Slovenia Employment Law

An employee (both full-time and part-time) is entitled to annual leave for a period of at least 4 weeks. Annual leave shall be determined and used on working days. The minimum length of annual leave depends on the distribution of working days within a week for an individual employee.

A longer period of annual leave may also be allowed by a collective agreement or an employment contract. Public holidays, non-working days, absence from work due to disease or injury, and other cases of justified absence from work shall not be counted in the days of annual leave.

Proportional Part of Annual leave – An employee who enters into an employment relationship or terminates his employment during a calendar year and has a period of employment of less than one year in an individual calendar year shall be entitled to 1/12 annual leave for each month of employment 

In case, an employee concludes an employment contract with another employer during a calendar year, each employer shall ensure the use of a proportional part of the annual leave according to the duration of the employee’s employment with an individual employer in the current calendar year unless the employee and employer agree otherwise.

During the calculation of the proportional part of the annual leave, half of the day shall be rounded to the whole day of the annual leave.

The manner of use of annual leave – Annual leave may be used in several parts, provided that one part lasts for at least 2 weeks. The employer may request the employee to plan the use of at least 2 weeks of annual leave for the current calendar year.

Timing of annual leave – The employer shall ensure the use of annual leave in the current calendar year, and the employee must use at least 2 weeks until the end of the current calendar year, and the rest of the annual leave in agreement with the employer until 30 June of the following year.

If the employee is absent due to illness, injury, maternity leave, or childcare leave, the period for carrying over annual leave shall be 31 March of the year following the year to which the annual leave may be carried over. An employee working abroad may take full use of the annual leave until the end of the following calendar year if so fixed by a collective agreement binding on the employer.

An employee who has the right to use the proportional part of the annual leave in the first year of employment shall acquire the right to use the annual leave for the following calendar year at the beginning of the next calendar year. An employee cannot waive the right to annual leave and any such agreement is invalid. Employees cannot receive payment in exchange for annual leave except in the case of employment contract termination.

Parents of school-age children have the right to use at least 1 week of annual leave during school holidays. Employees also have the right to use 1 day of annual leave on the day fixed by them, which the employees must inform the employer no later than 3 days before the use.

An employee who is old, disabled, or has 60% physical impairment, or takes care of children who are physically or mentally handicapped shall be entitled to 3 additional days of annual leave. An employee is entitled to 1 additional annual leave for every child under the age of 15.

Holiday Pay 

The employee is entitled to holiday pay in an amount that is at least equal to the minimum wage. The holiday pay must be paid to the employee no later than 1 July of the current calendar year. In case of insolvency of the employer, the collective agreement may lay down a subsequent term for paying holiday allowance, but no later than 1 November of the current calendar year.

In case, the employee is only entitled to a proportional part of annual leave, he shall only be entitled to a proportional part of holiday pay. If an employee has a part-time employment contract, he has the right to pay in proportion to the working time for which the employment contract has been concluded. Employment Relations Act of 2013, Art. 159 – 164 and 131.

The father has the right to paternity leave for a duration of 15 calendar days, for which the state provides paternity benefits. The father uses 15 calendar days until the child is three months old.

When two or more live births are born at the same time, paternity leave for the second or subsequent child is extended by an additional ten days. Paternity leave is also extended for a second or further child upon adoption or placement for the purpose of adoption or granting of parental care to a relative of two or more live-born children at the same time or two or more children of different ages until the oldest child is eight years old.

Other persons who actually care for and protect the child after its birth are also entitled to paternity leave (another person and the mother’s spouse, common-law partner or partner in a registered same-sex partnership and the spouse, common-law partner or partner in a registered same-sex partnership of the person who benefits from maternity leave ).

Paternity leave is claimed at the social work center where the mother has registered permanent residence. Paternity leave is claimed after the birth of the child, the right is recognized on the day the application is submitted. Parental Care and Family Benefits Act, Art. 25 – 28.

Each parent is entitled to 160 days of paid parental leave. Additionally, the mother can utilize 260 calendar days of parental leave if the father transfers all 100 calendar days to her, and vice versa for the father. Both parents also have 60 calendar days of parental leave that cannot be transferred.

Parental leave can be used individually by one parent, or both parents can choose to take leave for the same child. However, the parents must mutually agree in writing on the usage of parental leave no later than 30 days before the end of the maternity leave.

There are several extension possibilities for parental leave:

• • • For the birth of twins, an extra 90 days can be availed.
    • For each subsequent child born together, an additional 90 days of parental leave are granted.
    • In the case of a premature baby, parental leave is extended by the number of days that the pregnancy was shorter than 260 days.
    • If the child requires special care and protection, parental leave can be extended for an extra 90 days based on the assessment of the competent medical committee.
    • Parents caring for and raising at least two more children until the end of the first grade of primary school can receive an extension of parental leave: 30 days for three children, and 60 days for four or more children.

The right to parental leave is also granted to adoptive parents and foster parents. Adoptive parents have the right to parental leave until the child reaches 8 years of age, on the same extent and duration as for biological parents. It starts no later than 15 days after the child has been placed for adoption, the adoption is finalized, or parental care has been granted to a relative. However, a person who adopts their spouse’s or common-law partner’s child is not entitled to parental leave.

Foster parents who have a child placed in foster care, and the child has not yet reached the age of 8, are eligible for 30 days of parental leave, which starts no later than 15 days after the child is placed in foster care. Parental Care and Family Benefits Act, Art. 29 – 39. 

Employees are entitled to up to 5 working days per calendar year in order to provide care or support to a family member, or to a person who lives in the same household, for medical reasons that do not entitle the employee to use care leave under health insurance rules. The employee has to provide proof to the employer that they are entitled to this type of absence by submitting a statement explaining the reasons for the absence, along with the details of the person who is in need of significant care and the relevant supporting documents (medical certificate, certificate from social services, etc.).

An employee caring for a child under the age of eight can request part-time from their employer based on an employment contract for a fixed period, during which the employee’s existing employment contract will stay dormant. The same option will be available to carers. The employer should respond to such a proposal from the employee and justify their decision within 15 days. An employee who enters into a part-time employment contract on this basis enjoys the same social security rights as if they worked full-time.

An adoptive parent or a person to whom a child is placed for the purpose of adoption is entitled to parental leave in the same manner as other parents until the completion of the first grade of the primary school of the child in accordance with the regulations governing the primary school. This shall take place no later than 15 days after the placement of the child in the family for the purpose of adoption or after the adoption.

An adoptive parent who has been granted parental care, for a child who has already completed the first grade of primary school and is less than 15 years of age, is entitled to parental leave of 30 days. Parental Care and Family Benefits Act, Art. 39.

An employee is entitled to paid leave of up to 7 working days in an individual calendar year due to personal circumstances, for each of the individual cases of:

• • • • • Own Marriage
        • Death of a spouse or common-law partner or the death of a child adopted child or child of a spouse or common-law partner.
        • Death of parents – father, mother, spouse or common-law partner of the parent, adoptive parent
        • Serious accident suffered by the employee;
        • Escorting a child. A first grader to school on the first day of school.

In all the above cases, an employee shall have the right to be absent from work for at least one working day. Employment Relations Act of 2013, Art. 165.

An employee is entitled to paid leave from work for the purpose of blood donation. The employer can claim compensation from the Health Insurance Institute. Employment Relations Act of 2013, Art. 167.

Employees who participate in an education or training course are entitled to paid leave from work on days when they take exams for the first time. In case the education or training course is in the interests of the employer, in such case the collective agreement or employment contract may provide for a longer period of paid leave which shall be paid on the basis of the average monthly wage rate which an employee earned during the past 3 months. Employment Relations Act of 2013, Art. 170 – 171.

An employee is entitled to unpaid leave for the performance of a nonprofessional function to which he has been elected at direct national elections, at elections to the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia, a function or obligation to which he has been appointed by the court, etc. Employment Relations Act of 2013, Art. 168.

An employee shall be entitled to 5 days of paid absence per calendar year for employees who are victims of domestic violence so they may manage their personal affairs, arrange protection, manage legal matters and other institutional procedures, and deal with the consequences of domestic violence.

The employee is required to provide the employer with a certificate from the social services with an assessment of the risk of domestic violence, proof of having reported the instance or instances of violence to the police, and proof of making use of measures to ensure the employee’s safety. An employee who is a victim of violence may also propose to work part-time based on a fixed-term employment contract.