Work in Slovakia for Ukrainians — how everything is arranged in 2026

The status odídenec (temporary protection) gives the right to work in Slovakia without a separate permit — for any employer and from the first day. Then everything depends on the paper you sign. An employment contract, dohoda (agreement) and živnosť (sole-trader licence — self-employment) calculate money differently and behave differently in unpleasant moments — when you get sick or when they decide to say goodbye to you.

Briefly:

• The minimum wage in 2026 is €915 gross per month, or €5.259 per hour; the net amount is €728.90.

• There are six levels of minimum pay, not just one: for more complex work the law requires from €1,031 to €1,495.

• The employer must notify the úrad práce (labor office) about your hiring within 7 working days.

• The fine for illegal employment from 2026 is from €4,000, and for two people at once — from €8,000.

Who can work in Slovakia without a separate permit?

Temporary protection is named directly in the law. According to § 23a ods. 1 písm. k) of the Employment Services Act (č. 5/2004 Z. z.), an employer can hire a person granted dočasné útočisko (temporary asylum) without needing a work permit or confirmation of vacancy availability. You do not carry any additional paper: the basis is the status itself.

In the same list are holders of trvalý pobyt (permanent residence) and family members of EU citizens. The list is closed. If your residence type is not there, the employer must get a work permit or confirmation of vacancy availability, and that is their problem, not yours.

Students are separately specified. Those with temporary residence for study can work without a permit as long as work does not exceed 40 hours per month for high school students and 80 hours per month for university students. The limit is counted cumulatively across all employers, not per each separately.

There is one obligation — but not yours. The employer submits an informačná karta (information card) to the úrad práce within 7 working days from the day you started work, and again within 7 working days after it ends. They submit it electronically via slovensko.sk, with a qualified electronic signature. If you work in two places — each employer submits the card separately, and if you moved to a site in another úrad district, a new card is needed.

The institution accepts the card and sends the employer an electronic document “Potvrdenie o prijatí informačnej karty” (Confirmation of receipt of the information card). Ask to see it. Thirty seconds — and you know if you are officially registered or only promised so far. And if you are still looking for an employer, start with our job catalog.

Employment contract, dohoda or živnosť — what is the difference for your money?

The names of the three forms sound equally neutral, but the difference between them is measured in thousands of euros per year. Trvalý pracovný pomer (permanent employment contract) is a full package: contributions are paid by the employer, you have vacation, sick leave, and notice period. Dohoda is work outside employment relations, with strict hour limits and no vacation. And živnosť means you are your own employer: contributions, taxes, and risks are yours too.

Limits in dohoda are strict. Dohoda o vykonaní práce — up to 350 hours per calendar year and maximum 12 months. Dohoda o pracovnej činnosti — up to 10 hours per week; seasonal variant allows 520 hours per year but no longer than eight months. Working time under dohoda cannot exceed 12 hours per day. For each hour worked on a holiday, at least the minimum hourly rate is added to the agreed pay.

The most common trap is the third column. It is beneficial for the employer if you “register živnosť”: then they do not pay contributions for you, do not give vacation, and can end cooperation without notice. When you actually work as a regular employee — by their schedule, on their equipment, under their supervision — this is fake živnosť, and the law allows dependent work only in employment relations. If živnosť is really your choice, first calculate contributions: živnosť for Ukrainians — a separate analysis with amounts.

How much do they pay in Slovakia in 2026?

The minimum wage from January 1 to December 31, 2026 is €915 gross per month. The hourly rate for a standard 40-hour week is €5.259. Both amounts are set by the announcement of the Ministry of Labor No. 245/2025, and the employer has no right to pay less even for the simplest work.

“Gross” in the announcement is not what falls on the card: from the minimum €915 net remains €728.90. Where the difference goes and what is in each line of the payslip is explained separately — what is deducted from salary in Slovakia. Your amount will go up if you have children, and down if you did not sign a declaration for the non-taxable part.

The average gross salary in the economy for Q1 2026 is €1,611. This is 6.1% more than a year earlier, and 2.3% more adjusted for inflation. The average says almost nothing about your vacancy: it is pulled up by finance, IT, and Bratislavský kraj with €1,984. In Prešovský kraj the average is €1,306.

Medians by specific professions say more. Here are official ones for Q1 2026. Warehouse worker — €1,420, production operator — €1,550, welder — €1,747, truck driver — €1,348, bricklayer — €1,262. In gastronomy less: cook — €1,109, waiter — €1,041. The lowest in this list is cleaner — €958 and home caregiver — €916, almost minimum level. At the other end: general nurse — €1,649, software developer — €3,253. By sectors: industry €1,721, trade €1,518, accommodation and food €963. Salary ranges by employee surveys and breakdown by regions can be found on the salary by professions page.

Why €915 is minimum only for the simplest work

Minimum wage in Slovakia is not just one. Alongside it are minimálne mzdové nároky (minimum wage claims) — six minimum rates by job complexity level. €915 corresponds only to the first level, i.e. the simplest work without responsibility for others and without independent decisions.

The level is determined not by employer’s wish but by job description recorded in your contract. These rates apply when pay is not set by collective agreement, and increase proportionally if your week is shorter than 40 hours.

Find the line “druh práce” (type of work) and its description in your contract. If it says managing people, independent planning of routes or shifts, or responsibility for expensive equipment, and you are paid exactly €915, ask HR: what level was assigned to you and why.

From June 7, 2026, money talks became simpler. Zákon č. 76/2026 Z. z. on equal pay gave candidates the right to know starting salary or its range before interview or contract signing, and forbade employers to ask how much you earned before. Employers working before June 7 had to introduce pay structures by July 31, 2026, and from August 1 labor inspection checks new rules of transparent pay in practice. The formula “we’ll tell you the amount when you start” no longer works.

Where to look for work and how is an agency different from an employer?

The state job portal is sluzbyzamestnanosti.gov.sk. There you can find offers and registered employers, free and without intermediaries. The advice “look on istp.sk”, which still circulates in 2022 articles, is outdated: this domain now redirects to commercial worki.sk. We reviewed other job portals separately — verified job search sites.

A separate story is agentúra dočasného zamestnávania (temporary employment agency). You sign a contract with the agency but work for the “user”: at a factory, warehouse, construction. The law requires your conditions, including salary, to be no worse than a comparable employee of that user. Temporary assignment is agreed for a maximum of 24 months and extended no more than four times. If this limit is exceeded, relations with the agency end and you automatically get a permanent employment contract with the user.

What to check before your first shift?

Ten minutes before the interview save you months of troubles. All this is done from a phone and free.

1. Find the company by IČO. The name from the ad proves nothing: it may be a company registered a month ago. Company check by IČO shows status, founding date and address — compare them with what is written in the contract.

2. Look at the list of debtors of Sociálna poisťovňa. The institution updates it four times a month and includes debts from €5. An employer who does not pay contributions is your future sick leave and your pension record. One who got on the list for not submitting a report must inform employees within 14 days: in writing, by email or SMS.

3. Ask about employment form and complexity level. Two questions: employment contract or dohoda, and which minimum pay level corresponds to the position. Evasive answer to the second is an answer itself.

4. Ask about the amount before signing. From June 7, 2026 the law is on your side: starting salary or its range must be named.

5. Read the contract, not a summary. Four mandatory points: type of work with short description, workplace, start date, and salary conditions. Skúšobná doba (probation period) applies only if written; maximum three months, six for managers, and cannot be extended.

6. Check that you are registered. The employer must register you with Sociálna poisťovňa no later than before starting work — not “by the end of the week” or “after probation”. An offer to work a few days and then register means those days you work illegally.

Vacation, bonuses and notice period under employment contract

Basic vacation is four weeks per year. Five weeks belong to those who reach 33 years by year-end, and those who constantly care for a child. The second case is more interesting: this status arises not automatically but from the day you notify the employer in writing. If you do not notify — no fifth week, no matter how many children you have.

Bonuses are calculated from the minimum hourly rate, i.e. from €5.259. For an hour worked on Saturday at least €2.6295 is due, on Sunday — €5.259, night shift — €2.1036, and risky night work — €2.6295. For work on a holiday at least 100% of average earnings is added, for overtime at least 25%. Reduced rates for weekends and nights are allowed only by collective agreement, and in a company without a union and with fewer than 20 employees — by employment contract. Oral “it’s our custom” is not a basis.

Salary is paid for the month already worked: no later than the end of the next calendar month, unless otherwise agreed in the contract.

If the employer decides to say goodbye, the notice period applies. Minimum — one month. Two months if you worked from one year, and three if from five years, when the reason is redundancy or health condition. Severance pay (odstupné) is added on redundancy: from one average monthly salary for 2 to 5 years of service up to four for over 20 years.

What does “salary in envelope” threaten the employee with?

The fine for the employer is the smallest part of this story. The law defines illegal work as dependent work without employment relations or without fulfilling foreigner employment conditions, and then the count goes to your losses. Without registration there is no sick leave, no pension record, no unemployment benefits. And no income certificate — which banks and Cudzinecká polícia (foreign police) ask for.

There is also the other side, which few know. If inspection fined the employer for illegal employment, they must pay the employee the salary debt, plus tax and all contributions they should have paid. And when neither side proves otherwise, § 7a of the Illegal Work Act (č. 82/2005 Z. z.) requires counting as if salary was minimum and relations lasted three months. The “no papers” agreement is disadvantageous primarily for the one who offers it.

The fine amount in 2026 was raised: from €4,000 to €200,000, and if two or more people work illegally — at least €8,000. Until the end of 2025 the lower limit was €2,000, and for two people — €5,000.

Open your own employment contract and find two lines: job description and salary conditions. Compare the rate with the complexity table. If your position corresponds to the second level but you are paid exactly €915, the difference is €116 per month or €1,392 per year.