Employment contract in Slovakia 2026: probation, dismissal, severance

You are hiring your first employee in Slovakia — or signing an employment contract yourself — and want to know what the contract may contain, what it may not, and what happens when it goes wrong. We have collected the rules of the Labour Code (Zákonník práce, ZP) that most often decide a dispute: contract duration, probation, dismissal, severance and the minimum wage by work difficulty levels. All figures are for 2026, and every rule comes with its paragraph.

In short

• A fixed-term contract runs for two years at most and can be extended twice at most — otherwise it turns open-ended by itself (§48 ZP).
• Probation: up to 3 months (6 for managers), in writing and in advance only (§45 ZP).
• Ending by agreement can happen on any day, no notice period — but severance depends on the reason written into the agreement (§60, §76 ZP).
• Severance under an agreement is one step higher than under dismissal — that difference is what the bargaining is usually about (§76 ZP).
• The minimum wage follows the work difficulty level: from €915 to €1,495 a month in 2026 (§120 ZP).
• Sick leave: the employer pays the first 14 days — 25 %, then 55 % of the daily base (Act No. 462/2003 Coll.).

What an employment relationship is

Classic employment: a person works personally, follows the employer's instructions and acts in the employer's name. In return the law gives them the full set of guarantees — at least the minimum wage, annual leave, sick pay and protection against dismissal.

The law calls this kind of work — permanent, directed by someone else — dependent work (závislá práca), and it fits only an employment contract or, as an exception, work agreements. You cannot dress it up as a civil or commercial contract (§1 par. 2–3 ZP). A contractor arrangement will not replace it either — part three of this series explains why.

Contract duration

Open-ended (na neurčitý čas) is the default. No duration in the contract, no written fixed term, or the conditions below breached? The contract counts as open-ended (§48 par. 1 ZP). That is not a fine but a direct legal consequence: the employee gains permanent status and can only be dismissed on general grounds.

A fixed term (na určitú dobu) lasts two years at most. Within those two years you can extend or re-sign it no more than twice — three consecutive contracts at most (§48 par. 2 ZP). Less than six months passed between two fixed-term contracts with the same employer? The second one counts as a continuation of the first — a break does not reset the counter (§48 par. 3 ZP).

Beyond two years, or more than two extensions, only four reasons work — and each must be written into the contract itself (§48 par. 4–5 ZP):

• you are covering for an employee on maternity, paternity or parental leave, on sick leave, or released for a public or trade-union role;
• your workload spiked temporarily — for no more than eight months in a calendar year;
• the work is seasonal: it recurs every year and lasts no more than eight months;
• a collective agreement says so.

A separate exception covers university teachers, creative research staff, rectors and vice-rectors — their fixed-term contracts follow special rules (§48 par. 6 ZP).

Probation

There is no minimum — a week or two is fine. Don't need probation at all? Just leave it out of the contract. The half-term rule only ever shortens the cap (§45 par. 1–2 ZP):

For managers the cap in the last two rows is 6 months.

Three rules people trip over most often (§45 ZP):

1. In writing and in advance only. Probation lives in the employment contract, so agree on it no later than the first working day. Added later, it is invalid (§45 par. 4).
2. It cannot be extended — the law says so outright (§45 par. 1). One exception: the employee misses a full shift for a reason on their side — illness, say — and probation stretches by one day per missed shift (§45 par. 3). Annual leave does not count.
3. A repeated fixed-term contract comes with no probation (§45 par. 5). The person has been tested once already.

Either side may end the relationship during probation: in writing, no reason needed, normally with three days' notice (§72 ZP). Protection covers only pregnant employees, mothers until the end of the ninth month after birth, breastfeeding women and fathers on paternity leave — the employer may part with them only in exceptional cases unrelated to their condition, and must justify it in writing, or the termination is invalid.

That protection works only against the employer's unilateral move. Parting by mutual agreement is possible even during probation and even with a pregnant employee: two people sign an agreement, and the protective rules do not touch it.

Dismissal: notice periods

The notice period (výpovedná doba) starts on the first day of the month after the notice is delivered and ends on the last day of the relevant month (§62 par. 7 ZP).

You can agree on longer periods; shorter ones are off the table (§62 par. 2–6 ZP).

The employee walks away without working out the notice period? The employer may claim compensation — at most the average monthly earnings multiplied by the length of the notice period, and only if the contract said so in writing beforehand (§62 par. 8 ZP). With a two-month notice period that is up to two average salaries — a common myth says the cap is always one.

Ending by agreement — no notice period

Both sides agree, and the relationship ends on the day they picked (§60 par. 1 ZP). No notice period at all. It is a separate way of ending employment, not a kind of dismissal, so:

• protective periods do not apply — the ban on dismissing a pregnant employee or someone on sick leave concerns unilateral dismissal; by agreement you can part with anyone;
• no reason needs to be written — with two exceptions: the employee asks for it, or the reason falls within the table below (§60 par. 2 ZP);
• the agreement goes on paper, and the employer must hand one copy to the employee (§60 par. 2–3 ZP). The law does not expressly void an oral agreement, but you will never prove what it said — sign paper only.

Whether severance is due under an agreement depends on the reason for parting:

The first three rows are the organisational grounds (§63 par. 1 (a) and (b) ZP): the job disappears by the employer's decision, not through the employee's fault. The fourth is health (§63 par. 1 (c) ZP), and severance follows the same logic.

One detail matters: the reason is organisational but the agreement doesn't say so? You will have to prove your right to severance. The employee may demand that the reason be written in — and always should. The employer, conversely, sometimes benefits from leaving it out; check this before you sign.

On bargaining: severance under an agreement is one step higher than under dismissal. An employee with three years' tenure gets one average salary on dismissal and two under an agreement. The employer gains an immediate parting without a notice period and without the risk of litigating the dismissal. That difference is what the deal is usually about.

Severance pay (odstupné)

It is due when the relationship ends because of company closure or relocation, redundancy, or loss of capacity. It is measured in average monthly earnings (§76 par. 1–2 ZP):

A separate case: the employee cannot work due to a workplace injury, an occupational disease or reaching the maximum permitted exposure — then at least ten times the average monthly earnings, unless the injury came from the employee's own proven breach of safety rules (§76 par. 3 ZP).

Rejoined the same employer before the severance-covered period ran out? You repay a proportional part — unless you agree otherwise (§76 par. 4 ZP).

Retirement allowance (odchodné)

At least one average monthly salary — on the first termination of employment after the employee becomes entitled to an old-age pension, or to a disability pension with a loss of working capacity above 70 % (§76a par. 1 ZP). For early retirement — if the pension was granted on an application filed before the termination or within ten days after it (§76a par. 2 ZP).

The condition people keep getting wrong: what you must file is the pension application itself — before the employment ends or within ten working days after. It goes to the Social Insurance Agency (Sociálna poisťovňa), not to the employer. The law wants no separate paper for the employer — but the employer won't learn about your application on its own, so bring the confirmation yourself.

Only one employer ever pays the allowance: once received, the right is gone with any later employer (§76a par. 3 ZP). It is also off the table when employment ends summarily — for a serious breach of discipline or a conviction for an intentional crime (§76a par. 4, §68 par. 1 ZP).

Annual leave — briefly

The base is 4 weeks; 5 weeks go to anyone who is 33 or older by the end of the year and anyone permanently caring for a child; teachers get 8 weeks (§103 ZP). The employer schedules leave and gives at least 14 days' notice; if last year's leave is not scheduled by 30 June, the right to schedule passes to the employee (§111, §113 ZP). While you work, the basic 4 weeks cannot be cashed out — the unused balance is paid only when you leave (§116 ZP). The details — carry-over, maternity, edge cases — are in the series article on annual leave.

Ways of working within an employment contract

Part-time (kratší pracovný čas). Less than the standard week; pay is proportional, and in every other right the employee may not be shortchanged (§49 ZP). Six months in and want to switch to full time or back? Ask in writing — the employer must give a written, reasoned answer within a month; companies under 50 staff get up to three months (§48b ZP).

Job sharing (delené pracovné miesto). Two or more part-timers split one position and divide the time and tasks among themselves (§49a ZP). Each needs a written agreement.

Home working (domácka práca) and telework (telepráca). The regime kicks in when someone works from home regularly — the whole week or part of it; telework is the same thing done through information technology with regular data transfers (§52 par. 1 ZP). Occasional home office by arrangement is not this regime (§52 par. 2 ZP). The regime itself brings duties (§52 par. 8 ZP):

• the employer provides and maintains the equipment and software;
• the employee uses their own gear by arrangement? The employer reimburses demonstrably increased costs;
• the employer makes sure the person does not end up isolated from the team.

There is also the right to disconnect: during rest periods, holidays and annual leave the employee does not have to pick up the phone or open work chats, and cannot be punished for it (§52 par. 10 ZP).

Temporary assignment to another company (dočasné pridelenie). The bread and butter of licensed temp agencies; a regular employer can do it too — but only for objective operational reasons and no earlier than three months into the employment (§58 par. 1 ZP). The cap is 24 months; the assigned employee may not be paid worse than a comparable employee at the host company (§58 ZP). The main risk: breach the limits, and an open-ended employment relationship springs up between the employee and the host company by itself (§58 par. 7 ZP). If you work through agencies, give this topic its own review.

Work difficulty levels and the minimum wage

No collective agreement setting pay? Then assign each position one of six difficulty levels and pay at least that level's minimum; a month's pay came in lower — top up the difference (§120 par. 1 ZP). The level follows the most demanding work the person actually does — not the job title, not the diploma (§120 par. 3 ZP).

The law sets hourly rates to three decimal places — that is the rule of §120 par. 4 ZP, not a typo. With a shorter standard week the rates rise proportionally: from €5.429 at 38.75 hours and €5.610 at 37.5 hours on level 1 (§120 par. 5 ZP). To see what is left after deductions, use the salary calculator.

What the levels mean in substance (characteristics — Annex 1 ZP; the job examples are our guidance, the law lists none):

The current annex has no education requirements. Old PDF versions with wording like "primary school is sufficient" still float around online, official sites included — don't trust them.

Underrating the level means underpaying. The labour inspectorate (inšpektorát práce) can fine the employer up to €100,000 for it (§19 par. 2 of Act No. 125/2006 Coll.), and the wage difference must be paid retroactively (§120 par. 1 ZP).

What else the employer owes

Meals. The employer must feed staff in all shifts — in its own canteen, someone else's, via gastrolístok meal vouchers or in money; the right belongs to anyone working more than four hours in a shift (§152 par. 1–2 ZP). No canteen? The employee picks between vouchers and cash, and the choice binds them for 12 months (§152 par. 7 ZP). 2026 figures: a voucher is worth at least €6.98 (75 % of the €9.30 meal allowance), the cash contribution runs from €3.84 to €5.12 a day (§152 par. 3–4, 8 ZP; Notice No. 280/2025 Coll.). Vouchers are electronic by default; paper is allowed only where electronic ones cannot be used near the workplace (§152 par. 4 ZP).

Recreation and children's sport. A company with more than 49 staff must, on request, refund an employee with 24+ months' tenure 55 % of recreation costs — up to €275 a year (§152a ZP). The same duty covers sports activities of a child under 18 in a registered sports organisation: the same 55 % and €275 a year in total for all children (§152b ZP).

Sick pay. From 2026 the employer pays the first 14 days of incapacity (previously 10); then the Social Insurance Agency takes over (§8 of Act No. 462/2003 Coll., §37 of Act No. 461/2003 Coll.):

Business trips. Per-diems and mileage rates come from implementing acts under Act No. 283/2002 Coll.:

Per-diems apply from 1 December 2025 (Notice No. 280/2025 Coll.), mileage from 1 January 2026 (Notice No. 340/2025 Coll.). Using a personal car needs the employer's consent; fuel is refunded based on the consumption in the vehicle's registration document (§7 of Act No. 283/2002 Coll.).

Abroad, base rates per country apply — for example Austria and Germany €45 a day, Czechia CZK 600 (Measure of the Finance Ministry No. 401/2012 Coll.). The rate follows time spent abroad: under 6 hours a quarter, 6–12 hours a half, over 12 hours the full rate. Drivers and crews in international road transport get higher special rates in 31 countries from 30 January 2026 (§1a of the same measure, added by Measure No. 9/2026 Coll.).

The most common mistakes

1. The reason for extending a fixed-term contract never makes it into the contract itself. A reason "in HR's head" does not count — the contract turns open-ended (§48 par. 1, 5 ZP).
2. Probation added after the first working day — it is entirely invalid (§45 par. 4 ZP).
3. Occasional home office gets confused with the regular home-working regime — or the reverse: permanent remote work with no regime agreed and no costs reimbursed (§52 ZP).
4. The difficulty level gets assigned "by job title". A cleaner who also handles purchasing is no longer level 1 (§120 par. 3 ZP).
5. Leave gets paid out instead of granted — forbidden while the employment lasts (§116 par. 3 ZP).
6. The pension application misses the ten-working-day window after termination — and the right to odchodné is gone (§76a ZP). The employer has no duty to remind you.