Every country in the world has certain laws on its books to protect employees from harm. These vary from laws facilitating whistleblowing and preventing retaliation against whistleblowers to those prohibiting discrimination and harassment.
In this section, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about employee protections in Slovakia, including whistleblower protections, protections from harassment and discrimination, pay equity laws, and equal treatment rights for temporary agency workers. By the end of the section, you should have the information you need to both protect your employees and safeguard your business in Slovakia.
Whistleblowers play an important role in society by calling out wrongdoing witnessed at work. For this reason, many countries have specific laws to make it easier for whistleblowers to come forward and protect them from retaliation. Slovakia is no exception.
Slovakia was delayed in implementing the EU Whistleblowing Directive, becoming the 27th country to pass legislation in May 2023. Law 189/2023 amending and supplementing Act no.54/2019 on the protection of whistleblowers came into effect in July 2023, with some parts coming into effect in September 2023.
The reforms introduced by this law included:
Slovakia’s whistleblowing law requires all private entities with at least 50 employees to establish an internal whistleblowing system. Some employers, including those that provide financial services, transport safety services, or environmental services, must set up internal reporting systems regardless of their headcount.
The law also offers whistleblowers protection from discrimination. Employers may not perform labour actions including dismissal, demotion, or denial of promotion against a whistleblower without the prior consent of the Whistleblower Protection Office. To obtain permission, the employer must prove that the act is not a result of the employee’s whistleblowing activity.
Whistleblowing legislation in Slovakia covers not just employees, but also other people who may come across compromising information at work. This might include:
The law covers any criminal offence with a minimum prison sentence of two years, as well as certain newly included criminal offences such as the endangering of health by unauthorised drugs or medical devices.
In November 2023, analysis by Transparency International found that Slovakia’s whistleblowing law falls below the standard set by the EU directive. Since then, there have been various attempts at reforming the law to bring it up to standard.
During the course of an employment relationship, employers typically need to store and process data on their employees. Many countries have specific rules on how data processing should be handled in order to protect employees. Data protection in Slovakia is guided by EU law.
The main law protecting employees’ data in Slovakia is Act No. 18/2018 Coll. on Personal Data Protection, which implemented the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under this law, an employer in Slovakia may only process the personal data of its employees if that data is relevant to their work. For example, this may include data related to their qualifications and work experience. Employers may not collect data on an employee’s pregnancy, family circumstances, or political, trade union, or religious affiliations.
The Slovak Labour Code contains rules relating to the monitoring and surveillance of employees at work, including CCTV surveillance and monitoring emails or phone calls. If an employer wants to implement such monitoring measures, they must first consult with employee representatives on the extent, method, and duration of the surveillance measures. Employees should be informed in advance of the measures to be put in place.
When an employer needs additional staff for a short period, one option is to engage a temporary agency worker. In Slovakia, there are rules on the circumstances under which such workers can be engaged and how they must be treated. Read on to learn about equal treatment for temporary agency workers in Slovakia.
In Slovakia, temporary agency workers are employees of a temporary work agency, who are leased out to user companies to work under their control and direction. There should be an employment contract between the temporary work agency and the employee, as well as a written temporary assignment agreement concluded between the employee and the user company. This should contain the main terms and conditions of the agreement, including the type and place of work, the start and end dates, and the identities of both parties.
Employees engaged through temporary labour agencies in Slovakia must be granted working conditions that are at least as favourable as those offered to comparable employees engaged directly by the user company. This applies to pay and other terms of employment, including:
Temporary work agencies in Slovakia must have a permit from the Central Office of Labor, Social Affairs and Family. Assignments between workers and user companies may be agreed for a maximum of 24 months (two years). Such an agreement can be extended or renewed up to four times, as long as it remains within the two-year maximum period. A temporary assignment ends on the expiry of its term. Before this time, it can be terminated by the agreement of the parties or by unilateral termination under certain circumstances.
Employees in Slovakia have the right to equal opportunities, regardless of factors like their race, age, gender, or sexual orientation. They also have the right to protection from harassment in the workplace, including sexual harassment. Read on to learn more about anti-discrimination laws and protection against harassment in Slovakia.
The Slovak Labour Code guarantees equal treatment for men and women in terms of access to employment, remuneration, promotion, training, and working conditions. Employees are also protected by the Anti-discrimination Act, which prohibits various other forms of discrimination. In addition to discrimination at work, the act also bans discrimination in the following areas:
In Slovakia, it’s illegal to discriminate against an employee on the basis of any of the following characteristics:
Harassment at work is defined as unwanted conduct or behaviour that creates an intimidating, degrading, offensive, or humiliating work environment. Sexual harassment is unwanted physical, verbal, or other conduct of a sexual nature. Both of these are forms of discrimination, which are specifically prohibited by Slovak anti-discrimination law. Whether conduct is defined as harassment is determined not by the perpetrator’s intention but by the impact on the victim.
Employees who feel they have experienced discrimination or harassment in Slovakia can have their case heard by a court. If their claim is upheld, they may be able to claim compensation for non-material damage.
Employees in Slovakia have the right to equal pay for work of equal value, regardless of their gender or other characteristics. Work of equal value is considered to be work of comparable complexity, responsibility, and urgency, which means that the right to equal pay in Slovakia doesn’t only apply to employees holding the same job title.
In order to ensure equal pay in Slovakia, the Labour Code requires employers to create gender-neutral job classifications and compensation structures. These must be based on the same criteria for men and women, without any discrimination on the basis of sex.
Understanding what you can and can’t do as an employer is one of the biggest challenges of hiring in Slovakia. Get it wrong, and you could face legal action and damage to your reputation.
Our solutions protect both you and your workers, thanks to our team’s in-depth knowledge of local and international labour laws. That means you can stop worrying about compliance issues and focus on getting the job done.
The Labour Code is the main employment law, supported by separate rules on discrimination, workplace safety, whistleblowing, equal pay and personal data. Under this framework, these employees are protected during recruitment, employment and dismissal in Slovakia.
The Labour Code sets rules for contracts, wages, working time, leave and termination. It also protects employees’ privacy and their right to representation. The Anti-Discrimination Act requires equal treatment in recruitment, pay, promotion and other employment decisions.
Workplace safety legislation requires employers to prevent work-related risks. Whistleblower protection rules prohibit retaliation against people who report wrongdoing in good faith. The Equal Pay Act adds requirements for equal pay between women and men doing the same work or work of equal value.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation and national data-protection law govern employee information. Employers need to account for these rules when collecting records, sharing employee details or monitoring staff.
The whistleblower act in Slovakia requires employers to protect good-faith reporters from retaliation and, where required, operate a confidential reporting system. This protection does not depend on the employee receiving formal protected-whistleblower status.
Employers with at least 50 employees and public authorities with at least five employees must have an internal reporting system. Financial, transport-safety and environmental service providers need one regardless of headcount. Employers must appoint a qualified person to handle reports independently and provide reporting channels that are easy to access.
Employers must acknowledge each report within seven days. They must investigate and tell the reporter the outcome and any action taken within 90 days of acknowledgement. If they do not acknowledge the report, the 90-day period starts after the seven-day acknowledgement deadline. They must keep the identities of both the reporter and the accused person confidential.
Before dismissing an employee with formal protected status or changing their employment terms without their agreement, employers generally need the Whistleblower Protection Office’s consent.
Protected characteristics under Slovak anti-discrimination law include:
The Anti-Discrimination Act is the closest equivalent to an equal employment opportunity act in Slovakia. It also protects people who report crime or other antisocial activity. The Labour Code separately covers poor health, genetic characteristics and trade-union activity.
These protections apply to applicants and employees throughout recruitment and employment. Employers cannot use protected grounds to decide who to hire, train, promote or dismiss, or to set pay and working conditions. Protection still applies if the employer acts on a mistaken assumption about someone’s characteristics.
GDPR governs employee data, and labour law in Slovakia adds a ban on monitoring staff unless the employer has serious reasons rooted in what its business does. The same applies to recording calls on company phones and checking work email, and staff must be told before any of it starts.
Where a genuine reason exists, the employer must also discuss what it will monitor, how and for how long with any employee representatives beforehand. Email scanning, screen or activity tracking and CCTV that run by default at head office therefore cannot simply be switched on for Slovak staff.
A company planning any monitoring should be able to show the business reason, a record of the discussion with representatives and the notice given to staff. The Office for Personal Data Protection supervises how employers handle staff data, and GDPR fines reach 20 million EUR or 4% of worldwide annual turnover.
Under labour law in Slovakia, agency workers must receive pay and working conditions at least as favourable as comparable employees at the host company. This covers wages, hours, rest, overtime, night work, leave and workplace safety.
The agency remains the employer and normally pays wages. The host company directs daily work and must protect agency workers’ health and safety as it does for its own staff. It must also tell the agency what comparable employees receive.
If the agency pays less than the required comparable wage, the host must pay the shortfall within 15 days of the agreed payday. The host deducts employee tax and insurance contributions from this payment.
Agency workers must also receive information about permanent vacancies and equal access to training. They should be able to use workplace social services, unless an objective reason justifies different access. Contract terms cannot prevent them from taking a job directly with the host after the assignment.
Employers must give equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, including benefits. Under labour law in Slovakia, this protection applies regardless of sex. Employers need objective, gender-neutral pay structures and accessible pay-setting criteria.
Applicants must receive the starting pay or range and applicable collective agreement pay rules before an interview or before the employment contract is signed, allowing informed negotiation. An advert can provide this information. Employers cannot ask about current or previous earnings and must use gender-neutral job titles and recruitment processes.
Employees can request their own annual and hourly pay information, which employers must provide within two months. For 2027, employers first need to provide average pay by sex for groups doing the same work or work of equal value.
Employers with at least 150 employees must submit their first pay report by 7 June 2027. Those with 100–149 employees first report by 7 June 2031. These thresholds do not exempt smaller employers from equal-pay obligations. The first report for employers with at least 150 employees covers 1 August to 31 December 2026. Subsequent reports are annual for employers with at least 250 employees and every three years for those with 100–249 employees, normally due by 15 April.
Employees can form and join trade unions voluntarily, and unions can negotiate pay and employment conditions with employers. Labour law in Slovakia protects employees against discrimination because of union activity. Employers must allow lawful workplace union activity and provide the information and consultation required by law.
A company collective agreement applies to all employees it covers, including those who are not union members. The agreement can improve pay, working hours, leave and severance, while respecting mandatory rights. Higher-level agreements are negotiated between employer organisations and unions; they do not automatically cover every business in a sector.
Employee councils and elected representatives also have information and consultation rights. They can operate alongside a union, but only the union can negotiate collective agreements. When both are present, the Labour Code sets which body the employer must inform or consult. Employers must not disadvantage representatives because they carry out these duties.
Employers must assess workplace risks, control hazards and provide safe equipment and training. Under employee protection laws in Slovakia, they pay for these measures and update them as jobs and working conditions change.
Employers can use outside safety and occupational-health specialists, but they remain responsible for protecting staff.
Employers that breach labour law in Slovakia can face fines, orders to correct the problem and claims from employees. Labour inspectors can impose fines of up to 100,000 EUR for ordinary breaches. Serious breaches specifically listed in law carry fines of up to 200,000 EUR.
For illegal employment, the range is 4,000–200,000 EUR. The minimum rises to 8,000 EUR when an employer illegally employs two or more people at the same time. This is a minimum for the breach, rather than a separate minimum per person.
Inspectors can require corrective action, and failure to follow a corrective order can bring another fine. The authority considers the breach’s gravity, consequences and any repeated failures when setting the amount. Whistleblower and data-protection breaches follow separate enforcement rules.
Paying a fine does not settle employees’ claims. Employees may still seek unpaid wages or challenge discrimination, including asking for the treatment to stop and for compensation where the law allows it.
CXC helps international companies manage employee protection requirements in Slovakia with local employment expertise and more than 30 years of global workforce experience. Through its Employer of Record service, CXC acts as the legal employer and supports businesses with employment contracts, statutory benefits, payroll and ongoing HR requirements.
Slovakia has specific rules covering working hours, overtime, employee leave, equal treatment and termination. Employers must also consider restrictions on fixed-term contracts and additional protections for certain employees, including pregnant workers and employees on parental leave. CXC’s local specialists help businesses understand these obligations before making employment decisions that could create compliance risks.
For international companies without an established HR or legal team in Slovakia, this support is particularly valuable when handling sensitive situations such as contract changes, employee grievances or dismissals. CXC provides access to local expertise so businesses can address employment issues early, protect employee rights and reduce the risk of costly disputes or regulatory penalties. Speak to our team today.
With our EoR solution, you can engage workers anywhere in the world, without putting your business at risk. No more worrying about local labour laws, tax legislation or payroll customs — we’ve got you covered.
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