Certificate of no illegal employment fine: when a company needs it and what prevents issuance

Most employers first request a certificate confirming that no final fine for illegal employment has been imposed when someone asks for it: in a contribution or grant application, or procurement. The labour inspectorate issues it within a short deadline. The greater difficulty is when it cannot do so.

What is illegal employment?

§ 2(2) of Act No. 82/2005 Z. z. has three branches (subsection 3 adds a foreign national staying in Slovakia illegally). Illegal employment occurs where a business uses an individual’s dependent work and:

• Has not established an employment-law relationship with them.
• Has such a relationship but fails to register the person with the Social Insurance Agency within seven days after the statutory registration deadline or, if an inspection started within those seven days, before it started.
• The person is a third-country national and the conditions for their employment are unmet.

The statutory registration deadline expires no later than before the employee starts work (§ 231(1)(b) of Act No. 461/2003 Z. z.). The seven days are not an extra period for registration, only the threshold of illegal employment, and if an inspector arrives earlier, the position at the start of the inspection is decisive.

What is excluded?

§ 2a excludes work for an entrepreneur who is a natural person, or an s.r.o. with at most two shareholders who are direct-line relatives, siblings or spouses, performed by such a relative if pension-insured, receiving a pension or a pupil or student under 26. Outside that framework, unpaid “family help” is ordinary illegal employment.

Imposing a fine is not discretionary

For a breach, the inspectorate must impose a fine. § 19(2)(a) of Act No. 125/2006 Z. z. gives no discretion whether to fine:

• EUR 4,000–200,000.
• At least EUR 8,000 if two or more people were illegally employed simultaneously.

Proceedings may begin within six months after inspection ends, no later than three years after the breach. One concession applies: payment of two thirds within 15 days after the decision becomes final counts as payment in full (§ 19(7)).

What follows the fine, and why it may be worse than the amount

The fine does not remain between the company and inspectorate.

• Public list. The National Labour Inspectorate maintains a public central list of persons fined within the previous five years, with identification numbers and finality dates (§ 6(1)(t)).
• Other authorities are notified. Findings go to the Social Insurance Agency, central and local labour offices, tax office and, for foreign nationals, the police.
• Labour office contributions. Eligibility for any contribution under the Employment Services Act requires no illegal employment fine in the two years before application (§ 70(7)(c)). This includes support for hiring someone over 50. A contribution already being paid stops on the day the fine becomes final (§ 70(11)).
• Grants and procurement. A state grant cannot be awarded if the applicant was fined in the previous three years (§ 8a(4)(d) of Act No. 523/2004 Z. z.); for the same period, the applicant may be excluded from public procurement (§ 40(8)(b) of Act No. 343/2015 Z. z.).
• Trade authorisation. Repeated fines are notified to the trade licensing office for revocation purposes.
• Agencies. The Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family revokes the licence of a temporary employment agency fined for illegal employment (§ 31(2)(c) of Act No. 5/2004 Z. z.).

The certificate itself

On request, the inspectorate confirms that no final illegal employment fine had been imposed as at the request date, within seven working days (§ 7(3)(n)). Apply to the inspectorate responsible for the registered office; the National Labour Inspectorate publishes the form and submission methods.

Authorities can, however, also check this themselves: the National Labour Inspectorate supplies the same data electronically to public bodies on request (§ 6(1)(v) of Act No. 125/2006 Z. z.). Failing to provide a certificate therefore does not conceal a fine.

When to request it early

Do so whenever compliance is an entry condition rather than a formality: before a contribution or grant application, procurement, foreign-worker applications or a transaction involving target-company checks. Seven working days fit a timetable only if planned.

If an inspection is under way or a report has arrived, we review it before deadlines expire through our labour inspectorate inspection service. Self-employed contractor arrangements help structure cooperation against reclassification as dependent work.

Sources

• Act No. 82/2005 Z. z. on illegal work and employment, wording as at 16 August 2026
• Social Insurance Act No. 461/2003 Z. z., § 231, wording as at 26 September 2026
• Labour Inspection Act No. 125/2006 Z. z., §§ 6, 7 and 19, wording as at 16 August 2026
• National Labour Inspectorate: applying for a certificate