification
• Digital ID verification