Slovenia

Slovenia is a country in central Europe bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia. It is a mostly mountainous and forested country, and the country has historically been the crossroads of Slavic, Germanic, and Romance languages and cultures. Slovenia is a developed country with a high-income economy, and one of the lowest rates of income inequality in the world.

The minimum wage is EUR 1,074 EUR per month, and a standard workweek is 40 hours at 8 hours per day. Overtime work is regulated by the employment contract or collective agreement, and has a maximum of 170 hours per year. Employers must provide written notice of any upcoming overtime work.

Parental Leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to 105 days of paid maternity leave, usually beginning 28 days before the due date date of birth and paid for by social insurance. To be eligible for paid maternity leave, the employee has to have made 1 year worth payments to the Parental Care Insurance in the last 3 years.

Fathers/partners are entitled to 30 days of paid paternity leave — the first 15 days must be taken within 6 months of the birth, and the rest can be taken before the child finishes 1st grade. This leave is also paid for by social insurance. Slovenia also grants each parent up to 130 days of parental leave to care for a child, paid at up to 100% of their regular salary.

Sick Leave

Employees in Slovenia are entitled to sick leave, of which the first 30 days are paid by the employer, and the rest is covered by social insurance until the employees is deemed fit to return to work or their employment is terminated.

Paid Leave

There are 15 public holidays in Slovenia, and employees are entitled to at least 20 days of paid time off each year. Employees who have children under the age of 15 are entitled to 1 more day of paid time off per year for each child that is under 15. Employees can also take 7 days of paid personal leave for weddings, bereavement, etc.

Process

The termination process depends on the employment contract or collective agreement and reason for termination. There are 2 types of terminations: regular and extraordinary. Regular terminations are in the case of redundancy, incompetence, or misconduct. Extraordinary terminations are when an employee commits a crime, presents false data, declines a transfer, or any other such serious breach. Terminations must have notice in writing so the employee is given the opportunity to explain their actions.

Notice Period

The notice period depends on how long the employee has worked at a company:

• 0-1 year = 15 days notice
• 1-2 years = 30 days notice
• 2+ years = 30 + 2 days for every year worked past 2 years, of notice
• At-fault dismissals = 15 days notice
• Extraordinary dismissals = no notice

Severance Pay

Employees can receive severance pay for regular dismissals, and the amount depends on the employee’s length of service at the company:

• 1-10 years = 20% of the average salary for each year of service
• 10-20 years = 25% of the average salary for each year of service
• 20+ years = 33% of the average salary for each year of service

While not mandatory, many employers give out a 13th-month salary bonus in December as a Christmas bonus. Some employers also give what is known as a “Jubilee” performance-based bonus on an employee’s anniversary of work.