Taxes and payrolls: the labour market in Slovenia
Each labour market has some peculiarities. It may be tricky for foreigners to understand fully the payment methods, the taxes and other benefits related. In TalentUp we are starting a series of different blog articles, one for each country. This article analyses the labour market in Slovenia.
General data about the Slovenian labour market
| Minimum wage | 1,203.36€ |
| Payment basis | Monthly |
| Payment | Must be paid by the last working day |
| Maximum working hours a week | 40h |
| Maximum overtime hours a week | 8h |
| Maximum overtime hours a year | 170h |
Payroll taxes in Slovenia
Social security contributions are made by the employer and the employee and are used for funding unemployment, pension, maternity/paternity leave, and sickness or injury.
| Contingencies | Employer % | Employee % |
| Pension | 8.85 | 15.5 |
| Health insurance | 6.56 | 6.36 |
| Unemployment | 0.06 | 0.14 |
| Work injury | 0.53 | |
| Maternity / Parental Care | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| Total | 16.1 | 22.1 |
Once contributions are paid, employees need to pay an income tax that varies depending on their gross salaries.
| Gross salary | Income tax |
| Up to 8,755€ | 16% |
| From 8,755 to 25,750€ | 26% |
| From 25,750 to 51,500€ | 33% |
| From 51,500 to 74,160€ | 39% |
| More than 74,160€ | 45% |
Income tax in Slovenia. Data source: https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/slovenia/
Contingencies from self-employees
There is a flat tax rate of 15.5 per cent that covers social contributions on personal income earned through freelancing.
Example of net salary in Slovenia
As a reference, we use the average salary of a software engineer. In Slovenia, on average, software engineers earn annually 43,100€.
| Employer | Employee | |||
| % | € | % | € | |
| Gross salary (annually) | 43,100 | |||
| Pension | 8.85 | 3,814.35 | 15.5 | 6,680.5 |
| Health insurance | 6.56 | 2,827.36 | 6.36 | 2,741.16 |
| Unemployment | 0.06 | 25.86 | 0.14 | 60.34 |
| Work injury | 0.53 | 228.43 | ||
| Maternity / Parental Care | 0.10 | 43.1 | 0.10 | 43.1 |
| Total | 16.1 | 6,939.1 | 22.1 | 9,525.1 |
| Income tax | 8,401.72 | |||
| Net salary (annually) | 25,173.18 |
The employer contributes 6,939.1€ to social security and the employee 9,525.1€.
After paying the income tax, the employee has a net salary of 25,173.18€ coming from a gross salary of 43,100€.
Unemployment regulation in Slovenia
In Slovenia, the notice period is dependent on the employee’s seniority as follows:
| Time worked | Notice period |
| During probation period | 7 days |
| Up to 1 year | 15 days |
| Between 1 and 2 years | 30 days |
| More than 2 years | 30 days + 2 days for every year served above two |
Employees are entitled to severance pay depending on the employee’s seniority:
| Time worked | Severance pay |
| Up to 10 years | 1/5 of the employee’s average salary from the previous three months for every year of service |
| Between 10 and 20 years | 1/4 of the average salary from the past three months for every year of service |
| More than 20 years | 1/3 of the average salary from the past three months for every year of service |
Maximum probation period length is 6 months.
Different kinds of leaves in Slovenia
Annual paid leave is 4 weeks. 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.
There are 15 public holidays.
Employers pay for 30 days of sick leave (after that, is paid by Social Security). They usually pay 80% of the pay rate, but they pay 100% if the absence is due to the job.
In Slovenia, employees are entitled to up to seven days of paid personal leave. This leave is to be used for weddings, births, and bereavement.
Paid parental leave
Paid maternity leave lasts for 105 days, 28 of them before the birth. The benefit will be between 55% of a minimum base salary and twice the average monthly salary in Slovenia paid by Social Security.
The father/partner is entitled to 75 days of paid paternity leave. The first 15 days must be taken within three months of the child’s birth. The remaining leave can be taken at any time before the child is 8 years old and can be taken on multiple occasions. It is paid at the same rate as maternity leave.
Each parent has 130 days of unpaid parental leave (it increases in the case of multiple or complicated births). At least 30 of these should be taken by the mother.
Other common Slovenian benefits
| Benefit | % of companies with this benefit |
| Equal Opportunity Employer | 17.4 |
| Work-Life Balance | 17.4 |
| Disability Leave | 13.0 |
| Great Clients | 13.0 |
| Health Insurance | 13.0 |
How to employ a Slovenian worker
Register your business with the relevant authorities in Slovenia. This typically involves obtaining a tax number and registering with the Slovenian Business Register (AJPES).
Some platforms (Papaya Global among them) offer the Employer of Record (EoR) service helping companies hire countries where they do not have any office.
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