Employing foreign nationals

What it means

Employing a third-country national means two procedures at once: residence and access to the labour market. EU citizens have free access and need only the ordinary registrations of a Slovak employee.

The employer has its own duties: report the vacancy, notify the labour office of the start and the end, and keep copies of the residence and permit documents throughout the employment.

Direct employment of a foreign national differs from posting and temporary agency work. There the employer is the foreign company or the agency, and the Slovak client has no contract with the worker. It is not free of duties, though: it must check that the supplier employs people legally, or it risks a sanction for a breach someone else committed.

How it works in practice

Preparation includes the contract or a job promise, proof of accommodation, education documents with a certified translation and often an apostille. It takes weeks.

Once they start, payroll is the same as for a local employee: registration before work begins, contributions, health insurance and the same pay conditions as a comparable role.

For an employee from a third country we also track in payroll the expiry dates of the residence permit and the work permit. The client is reminded well in advance, because renewal must be applied for before expiry, and without a valid document the employee may not work for a single day.

What to watch out for

Illegal employment is among the most heavily sanctioned areas: fines are large and a company can be barred from public procurement and grants for years.

For a foreign national, termination of employment is more than deregistering from the insurers. The labour office must be notified within a short deadline, and since residence is often tied to a particular job, changing employer can mean a new procedure. An employer that misses the notice is fined even if the employee simply left without a word.