Slovakia

Operating a Business in Slovakia

Different types of companies	Number of partners/ shareholders	Maximum and/or minimum capital	Liabilities	Registration fees
Spolocnost rucenim obmedzenym is a Private Limited Company	1 to several partners, maximum 50	SKK 200,000. In case there is only one member, the whole capital must be paid. Otherwise, 30% of the capital (minimum SKK 50,000) must be paid.	Liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.	SKK 3,000
Public limited company	No minimum.	SKK 1,000,000 (10% must be released at the constitution)	Liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.	SKK 10,000
Verejna obchodna spolocnost is a general partnership	Minimum 2 partners	No minimum capital.	Liability is unlimited	SKK 3,000
Komanditna spolocnost is a limited partnership	No minimum.	No minimum capital.	Liability is limited for some partners and unlimited for others.	SKK 3,000
The co-operative	Minimum 5 legal entities. Minimum 2 individual entities.	Minimum SKK 50,000	Liability is limited for some partners and unlimited for others.	SKK 3,000

Business setup procedures: The registration formalities are as follows:
-Drawing up of articles (in Slovak; signed by the founders, executed and authenticated by a notary for a sole ownership).
-Request for a certificate or a setting up license if necessary.
-Opening of a bank account in Slovakia.
-Request for registration with the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with all the required documents (translated into Slovak and legalized by the competent Slovak consular services).
-Presentation of a Trade Register certificate to the Slovak bank that will act as local bank.
-Notification of the company's constitution to the tax office and request for a tax identification number.
-Notification to the security services.
The competent organization: The trade register (in English).

Legal weekly duration: 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day and 150 hours a year.
A maximum of 250 hours overtime a year can be done in agreement with the employee.
Retirement age: In general, 62 for women and men.
Working contracts: Employment contracts are regulated by legal clauses and to a lesser degree by collective agreements and individual negotiations.
The terms of employment contracts are rather rigid. They can be open-ended or of fixed duration (for a maximum of 3 years), part-time or full time.

Minimum wage: 7 600 korunas (USD253)
Average wage: 20 134 korunas per year ( about 540 EUR)
Social contributions: Social security contributions paid by employers: 35.2%
Social security contributions paid by employees: 13.4%.

Bargaining power: After the fall of the communist regime, Slovak unions had to evolve because of political, economic and social changes. They had to
develop as powerful groups representing the workers and also the citizens, defending their interests in a market economy. The former official unions had to transform their internal structure to become autonomous and keep their members. Only a few unions have been created over the past ten years and only four of them still exist today. Only one union is strong enough to defend workers' interests at a national level and guarantee regular meetings with the government and employer organizations. The Confederation of Unions in the Slovak Republic (KOZ SR) is recognized at the national level as representing employees in three-party negotiations. Today the unions have wide negotiating powers. However, the rate of unionization is dropping.
Unions: Confederation of Unions in the Slovak Republic (KOZ SR)
Independent Christian Unions in Slovakia (NKOS)
Unionization rate: The rate of unionization in Slovakia is 30%.
Labor regulation bodies: Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family (in English)
Federation of Employers' Unions & Associations of the Slovak Republic (AZZZ) (in Slovak)