Employment. How can people from Ukraine get a job in Slovakia?

The minimum monthly salary is 700 euros.
Worker
Foto: Tiger Lily / Pexels

27. March 2023

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Legal residence

In order to get a job, you need to have one of the forms of legal residence in Slovakia:

  • Temporary refuge
  • Temporary residence for the purpose of work
  • Permanent residence
  • Asylum

You can find more information in the article Legal residence in Slovakia.

How can I find a job?

Employers and employment agencies usually publish their job offers through the Slovak Labor Office and on web portals.

Special documents required for some jobs

In some professions, special documents are required, such as a health certificate, hygiene minimum certificate, driver’s card.

Your future employer will tell you what documents you need.

In the case of highly qualified or regulated professions (for example in the field of healthcare), you will also need a certified document of your education, which you obtained outside Slovakia. Contact the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, which performs nostrification – recognition of education documents.

If the job position requires proof of integrity with an extract from the criminal record, this can be temporarily replaced by an affidavit of integrity in the case of citizens of Ukraine.

If you are applying for a teaching position, it will be necessary for you to complete a psychological examination and submit a psychological assessment of competence not older than one year. Be patient, due to the lack of clinical psychologists, the waiting list for an examination appointment is quite long, in some cases it can take even several weeks.

Teaching jobs

If you are interested in a teaching job, you will have to undergo an examination by a psychologist of your choice and get an opinion on the psychological competence of the teaching staff. The opinion must not be older than one year. The price for this service is approximately EUR 80.

Due to the lack of clinical psychologists, the waiting time for an examination appointment is quite long, in some cases even several weeks.

You can apply for a teaching job via a form on the webpage of the Ministry of Education of SR – Ukraine.

Minimum monthly wage in Slovakia

In 2023, the minimum gross monthly salary is set by law at 700 euros. The minimum gross hourly wage is 4,023 euros.

Work on public holidays

Employees in Slovakia are entitled to rest on non-working days and public holidays. A large number of employees do not have to go to work on these days.

You can find the list of non-working days and public holidays in the Calendar.

The employer can order you to work on these days only in exceptional cases and only in accordance with the Labour Code. Only necessary jobs that cannot be postponed to other days can be carried out, e.g.:

  • Public transport (driver, dispatcher, technician, …)
  • Maintenance (roads, electricity, sewage, …)
  • Health care
  • Restaurants
  • Services (petrol stations, entertainment centres, press, …)
  • Agriculture (animal feeding, processing, …)
  • Protection (gate house, security service, …)
  • Continuous operations (factories, power plants, …)

Public holiday surcharge

The employer is obliged to pay you a surcharge of at least 100 percent of your average hourly wage for hours worked during public holidays. You can find more information on the webpage Podnikajte.sk.

Rights of employees

You have the same rights as EU citizens, including a maximum 40-hour working week, statutory minimum wage or higher, holiday entitlement, meal allowance, night and weekend pay, health and social insurance.You can find more information on the webpage Podnikajte.sk.

Be careful when choosing a job and make sure that the conditions in the employment contract are in accordance with the Labour Code, that you understand them and that you have enough information about the employer. The employment contract must be concluded in writing.

You can find more about your rights on the page Legal work, legal employment .

If you feel that your employer is not complying with the obligations arising from your employment contract or labour legislation, you can file a complaint with the National Labor Inspectorate.

Beware of unsafe and unfair practices

Never hand over your passport or ID card. The employer can inspect your personal documents or make a copy of them to verify your identity. However, he may not take your identity document.

In the description of the job offered, the employer must provide you with comprehensible information about the job, your salary, place and time of work.

Do not sign an employment contract that you do not understand or that is written in a language that you do not understand.

Never pay any fees for employment services or before starting a job. According to the law, companies are not allowed to ask for any money from employees.

Never accept a job offer that does not clearly state the salary. A job position for which you are promised only accommodation and food is suspicious.

Your obligations towards the Office

As an emigrant from Ukraine with the status of temporary refuge, according to the law, you are not entitled to unemployment allowance and you have no rights and obligations towards the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. However, you can use free counselling services and educational activities of the Office. Read more.

Job search assistance provided by the state

The Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family carries out the program “We help expatriates (Pomáhame odídencom)” and you, as an emigrant from Ukraine, can use this support free of charge.

Job search assistance

The Office will provide you with advice on job opportunities, help with the preparation of documents necessary for the job search and support you in communication with a potential employer.

Educational courses

The Office also offers language courses, computer courses and courses focused on specific work professions. A financial contribution covering the expenses associated with completing the course and reimbursement of the full price of the course will be provided by the Office after successful completion of the course.

Commuting allowance

The Office provides allowance for commuting to work or volunteer activity. The allowance amount depends on the distance, e.g. you get EUR 1.5 per day when you commute up to 10km to work. You can apply for the allowance within 1 month after you start work The allowance is paid for the maximum period of 6 months, in case of disadvantaged citizens, for the maximum period of 12 months.

Volunteer work allowance

The allowance is intended to cover the necessary costs associated with volunteer work, which include, e.g. working in a community centre, cleaning public greenery, taking care of a long-term sick person or taking care of a household. The Office can pay you a maximum of EUR 110.72 per month for a maximum of 6 months.

Acquiring work skills

As part of employment support, the Office provides support for acquiring theoretical and practical skills under the guidance of an experienced advisor (mentor). This is work for 4 hours a day continuously for a maximum of 3 months. Your employer can receive a monthly financial contribution from the Office. In the same way, you can receive a financial contribution from the Office in the amount of EUR 234.42 per month.

You can find more information on the webpage Pomáhame odídencom or at any branch of the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family.

Consult the experts

If you have any doubts about the job offer, or suspect that the employer is not treating you according to the law, do not hesitate to consult experts from the non-governmental organisation International Organization for Migration (IOM) or the Human Rights League (HRL).

You can find the contact details on the page Services – legal advice.

External links

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