17. novembra, 2020

SLOVENIA: How to hire a foreign worker?

Due to the problem of labour shortage in Slovenia, more and more employers are choosing to hire workers from abroad, either from the EU or from third countries. Regardless of the country from which the worker comes, the employer will need to have the documentation in order to be able to hire this worker.

The principle of free movement of labour applies to the countries of the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. In addition to the free movement of goods, capital and services, the free movement of persons (work force) is one of the fundamental freedoms of the EU internal market. So, in case you hire a worker from the countries mentioned, the process of hiring that worker is quite simple – employers only need an employment contract and registration of the employee for pension, disability and health insurance. Thus, the employment procedure is practically the same as for Slovenian citizens. Until the end of 2020 this also applies to UK citizens.

However, when it comes to hiring workers from third countries, things get a little complicated. In order to perform work, a worker must first obtain a single residence permit. This permit allows foreigners from third countries to enter Slovenia and stay and work here. An application for the issue or renewal of a single permit can be submitted by the worker or by the employer. Of course, the employer can also authorize an external consulting company to do this, which will, based on experience, effectively carry out procedures and also advise on other employment law issues.

Despite the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are on the list of third countries, special rules apply to the employment of works from these two countries, as Slovenia has a special bilateral agreement with both countries, which sets out the terms and conditions of employment and conditions for authorization procedures. Candidates from these two countries must be registered as unemployed with the competent public employment services before being employed in Slovenia and must be over 18 years of age.

However, the procedure for a foreigner does not end with the employment itself, as it is necessary to fulfil other obligations, such as obtaining a tax number, registering residence, arranging resident status and the like.