You need a part-time helper, a seasonal worker or a student in Slovakia — and you are not sure a full employment contract is required. That is exactly what dohody (work agreements outside an employment relationship) are for. We break down all three types: hour limits, wage supplements, the 24-hour rule — and where the contribution savings are real versus a myth. Figures are for 2026, and every rule comes with its paragraph of the Labour Code (Zákonník práce, ZP).
In short
- Dohody are an exception, not a substitute for an employment contract: only result-defined work or occasional activity (§223 ZP).
- Three types: work performance agreement (350 hours a year), work activity agreement (10 hours a week; seasonal variant — 520 hours a year), student work agreement (20 hours a week on average, under 26).
- Cancel a shift less than 24 hours ahead and you owe at least 30 % of the agreed pay (§223a ZP).
- Contribution savings exist in three cases only: students, pensioners (a €200 monthly allowance) and irregular pay. A regular person with monthly pay contributes the same as under an employment contract.
- Everything in writing, or the agreement is invalid.
What dohody are and when they may be used
Work agreements (dohody o prácach vykonávaných mimo pracovného pomeru) may be signed only as an exception: for work defined by its result, or for occasional activity defined by the type of work (§223 par. 1 ZP). The one type free of the exceptionality condition is the seasonal agreement (same provision).
It is still an employment-law relationship: the person works under the employer's instructions, just with fewer guarantees and less paperwork. Courts hear dohoda disputes the same way as employment disputes (§223 par. 6 ZP).
Two limits people forget. A dohoda cannot cover work protected by copyright law (§223 par. 5 ZP) — part four of this series covers that. And it will not save you when the work is in substance permanent and directed — that calls for an employment contract, as part three explains.
The three types and their limits
| Hour limit | Maximum duration | |
|---|---|---|
| Work performance agreement (dohoda o vykonaní práce) | 350 hours a year — combined across all such agreements with one employer | 12 months |
| Work activity agreement (dohoda o pracovnej činnosti) | 10 hours a week | 12 months |
| — its seasonal variant | 520 hours a year; average week no more than 40 hours (measured over the agreement, up to 4 months) | 8 months |
| Student work agreement (dohoda o brigádnickej práci študentov) | 20 hours a week on average over the whole agreement | 12 months |
Anchors: §226, §228a, §227 ZP.
| For what | With whom | |
|---|---|---|
| Work performance | Result-defined work — a specific task | Anyone |
| Work activity | Occasional activity defined by type of work | Anyone |
| Seasonal variant | Only seasonal work from a closed list | Anyone |
| Student work | Occasional activity | Secondary-school pupil or full-time university student under 26 |
You cannot dodge the 350-hour limit with several agreements — the hours add up (§226 par. 1 ZP). Under the seasonal variant, hours of all seasonal agreements with the same employer add up too (§228a par. 2 ZP).
How they end. The employer may withdraw from a work performance agreement if the task is not done on time (§226 par. 3 ZP). The other types end by mutual agreement or unilaterally, no reason needed, with a 15-day notice period — and it runs from the day of delivery, not from the first of the month (§228 par. 2, §228a par. 4 ZP). Pay the remuneration by the end of the month after the month the work was done (§228a par. 5 ZP).
The student agreement
Status is proven by a certificate — an integral part of the agreement (§228 par. 2 ZP).
A common myth: "student agreements are for bachelor students only." Wrong: the law says a full-time university student — bachelor's, master's and full-time doctoral studies all count until the person turns 26 (§227 par. 1 ZP). Work may run until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 26.
The confusion grows from another rule: a secondary-school graduate and a graduate of the first degree of university keep student status until 31 October of the same year — the whole summer after graduation they can still work under a student agreement (status proven by the graduation document). Master's graduates get no such grace period.
What counts as seasonal work
The list is closed — Annex 1b of the ZP, five areas:
- agriculture — growing, harvesting, sorting and storing the listed fruit, grapes, vegetables, potatoes, hops, seed corn and planting stock;
- tourism — passenger transport on waterways, sports equipment rental, camps, artificial water areas, cable cars and ski lifts, restaurants, accommodation;
- food industry — processing the produce from the first point;
- forestry — planting stock, establishing, restoring and tending forests;
- civil aviation — airport operations and ground handling.
Aviation — the fifth area — gets forgotten all the time, but it is in the law.
Rules common to all dohody
In writing only, or the agreement is invalid; one copy goes to the worker (§226 par. 2, §228a par. 3 ZP). Working time — at most 12 hours per 24-hour period, 8 for minors (§223 par. 2 ZP). Overtime and on-call duty are banned (same provision). Working-time records are mandatory: start and end of each stretch for activity agreements, daily duration for result-defined work (§224 par. 2 ZP). Breaks and rest follow the general ZP rules, as for employees (§223 par. 2 → §91–95 ZP).
The predictable schedule rule
The most frequently broken rule (§223a ZP). The employer must:
- state in writing the days and time slots in which work may be required;
- announce a specific shift at least 24 hours ahead;
- pay at least 30 % of the agreed pay for a shift cancelled later than that.
Demanding work outside the written slots is off the table — the worker may refuse, and that breaks nothing (§223a par. 3 ZP). Exceptions: the schedule is set in advance under the general rules of §90 ZP, the worker plans their own time, or the average week stays within 3 hours (§223a par. 5 ZP).
In practice: "I'll call when I need you" does not work with a dohoda. Cancel a shift the evening before — pay a third.
What a dohoda worker has and lacks
| Has | Lacks |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage — from €5.259 per hour (§223 par. 2 → §119 ZP) | Annual leave — the leave provisions do not apply; it can only be granted voluntarily in the agreement text |
| Supplements: Saturday at least 50 % of the minimum hourly wage, Sunday 100 %, night 40 % (risk work 50 %), arduous conditions 20 % (§122a–124 ZP) | Severance and retirement allowance |
| For each holiday hour — the agreed pay plus a supplement of at least the minimum hourly wage, i.e. + €5.259 per hour (§223 par. 2 ZP) | Probation period |
| 30 % compensation for a late-cancelled shift | Overtime and on-call duty |
| Breaks and rest under the general rules (§91–95 ZP) | |
| Occupational safety on a par with employees |
Sick pay deserves its own note, because people get it wrong in both directions. A worker under an ordinary dohoda with regular monthly pay carries sickness insurance like an employee: the employer pays the first 14 days, then the Social Insurance Agency takes over (Act No. 461/2003 Coll., §4; Act No. 462/2003 Coll., §2). Students, pensioners using the allowance and workers with irregular pay have no sickness insurance — their illness goes unpaid.
With regular work the supplements add up: a Sunday shift costs the employer at least double at the minimum-wage level.
Contributions: where the savings are and are not
The salary calculator gives exact numbers for your pay; here is the principle.
An ordinary dohoda with regular pay. Contributions match an employment contract one to one: 9.4 % social and 5 % health from the worker, 25.2 % and 11 % from the employer (Act No. 461/2003 Coll.; health rates — Act No. 580/2004 Coll., §12 and §38ezk: the employer's 11 % is a temporary rate for 2026–2027). Zero savings.
An ordinary dohoda with irregular pay (a one-off payment, or less often than monthly). Sickness and unemployment insurance drop away: 7 % remains for the worker and 22.8 % for the employer (Act No. 461/2003 Coll., §4 par. 2). Health insurance is paid as usual.
Students and pensioners — the real allowance. The contribution allowance (odvodová odpočítateľná položka) frees €200 a month from pension contributions (§138a of Act No. 461/2003 Coll.):
| Monthly income | Worker | Employer |
|---|---|---|
| Up to €200 | 0 % | 1.05 % |
| Above €200 | 7 % of the excess | 1.05 % of the whole plus 21.75 % of the excess |
Students and pensioners pay no health insurance on dohoda income at all — the law exempts it (§10b of Act No. 580/2004 Coll.).
The allowance works with one agreement only — pick an employer and hand them a written designation (§227a of Act No. 461/2003 Coll.). Working two jobs — pick one.
The seasonal agreement gets a higher allowance — €762 a month in 2026: the law sets it at half the average wage from two years back (§138b of Act No. 461/2003 Coll.).
How to choose the type
Result-defined, one-off or project work — the work performance agreement. Classic cases: translate a text, paint a room, assemble furniture, run an event. 350 hours a year is roughly two months of full-time work — no good for a regular part-time job.
A small regular part-time job — the work activity agreement. 10 hours a week is, say, four evenings of two and a half hours: cleaning, social media, covering the till.
A student — almost always the student agreement: double the limit, the €200 allowance and no health contributions on this income.
A season in agriculture, tourism, food industry, forestry or at an airport — the seasonal agreement: 520 hours a year versus 10 hours a week is a different scale altogether.
The most common mistakes
- Wrapping permanent work into a dohoda. 350 hours a year and 10 hours a week are hard caps, and working-time records are mandatory (§224 ZP) — that is exactly how inspections catch the overrun. Permanent directed work belongs in an employment contract (§1 par. 3 ZP).
- No written schedule information. Nearly everyone skips the duty to state possible days and hours — and it costs 30 % of pay for every late-cancelled shift (§223a ZP).
- Unpaid weekend, night and holiday supplements. A dohoda worker is entitled to them — counted from the minimum hourly wage (§223 par. 2 ZP).
- Claiming the €200 allowance with two employers at once. Not allowed (§227a of Act No. 461/2003 Coll.) — it surfaces when the Social Insurance Agency reconciles the data.
- Expecting contribution savings where there are none. With regular pay an ordinary person contributes as under an employment contract; only students, pensioners and irregular pay save.
- A student agreement signed without the status certificate. The certificate is an integral part of the agreement (§228 par. 2 ZP); without it the agreement is flawed.