The main facilitators of services for individuals seeking employment are the labor offices, social affairs, and family offices. Employment services represent a system of institutions and tools that support and assist participants in the labor market in finding employment, making career changes, filling vacant positions, and implementing active measures in the labor market.
Employment services are regulated by law and include:
- Job placement,
- Registration of job seekers and those interested in employment,
- Assistance from the Central Office and offices of labor, social affairs, and family,
- Benefits provided by social affairs and family offices,
- Professional advisory services,
- Support for the employment of citizens with disabilities,
- Employment of foreigners within employment services,
- Employment services provided by private individuals.
The registration at the labor, social affairs, and family office (hereinafter referred to as the “office”) is voluntary, and citizens are not legally obligated to be in the register of job seekers at the office. However, as voluntarily unemployed individuals, they are required to cover their health insurance.
A citizen eligible for registration at the office is someone who can work, wants to work, and is actively seeking employment.
When registering a citizen as a job seeker, it is determined whether the citizen:
a) is not an employee, b) is not in an employment relationship based on an agreement for work performed outside of employment or is not engaged in gainful activity based on a legal relationship according to special regulations, c) does not operate or engage in independent gainful activity, d) does not engage in gainful activity in a member state of the European Union or abroad.
A job seeker may:
a. be in an employment relationship based on an agreement for work performed outside of employment, provided that the duration of this employment relationship does not exceed a total of 40 days in a calendar year and the monthly remuneration does not exceed the total amount of the subsistence minimum for a single adult according to special regulations valid on the first day of the calendar month for which the remuneration is proven, with the employer, with whom, immediately before being included in the register of job seekers, they were not in an employment relationship or in a similar employment relationship, who, in the six months preceding the conclusion of this employment relationship, did not refuse to accept employment mediated by the office, UoZ must not be simultaneously in multiple such employment relationships.
b. provide personal assistance according to special regulations, if the monthly remuneration does not exceed the total amount of the subsistence minimum for a single adult according to special regulations valid on the first day of the calendar month for which the remuneration is proven.
c. provide data for family account statistics, which is carried out by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic based on an agreement for work performed outside of employment.
d. perform voluntary military training according to special regulations, or e. be enlisted in active reserves, perform regular exercises, or fulfill tasks of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic during the enlistment in active reserves according to special regulations, f. perform the function of a member of an election commission and secretary of an election commission and perform the role of an assistant during population censuses.
g. perform work duty according to special regulations, h. perform hygienic and anti-epidemic measures to ensure health care for the population during a state of emergency, emergency situation, or exceptional state.
i. perform the function of a municipal representative, the function of a representative of a self-governing region, the function of a member of a municipal representative’s commission, or the function of a member of a self-governing region’s representative’s commission, if the monthly remuneration does not exceed the total amount of the subsistence minimum for a single adult according to special regulations.
An individual engaged in gainful activity is a natural person who:
is a shareholder in a public trading company, limited partnership, or limited liability company, director, or member of the supervisory board of a limited liability company, member of the board of directors or supervisory board of a joint-stock company or simple joint-stock company, or proxy according to special regulations, operates a trade according to special regulations, performs an activity according to special regulations, engages in agricultural production, including farming in forests and on water surfaces according to special regulations, performs the activity of a temporary employment agency, performs the activity of a supported employment agency. A citizen cannot be included in the register of job seekers if they:
are completing compulsory school attendance, until the end of the school year in which they turn 16, systematically prepares for a profession, is temporarily incapable of work, is entitled to maternity leave, is granted an old-age pension or a citizen who is granted a disability pension and has reached the age required for entitlement to an old-age pension according to special regulations (Act No. 461/2003 Coll. on social insurance), was repeatedly excluded from the register of job seekers according to § 36 para. 1 letter. a) for the reason of taking up suitable employment mediated by the office, and this employment repeatedly terminated within one month of its creation, and this within six months of the termination of employment; this does not apply to the termination of employment by a citizen for a reason for which an employee can immediately terminate employment, was excluded from the register of job seekers according to § 36 para. 1 letter. n) and paragraph 2 of Act No. 5/2004 on employment services (hereinafter referred to as the “law”), and this for the period of exclusion from the register of job seekers stipulated in § 36 para. 3 of the law, does not fulfill the obligation to operate an independent gainful activity, for which a contribution was granted to him according to § 49 or § 57 of the law or a contribution within a project or program according to § 54 of the law, during the period missing to fulfill this obligation; this does not apply if the citizen returned a proportional part of the granted contribution or the unspent part of the granted contribution, does not meet the conditions according to § 6 para. 1 to 3 of the law, does not submit documents relevant to inclusion in the register of job seekers within the deadline according to § 34 para. 2 of the law, before submitting an application for inclusion in the register of job seekers, if it is a national of a third country who has been granted long-term residence, has not been insured against unemployment for at least two years in the last three years, or performed the activity of an employee in an employment relationship for a fixed term and has not been insured against unemployment from the performance of the activity of an employee in an employment relationship for a fixed term or voluntarily insured against unemployment for at least two years in the last four years.
Systematic preparation for a profession is studying at a secondary or tertiary school until obtaining tertiary education, i.e., doctoral studies. If the study is interrupted, or the citizen studies part-time at a secondary school or externally at a university while employed, it is not considered systematic preparation for a profession, and the citizen can be included in the register of job seekers after meeting legal conditions.
If a citizen decides to be included in the register of job seekers at the office, they must submit an application for inclusion in the register of job seekers at their place of permanent residence or usual residence (usual residence is where the citizen stays, and this place is different from the address of their permanent residence).
Active Measures in the Labor Market.
Contribution to activation activities through smaller general services for municipalities or smaller services for self-governing regions – § 52
National project “Helping Refugees – Counseling” / Національний проєкт “ДОПОМАГАЄМО БІЖЕНЦЯМ – КОНСУЛЬТАЦІЇ”
Education for refugees (National project Helping Refugees)
Training for job seekers within the national project Don’t Lose Your Job – Educate Yourself
COMPASS+ for job seekers within BSK
REPAS+ for job seekers within BSK
Compensation project – First aid
Contributions for citizens
Contributions for employers
Support for the employment of citizens with disabilities .
Sheltered workshop and protected workplace, contributions for employers, contributions for citizens with disabilities
Education and preparation for the job market
REPAS+ for job seekers outside BSK
COMPASS+ for job seekers outside BSK
What are professional advisory services?
Professional advisory services, as defined by Section 43 (2) of Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services and on the Amendment of Certain Laws, as amended by later regulations (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Employment Services Act’), are services aimed at influencing the decision-making and behavior of job seekers (hereinafter referred to as ‘JS’), creating alignment between the personal prerequisites of JS and the requirements for performing a specific occupation, and facilitating the social and employment adaptation of JS. These services involve:
- Identifying the personal prerequisites and abilities of JS, along with evaluating their competencies.
- Developing an Individual Action Plan (IAP) to support the employment placement of disadvantaged JS.
- Diagnosing and recognizing obstacles to entering the labor market.
- Creating a personal profile of JS to determine the activities, measures, and services needed for their integration into the labor market.
The Office of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family can provide professional advisory services (hereinafter referred to as ‘PAS’) either directly or through a PAS provider, who can be an individual or a legal entity authorized to provide PAS.
According to Section 43 (3) of the Employment Services Act, professional advisory activities can be carried out by an advisor who has obtained a second-degree university education.
The PAS system enables JS facing difficulties in labor market placement to identify their own abilities, capabilities, and interests, make meaningful decisions regarding education, vocational training, and employment, and guide their individual life path (EU Council Resolution 2008/C 319/02).
The fundamental goal of PAS is to provide clients with effective professional assistance and support their journey towards independence and self-help in addressing the specific situation of unemployment.
JS can request the provision of PAS or the development of an IAP through the Job Seeker’s Application for the Provision of Professional Advisory Services.
The Office can also provide PAS to job seekers (hereinafter referred to as ‘JSOZ’). JSOZ can request the provision of PAS through the Job Seeker’s Application for the Provision of Professional Advisory Services.
Support for Employment of Citizens with Disabilities.
Sheltered Workshop and Sheltered Workplace – § 55
List of Sheltered Workshops and Sheltered Workplaces
Contribution to the Establishment of a Sheltered Workshop or Sheltered Workplace – § 56
Contribution to Maintaining a Citizen with Disabilities in Employment – § 56a
Contribution to a Citizen with Disabilities for Independent Income Generation – § 57
Contribution to the Activity of a Job Assistant – § 59
Contribution to Covering Operational Costs of a Sheltered Workshop or Sheltered Workplace and Transportation Costs for Employees (Employer) – § 60
Contribution to Covering Operational Costs of a Sheltered Workplace and Transportation Costs for Employees (Citizen with Disabilities) – § 60