Employment 2025

SLOVENIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jernej Jeraj and Eva Bardutzky, PFP Law

Employment in Slovenia: An Introduction In the field of labour law, the year 2025 is marked by numerous legislative changes, strategic adjustments, and strengthened supervisory mechanisms, reflecting the state’s response to the evolving conditions in the labour market. At the forefront remain systemic efforts to increase flexibility in the regulation of employment relationships, improve the legal status of foreign work - ers and ease the administrative proceedings for their employment, enhance oversight of compliance with labour legislation, and further modernise labour law records. Employment and unemployment rates In 2024, the unemployment rate in the Republic of Slovenia stood at approximately 3.7%, representing one of the lowest levels in the past decade. The total number of employed persons increased by as many as 9,000 individuals, with nearly one million people actively engaged in the labour market, of which almost 150,000 are foreign citizens. According to the Sta - tistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, employ - ment particularly increased among individuals aged between 55 and 64, indicating the successful imple - mentation of policies aimed at extending working activity and encouraging the inclusion of older per - sons in the labour market. The current unemployment rate is undoubtedly the result of prolonged recovery and structural adjust - ments in the Slovenian labour market, most notably digitalisation and the increased participation of wom - en and older individuals in the workforce, but also negative demographic trends. In addition to favour - able economic conditions, high employment levels are also supported by flexible forms of work and strong demand for labour in healthcare, information technol - ogy, and logistics. In 2025, more than 90% of employees continue to work full-time, reflecting a relatively conservative structure of employment forms in Slovenia. A signifi - cant gender gap also remains among self-employed individuals, with men still representing the majority in this category.

Working Time Records The amendments to the Act on Records in the Field of Labour and Social Security, which entered into force in November 2023, caused significant discontent in practice, particularly from employers and the profes - sional public. They pointed out that certain require - ments were excessively bureaucratic, administratively burdensome, and, in some sectors, even incompatible with the actual needs and capabilities of work pro - cesses. At the same time, such measures failed to effectively achieve their fundamental goal – improving compliance with workers’ rights. In response to the above criticisms, the legislator undertook further amendments, and as of 23 April 2025, certain simplifications have been introduced. The key novelty is the elimination of the obligation to record the use of breaks during working hours, which in some sectors was considered practically impos - sible. In addition, employers are no longer required to record special forms of work – such as night work, shift work, or work on public holidays – on a daily or weekly basis; monthly recording of this data is now sufficient. These changes represent administrative relief for employers and aim at creating more proportionate legislation that still protects workers’ rights while enabling greater flexibility in business operations. Despite the abolition of certain obligations, voluntar - ily recording the use of breaks during working hours is still advisable, as such records constitute impor - tant documentary evidence by which an employer can demonstrate compliance with labour law obligations. Migration Policy The Slovenian labour market is facing a notably high demand for labour, particularly in certain occupations and sectors where there is a traditional shortage of workers (eg, HoReCa, construction, and social care). Due to lengthy approval procedures for applications for single residence and work permits, which, in more burdened administrative units (eg, Ljubljana and Mari - bor), lasted several months, the employment of for - eign workers was often hindered or even rendered impossible. Legislative changes were also driven by the state’s obligation to align migration policy with European directives.

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