Illustrative stock photo (source: SME)
The Labour Ministry may soon reduce its strict rules defining illegal employment. The representatives of the ministry, employers and trade unions approved the draft amendment to the law at their June 26 meeting.
Under the new rules, the employers will have a seven-day window for filing with the state-run social insurer Sociálna Poisťovňa all of the necessary documents for hiring a new employee. At the moment, any delay in submitting the documents to Sociálna Poisťovňa renders the employment illegal.
“We are solving a long-term problem that was mainly an objection made by employers,” Labour Minister Ján Richter said , as quoted by the TASR newswire.
The Federation of Employers’ Associations (AZZZ) welcomed the change, with its head Rastislav Machunka describing it as a compromise in the tension between combating illegal employment and accounting for the delays caused by administrative mistakes.
Mário Lelovský, the deputy head of the National Union of Employers (RÚZ), meanwhile, praised the 35 measures with which the Economy Ministry plans to improve the business environment, which were also approved by the tripartite of the ministry, employer and trade union representatives.
However, he also said that the Economy Ministry could do more.
“It could be more ambitious in loosening the strict conditions for doing business in Slovakia,” Lelovský said, as quoted by TASR.
Another topic discussed by the tripartite was the 2016 report on gender equality in Slovakia.
“The report suggests that a significant factor that impacts the risk and occurrence of poverty in Slovakia is gender,” said Monika Uhlerová, deputy head of the Confederation of Trade Unions Associations (KOZ), as quoted by TASR.
Women are more in danger of living in poverty than men are, which is in part caused by taking time from work to have children and to go on maternity or parental leave, she added.
KOZ asks the government to adopt more work-life balance measures and to support women returning to the labour market.
