Work and employment

Can I work?

It depends on the type of your residence:

• Temporary residence for employment – you may work for a specific employer in a specific position. The employer usually needs a confirmation from the Labour Office (ÚPSVaR) that the vacancy can be filled.
• EU Blue Card – highly qualified work; after some time it is easier to change employer.
• Permanent or long-term residence – you may work without a permit.
• Family reunification – whether you may work depends on the specific conditions.
• Study – you may work to a limited extent alongside your studies.
• Business – residence for business does not mean you may be an employee of another company.

Can I work for any employer?

Usually not. If your right to work is tied to a labour office confirmation, you may work only under the approved conditions – for a specific employer, in a specific position and at the stated place of work.

Example: You work as a cook in a restaurant in Bratislava and want to move to another restaurant. A valid residence card is not enough – the new employer must first complete the procedure at the labour office.

Before you start work

1. Check what type of residence you have.
2. Make sure it allows you to do the job you are offered.
3. Agree the working conditions with the employer.
4. Sign a written employment contract.
5. If a labour office confirmation or another permit is needed, get it before you start.

Do not start work on a verbal promise that the employer will sort out the documents later. The right to stay in Slovakia and the right to work here are two different things.

How to find a job

• ÚPSVaR (Labour Office) and the state portal istp.sk.
• Job portals – e.g. profesia.sk, kariera.sk.
• Recruitment agencies – only licensed ones. They must not charge you a fee.
• Community – recommendations from people you know are valuable, but even then always insist on a written contract.

How to check an employer: find the company in the Business Register (orsr.sk) or the Trade Register (zrsr.sk). Check that it exists, who runs it and since when.

What to ask before accepting an offer

• What is the gross monthly salary or hourly rate?
• How many hours a week and where will you work?
• Will you work weekends, public holidays or nights?
• Is the contract fixed-term or indefinite?
• Who will arrange the permits, if you need them?
• Does the employer provide accommodation? How much will you pay?

Suspicious offer: someone asks you for a high placement fee, will not name the employer, refuses to show the contract in advance or promises much higher pay than the contract will state.

Your Slovak is not good yet? Ask for the offer to be explained in a language you understand and have the contract translated before signing. A good offer clearly says what you will do, where and for how much.

Employment contract

The contract must be in writing and one signed copy belongs to you. If you don’t understand it, ask for a translation before signing.

• Wage – must not be lower than the minimum wage.
• Working hours – normally a maximum of 40 hours per week.
• Holiday – at least 4 weeks a year, 5 weeks from the age of 33 or if you care for a child.
• Probation period – a maximum of 3 months (6 months for managers). During it, either party can end the employment without giving a reason.
• Notice period – at least 1 month, longer for longer employment.
• Overtime – for work beyond your working hours you are entitled to extra pay or time off in lieu.
• Sick leave (PN) – the employer pays the first 10 days of illness, then the Social Insurance Agency.

What the contract must contain

Under § 43 of the Labour Code: the type of work and a short description, the place of work, the start date and the pay conditions (unless set in a collective agreement). The employer must inform you about other conditions in writing.

Fixed-term or indefinite?

An indefinite contract has no end date. A fixed-term contract ends when the agreed period runs out – the law limits its length and repeated extensions. The employer cannot change your pay or position on their own; changing the contract usually needs your agreement.

Check before signing

• the employer’s name and identification details,
• type of work and place of work,
• agreed pay and working hours,
• probation period and length of employment,
• that you receive your own signed copy.

Never sign a blank contract or a document you do not understand. If part of your pay is promised unofficially in cash, you lose social security cover and it becomes harder to prove your claims.

Payslip: how much will I get?

The contract states the gross wage. You receive the net wage in your account – after deducting contributions and tax.

• Gross wage (hrubá mzda) – the amount in your contract.
• Employee contributions (odvody) – health and social insurance; your employer deducts them from your wage and pays them for you.
• Income tax (daň) – on the wage after contributions, after deducting the tax-free allowance (nezdaniteľná časť).
• Child tax bonus (daňový bonus) – can increase your net wage if you have children.
• Net wage (čistá mzda) – the amount paid into your account.

Contribution and tax rates change every year. Keep your monthly payslips and check on the official websites: Social Insurance Agency (whether contributions are paid), Financial Administration (taxes).

Minimum wage in 2026

• €915 gross per month for full-time work,
• €5.259 per hour (40-hour week),
• for more demanding jobs the minimum is higher – from €915 to €1,495 a month depending on the job’s difficulty level.

Other items on the payslip

• Tax advance – income tax deducted by the employer on your behalf.
• Supplements – e.g. for night work, weekends or public holidays.
• Wage compensation – e.g. for days of paid leave.

The employer must give you a payslip with every pay settlement – usually electronically, unless you agree on paper.

My employer did not pay me

1. Check your contract, payslip and bank statement.
2. Ask the employer in writing to pay the outstanding amount.
3. If they still do not pay, file a complaint with the labour inspectorate or go to court.

The labour inspectorate checks for violations but cannot recover unpaid wages for you – that is for the court. Keep every monthly payslip.

Workers’ rights

• Unpaid wages – wages are due by the end of the following month at the latest. See My employer has not paid me.
• Overtime – keep a record of your own hours (date, from–to).
• Work injury – report it immediately to your supervisor, see a doctor and insist on an injury report.
• Discrimination – equal work deserves equal pay regardless of nationality.
• Keeping documents – your employer must not keep your passport or residence document.
• Ending employment – only in writing: by agreement, by notice or during the probation period.

Breaks and safety

• Break – a shift longer than 6 hours entitles you to 30 minutes for rest and a meal.
• Safe work – the employer must explain the risks (kitchen, factory, construction site) and, where the law requires, provide protective equipment free of charge.
• Supplements – for overtime, night, weekend or holiday work you are entitled to them by law, as a foreigner too.

Where to turn

• National Labour Inspectorate – checks compliance with labour law.
• IOM MIC – free information and advice for foreigners.
• A lawyer – recovering wages or disputes over dismissal.

Keep evidence: your contract, payslips, a record of hours worked and messages with your employer.

If your employer says foreigners have no right to paid leave, supplements or legal protection – that is not true. You have these rights even if your Slovak is weak. Your rights may differ, however, if you work under a short-term agreement (dohoda).

If I lose my job

If you have residence for employment, losing your job may put your residence at risk. Deadlines are short – act immediately.

• Residence – find out at the Foreign Police or MIC IOM how much time you have to find a new job and what you must report.
• ÚPSVaR – whether you can register as a jobseeker depends on your type of residence.
• Health insurance – it does not sort itself out when your employment ends. Contact your insurance company.
• New job – a new employer may need a new confirmation or permit.

Step by step

1. Find out how the job ended – by agreement, notice, immediate termination or expiry. You do not have to sign a termination agreement on the spot; after a notice you may be entitled to severance pay.
2. Report unemployment – with temporary residence for employment, report the start and the end of unemployment to the foreign police within 7 working days.
3. Look for work immediately – not at the end of the protection period. The new employer usually arranges the labour office confirmation, and it takes time.
4. Check unemployment benefit – you must register at the labour office and have at least 730 days of unemployment insurance in the last 4 years. Foreigners must check whether their residence allows registration.
5. Keep your documents – contract, termination document, employment certificate, payslips and residence documents.

Protection period (2026 rules)

If your residence is based on a confirmation of a vacant job, you have – provided you meet the legal conditions – time to find a new job:

• up to 3 months, if you worked less than 2 years,
• up to 6 months, if you worked more than 2 years.

The protection period is not an automatic extension of your residence. Losing your job does not end your residence on the same day, but you must keep to the deadlines.

Working in another EU country

Slovak residence does not give you the right to work in Germany, Czechia or another EU country. You may travel there for up to 90 days within 180 days, but to work you need a permit under that country’s rules. Exceptions apply e.g. to Blue Card holders and EU long-term residents – but they too must meet the conditions of the destination country.

Special situations

• EU long-term residence – makes it easier to get residence in another member state, but does not give an automatic right to work there. The other state may require its own permit.
• Posting by a Slovak employer – temporary posting abroad follows special EU rules. What matters is who the real employer is and where the work is done.

Before you leave

• Find out who will employ you abroad.
• Check residence and work permit requirements in the destination country.
• Check the contract, pay, insurance and accommodation.
• Check how leaving will affect your Slovak residence.

Example: You have residence for employment in Slovakia and a German company offers you a warehouse job. With a Slovak residence card alone you cannot automatically start working there. Being able to travel and being allowed to work are two different things.

Frequently asked questions