1  Terms and Conditions of Employment

1.1  What are the main sources of employment law?

The main sources of employment law in the Republic of Slovenia include the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, laws and executive acts, collective agreements (on the company and industrial level), agreements between works councils and employers and general acts of the employer (adopted unilaterally by the employer). The Employment Relationships Act (hereinafter referred to as the ERA) is considered to be an umbrella document regulating employment relationships entered into on the basis of employment contracts. Also, case law, namely decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia and judgments of Higher labour and social courts are gaining their importance and are becoming one of the main sources of employment law.

1.2 What types of worker are protected by employment law? How are different types of worker distinguished?

Employment law offers wide general protection to all employees and that is one of the main characteristics of Slovene employment law. Certain categories of employees are, due to their weakness and sensitivity, entitled to additional protection, namely: women; employees due to their pregnancy and parenthood; employees under the age of ] 8; disabled persons; employees on sick leave; and older employees.

1.3 Do contracts of employment have to be in writing? If not, do employees have to be provided with specific information in writing?

Employment contracts shall be concluded in a written form.

If the question of the existence of an employment relationship arises due to the fact that the employee was not handed a written employment contract, it shall be assumed that an employment relationship exists if the elements of an employment relationship exist.

1.4  Are any terms implied into contracts of employment?

There are certain obligatory elements that must be included in each employment contract. For certain obligatory components, the ERA permits just a reference to a certain law, collective agreement or employer’s general act. The obligatory elements include, for example, the title of the position or type of work with a brief description of the work, the place of work, the duration of the employment contract, a stipulation stating whether the employment contract is for part or full-time work, a stipulation on daily or weekly working time, a stipulation on the amount of the basic wage and a stipulation on other components of the employee’s wage, payment period, payment day and manner of payment of the wage, a stipulation on the annual leave and/or the manner of determining the annual leave, the length of the periods of notice, and acts binding the employer.

1.5  Are any minimum employment terms and conditions set down by law that employers have to observe?

Employers have to observe all the terms and conditions set forth by the ERA. There are many minimum standards that must be observed, for example: the maximum amount of working hours per week; the minimum amount of basic salary (set forth in a separate law); the minimum hours of daily and weekly rest; the minimum days of paid annual leave; the minimum amount of holiday allowance; and the minimum notice periods, etc. The employment contract and/or collective agreement may lay down only those rights which are more favourable for the employees than those laid down in the ERA.

1.6  To what extent are terms and conditions of employment agreed through collective bargaining? Does bargaining usually take place at company or industry level?

Collective bargaining takes place on both company and industrial level, but recently the industrial collective bargaining has intensified and, since 2009, extended validity has been adopted for many of the collective agreements. The extent to which the terms and conditions of employment are agreed through collective bargaining differs from industry to industry, and from company to company and depends on the negotiation skills of the representatives of trade unions.

It is important to understand that not all employers are bound by the collective agreements and therefore not all employment contracts are subject to the collective agreements.

SOURCE: Employment & labour Law 2012, ICLG

Authors: Miha Mušič, Vladka Plohl