A sheltered workshop and protected workplace are establishments set up by a legal entity or an individual where citizens with disabilities are employed under an employment relationship. These individuals face challenges in finding employment in the open job market, or the establishments serve as places where citizens with disabilities receive training or preparation for work.

Working conditions, including scheduling and performance requirements, at these workplaces are adapted to the health condition of citizens with disabilities. Sheltered workshops and protected workplaces are primarily intended for the occupational integration of citizens with disabilities for whom suitable employment cannot be provided in other workplaces.

A sheltered workshop is considered a workplace where a legal entity or an individual establishes more than one position for a citizen with a disability, and at least 50% of the employees are citizens with disabilities.

A protected workplace is considered a workplace where a legal entity or an individual establishes a position for a citizen with a disability, and the position is not created within a sheltered workshop.

A citizen with a disability employed in a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace may, for a maximum of ten days per calendar month, perform work outside the workshop or workplace if the nature of the work allows for such an arrangement.

A protected workplace also includes a setting where a citizen with a disability operates an independent economic activity. A protected workplace can also be established in the household of a citizen with a disability.

In the case of meeting the conditions specified by the Employment Services Act, a disabled cooperative is also considered a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace.

The status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace is granted by the labor office indefinitely. The condition for granting the status is ownership or lease of premises where the sheltered workshop or protected workplace will be established by a legal entity or an individual. The labor office verifies compliance with the condition of ownership of premises.

A legal entity or an individual seeking the status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace is obliged to submit a written request to the labor office. The application includes a description of the work activity, workplace, location, working conditions, and a lease agreement, if the legal entity or individual is not the owner of the premises.

The legal entity or individual applying for the status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace is also required to submit a decision of the public health authority. The granted status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace will be revoked by the labor office if the legal entity or individual that established the workshop or workplace fails to meet the conditions specified by this law. Upon a written request from the legal entity or individual that established the workshop or workplace, the labor office may revoke, modify, or suspend the granted status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace, lift the suspension of the granted status before the expiration of the suspended period, or issue a duplicate document of the granted status if it is lost, stolen, or damaged. The granted status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace ceases to exist on the day when the legal entity or individual is granted the status of an integration enterprise. The labor office will not grant the status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace to a legal entity or individual that is an integration enterprise.

The legal entity or individual with the granted status of a sheltered workshop or a protected workplace is required to maintain a separate record of the costs, performance, and economic results of the sheltered workshop or protected workplace.

The central authority and the labor office maintain, publish, and update every six months on their website a list of sheltered workshops and protected workplaces, including information as specified by the Employment Services Act.

Contribution for the Establishment of a Sheltered Workshop or Protected Workplace – Section 56.

The office can provide a contribution for the establishment of a sheltered workshop or protected workplace to an employer who hires, into an employment relationship, a job seeker with a disability listed in the registry of job seekers for at least one month, upon the employer’s written request.

The contribution is granted to cover part of the costs associated with creating a job position for a person with a disability in a sheltered workshop or on a protected workplace. The contribution does not cover the total labor cost of the employee with a disability hired for the established job position in a sheltered workshop or on a protected workplace.

The amount of the contribution for one established job position in a sheltered workshop or on a protected workplace is, in districts with an average share of available job seekers to the working-age population lower or equal to the national average in the calendar year preceding the year in which the contribution is provided, a maximum of 4.8 times the total labor cost calculated according to Section 49(4) based on the average salary of an employee in the economy of the Slovak Republic for the first to third quarter of the calendar year preceding the year in which the contribution is provided; from January 1, 2023, the contribution amount is EUR 8,215.72.

In districts with an average share of available job seekers to the working-age population higher than the national average in the calendar year preceding the year in which the contribution is provided, the contribution is a maximum of 5.2 times the total labor cost calculated according to Section 49(4) based on the average salary of an employee in the economy of the Slovak Republic for the first to third quarter of the calendar year preceding the year in which the contribution is provided; from January 1, 2023, the contribution amount is EUR 8,900.37.

The office provides the contribution to the employer in the territorial district where the sheltered workshop or protected workplace is established. The application for the contribution includes a business plan, the requirements of which are determined by the central authority by an internal regulation, and a calculation of the estimated costs for establishing a sheltered workshop or protected workplace. The contribution is granted based on a written agreement between the office and the employer.

The contribution is provided within 30 calendar days from the submission date of documents proving the incurred costs.

The employer must submit documents proving the incurred costs no later than six months from the date of concluding the agreement on providing the contribution.

Job positions for which the contribution was provided can only be filled by job seekers who are persons with disabilities. Other persons with disabilities can fill these job positions only if they are temporarily vacant, with the prior consent of the office, for a maximum period of nine calendar months.

The employer who received the contribution is obliged to maintain the established job position in the sheltered workshop or on the protected workplace for at least two years.

Contribution for the Maintenance of a Citizen with Disabilities in Employment – Section 56a

The office of labor, social affairs, and family provides a contribution to employers who employ more than 25% citizens with disabilities based on the average registered number of their employees and who do not have the designated status of a sheltered workshop or workplace.

The contribution is granted for a citizen with disabilities who works for the employer for at least half of the specified weekly working hours.

The contribution is not provided if, for the same period, the employer has already received a contribution for employing the same employee with disabilities under Section 50, Section 50j, or Section 51a of the Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services.

The contribution is given to the employer to cover advances for mandatory public health insurance, social insurance, and mandatory contributions to old-age pension savings paid by the employer monthly from the salary of the employee – a citizen with disabilities. However, the contribution is limited to a maximum of 60% of the average employee’s salary in the economy of the Slovak Republic for the first to third quarter of the calendar year preceding the year in which the contribution is provided. In 2023, the maximum monthly amount of the contribution is EUR 267.33.

The contribution is provided based on a written agreement between the office and the employer. The office disburses the contribution quarterly based on documents proving the payment of advances for insurance, social insurance, and mandatory contributions, which the employer must submit to the office no later than 30 calendar days after the end of the respective quarter.

Contribution to a Citizen with Disabilities for Independent Economic Activity – Section 57.

Contribution to a Citizen with Disabilities for Independent Economic Activity Pursuant to Section 57 of Act No. 5/2004 on Employment Services and Amendments to Certain Laws, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Employment Services Act’).

The Office of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family (hereinafter referred to as the ‘office’) may provide a contribution for independent economic activity (hereinafter referred to as ‘contribution for IEA’) to partially cover the costs associated with operating independent economic activity (hereinafter referred to as ‘IEA’) for a jobseeker with a disability who is a citizen with a disability (hereinafter referred to as ‘CwD’):

• who has been registered in the CwD records for a minimum of 3 months;
• who has been registered in the CwD records for at least 12 months if, within the 6 months preceding the registration in the CwD records, the person suspended or terminated the operation of IEA;
• who will be a self-employed natural person operating IEA at a sheltered workplace, conducting business in accordance with Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on Trade Licensing (Trade Licensing Act) as amended;
• who will engage in agricultural production, including forestry management according to §§12a to 12e of Act No. 105/1990 Coll. on Private Entrepreneurship of Citizens, as amended;
• who requests the contribution in writing;
• who will operate IEA at a sheltered workplace continuously for at least two years.

The contribution is not provided to a CwD who has received a contribution under Section 49 of the Employment Services Act or a contribution for IEA within a project or program under Section 54 of the Employment Services Act.

The contribution does not cover the advance payment for health insurance, social insurance, and mandatory contributions to old-age pension savings paid by the self-employed natural person with a disability and the payment of rent.

There is no legal entitlement to a contribution for a CwD for IEA operated at a sheltered workplace (SW). An application for a financial contribution is submitted in writing by the CwD to the office in whose territorial district the CwD will operate IEA at the SW. The office provides the contribution, after fulfilling all legal conditions, in the amount specified in the agreement with the office, to the CwD who creates the SW where IEA will be operated. The application includes mandatory attachments, including a business plan with a cost calculation for operating the relevant IEA, which become part of the application for the contribution (see the ‘Application for Contribution’ attachment).

Upon the CwD’s written request, the office provides the CwD with the opportunity to participate in the preparation for starting the operation of IEA at the SW. This preparation includes the development of a business plan, including estimated costs for establishing the SW, which serves as a basis for assessment by the commission established by the committee for employment issues of the office.

Based on the positive opinion of the commission of the office and the recommendation of the committee for employment issues of the relevant office, after meeting all statutory conditions, the office concludes an agreement with the CwD to provide the contribution, committing to start operating IEA and operate it continuously for at least two years in accordance with the submitted application, business plan, and cost calculation. The contribution is provided for the reimbursement of eligible costs associated with operating IEA at the SW for which the contribution was granted, in accordance with applicable legislation, the application for the contribution, the submitted business plan, cost calculation, and the authorization to operate IEA. The contribution, in the amount provided by the office, must be used and its use documented no later than 12 months from the date of the agreement with the office.

The amount of the contribution for a CwD for IEA from January 1, 2023, is as follows:

• Amount of the contribution (in €)
  • 100%: up to
  • 60%: up to
  • 40%: up to

Regions with an average Regional Unemployment Rate (MEN) ≤ the national average: 4 times the Average Monthly Wage (AMW)

• €6,846.44
• €4,107.86
• €2,738.58

Regions with an average MEN > the national average: 4.8 times the AMW

• €8,215.72
• €4,929.43
• €3,286.29

For the partial reimbursement of costs associated with operating IEA, the office will provide 60% of the approved contribution within 30 calendar days from the date of the agreement on the contribution, and the remaining part, i.e., 40% of the approved contribution, will be provided after submitting documents proving the use of at least 60% of the approved and already paid contribution. Subsequently, the recipient of the contribution must submit to the office all remaining documents so that all documents on the operation of IEA up to the amount of 100% of the granted and paid contribution are submitted to the office no later than 12 months from the date of the agreement. The office will specify the date of submission of documents proving the use of the provided contribution, which, according to the law, must not exceed 12 months from the date of the agreement. Failure to provide the required documents under these conditions is considered a serious breach of the agreement.

For each year of operating IEA at the SW, during the two-year period of continuous operation of IEA, the recipient of the contribution submits a report on the operation of IEA and the use of the provided contribution. The first report on the operation of IEA and the use of the provided contribution in the relevant period is submitted by the recipient of the contribution after 12 months of operating IEA, no later than 3 months from the end of the 12-month operation of IEA. The second report on the operation of IEA for the second year of operating IEA is submitted by the recipient to the relevant office no later than 3 months from the end of the two-year operating period of IEA.

The contribution can be provided again no earlier than eight years from the start of operating IEA for which the contribution was granted.