Employing people for seasonal work from 2023

Employing people for seasonal work from 2023

From 2023, employers who need to hire people for short-term work have the option of concluding an agreement on work activity for seasonal work (dohoda o pracovnej činnosti na výkon sezónnej práce).

The agreement on work activity for seasonal work covers the following work:

– in agriculture, in the growing and harvesting of:

• selected types of fruit with high labour intensity (strawberries, common hazel, black elder, gooseberries, raspberries, currants, apple rose, peaches, sweet cherries, apricots, nectarines, greengages, plums and sour cherries),
• selected types of fruit with very high labour intensity (pears and apples),
• grapevines,
• selected types of vegetables (lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic, leeks, cabbage, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, carrots, black radishes and radishes, parsley, asparagus, aubergines, courgettes, watermelons, sweetcorn, melons, peppers, pumpkins other than pumpkins grown to produce seeds for eating and pressing, pickling cucumbers and salad cucumbers),
• potatoes,
• hops,
• tomatoes,

– in tourism, in:

• the transport of passengers on rivers, canals, lakes or other inland waterways, including waterways within ports or shipyards,
• the renting and leasing of recreational or sports goods,
• the running of camps,
• the operation of artificial bodies of water,
• the operation of cable cars, funiculars and ski lifts,
• the operation of restaurants and pubs, where the need for the work depends directly on the operation of the activities listed in the first five points,
• the operation of accommodation facilities, where the need for the work depends directly on the operation of the activities listed in the first five points.

The amendment also regulates the agreement on work activity for seasonal work itself and its conditions. This agreement is a specific type of contract used for seasonal work. An employer who needs to hire people for short-term work depending on staff turnover will be able to conclude an agreement on work activity for seasonal work, and the agreement must be labelled with exactly this name.

Seasonal work genuinely relates to the season, meaning work that depends on the change of the seasons and recurs every year. This period of seasonal work must not exceed 8 months in a calendar year.

The limit on the hours that can be worked under an agreement on work activity for seasonal work is set at 520 hours a year, and the hours worked are added together. The maximum weekly working time is set at 40 hours, averaged over a period of 4 months.

The amendment introduced new rules on the payment of insurance contributions for an individual employed under an agreement on work activity for seasonal work.

Under these rules, such a person will be compulsorily covered by all employee insurance schemes, including sickness, pension and unemployment insurance.

There is, however, an exception that allows the person to pay a lower amount of contributions for old-age insurance and unemployment insurance. This exception is called the contribution-deductible allowance (odvodová odpočítateľná položka), and it amounts to 50% of the average monthly wage from two years earlier (i.e. in 2023 it will be the average monthly wage figure for 2021), which means €605.50.

If the employee’s monthly income is equal to or lower than the contribution-deductible allowance, neither the employee nor the employer will pay contributions for old-age insurance and unemployment insurance. This rule applies where the employee earns the income under an agreement on work activity for seasonal work.

In such a case, the insured person (the employee) is not entitled to an early old-age pension, an old-age pension, the related survivors’ pensions or unemployment benefit for the period during which no contributions are paid for these types of insurance.

If, however, the employee’s monthly income is higher than 50% of the average monthly wage in the economy of the Slovak Republic from two years earlier, contributions for old-age insurance and unemployment insurance will be paid. These contributions will be paid by the employee and the employer, but only on the difference between the monthly income earned and the contribution-deductible allowance.

In both situations, whether contributions are paid only on the difference or in full, this will mean a lower contribution burden for both the employee and the employer.