European Foundation
for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions

The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist
in the development of better social, employment and
work-related policies

EU PolicyWatch

Database of national-level policy measures

Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Factsheet for measure SK-2021-19/2968 – measures in Slovakia

Support during short-time work - insurance fund to finance support

Podpora v čase skrátenej práce - poistný fond na financovanie podpor

Country Slovakia , applies nationwide
Time period Open ended, started on 04 May 2021
Context Restructuring Support Instruments
Type Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category Measures to prevent social hardship
– Protection of vulnerable groups (beyond employment support)
Author Rastislav Bednarik, Daniela Keselova and Miroslava Kordosova (IVPR) and Eurofound
Measure added 02 November 2022 (updated 04 November 2022)

Background information

Law no. 215/2021 (effectiveness from 1 January 2022) introduces a tool for providing support for a legal claim intended for the payment of compensation for the employee's wages at a time when the employer cannot assign work to the employees in the originally agreed scope and thus occurs the so-called “short-time work”.

The employer pays insurance contributions for the defined range of employees to finance support during short-time work to the basic unemployment insurance fund (unemployment insurance of 1% will be divided into two halves, one of which will go to the financing of this support; in addition, the employer will pay insurance contributions of 0.5% of the assessment base also to the working seniors and disabled persons designated by him, for whom unemployment insurance otherwise it does not apply). From this fund, office of labour, social affairs and family provides the employer with money for payment of support during reduced work by the employer.

Content of measure

The support during short-time work is an instrument of passive labour market policy, the essence of which is the provision of legally entitled financial support to the employer in the event of the limitation of his activity due to an external factor (such as an extraordinary situation, state of emergency, extraordinary circumstance or circumstances of force majeure). The condition for applying the claim is that the employer cannot assign work to at least one third of the employees to the extent of at least 10% of the established weekly working time. The support serves to cover part of the employer's costs for compensation of the employee's wages in the employment relationship.

For each hour of this obstacle to work on the part of the employer, support is provided in the amount of 60% of the average hourly earnings of the employee, at most in the amount of 60% of 1/174 times the average wage of the employee in the economy of the Slovak Republic for the calendar year two years preceding the calendar year in which support is provided. The period of provision of support is a maximum of six months in total during 24 consecutive months.

Use of measure

Increased revenues of the public administration (Social Insurance Agency) - employers´ insurance contributions for pensioners or disabled people - total (in millions of euros) - in 2022 it is €5.944, in 2023 it is €6.201 and in 2024 it is 6.510.

Estimated number of supported employees – in 2022 it is 6,487 persons, in 2023 it is 6,499 persons, and in 2024 it is 6,453 persons.

Public administration expenses (Social insurance - benefits during short-time work) - total in millions of euros - in 2022 it is €20.323, in 2023 it is €21.336 and in 2024 it is €22.370.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Employees in standard employment
Older people in employment (aged 55+)
Disabled workers
Applies to all businesses Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
Company / Companies
Public employment service
Social insurance
Companies
Employer
National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • Social partners jointly
  • Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The social partners participated in the creation of the measure through the tripartite and negotiations of the Economic and Social Council of Slovakia. Employees' representatives' Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic, employers' representatives such as the Association of Employers' Unions and Associations, the National Union of Employers, the Association of Cities and Towns of Slovakia took part.

The social partners issued opinions and comments on the draft law. They published them at a meeting of the Economic and Social Council of Slovakia

Views and reactions

The social partners supported the adoption of the proposed systemic law on support during short-time work. However, they expressed several fundamental comments on the draft law. They asked for instance an exact but at the same time sufficiently broad definition of the conditions for its activation. This definition should include both the current situation - an emergency and exceptional state, but also the factor of an extraordinary circumstance.

Furthermore, self-employed persons also applied for assistance in the scheme, but this was not accepted. Their comments were partially accepted after discussion at the plenary session of the Economic and Social Council of Slovakia.

The social partners demanded that the law introduce a guarantee that would prevent the transfer of funds intended for short-time work benefits to other insurance funds. Maintaining such a surplus would sustain jobs at a time of sectoral or global crisis, would not burden the state budget and would not increase the National debt.

The social partners finally agreed to the legislative amendment and the effectiveness of the law.

Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2022), Support during short-time work - insurance fund to finance support, measure SK-2021-19/2968 (measures in Slovakia), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/SK-2021-19_2968.html

Share

Eurofound publications based on EU PolicyWatch

30 January 2023

 

Measures to lessen the impact of the inflation and energy crisis on citizens

Governments across the EU continue to implement policies to support citizens and businesses in the face of rising food and energy prices caused by the COVID-19 crisis and intensified by the war in Ukraine. This article summarises the policy responses as reported in Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch database from January to September 2022.

Article

12 September 2022

 

First responses to cushion the impact of inflation on citizens

Although the worldwide pandemic situation had already disrupted supply chains and triggered increases in energy and food prices in 2021, the situation deteriorated in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Article

12 September 2022

 

Policies to support EU companies affected by the war in Ukraine

This article summarises the first policy responses that governments across the EU have started to implement to support companies affected by the rising prices, and those with commercial ties to Ukraine, Russia or Belarus.

Article

5 July 2022

 

Policies to support refugees from Ukraine

This article summarises the first policy responses of EU Member States, including those of the social partners and other civil society actors, enabling refugees to exercise their rights under the Temporary Protection Directive.

Article

Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.