When an employer can receive up to 80% of a young employee's labour costs

The Slovak Employment Services Act, Act No. 5/2004 Z. z., does not provide a separate subsidy for young people. The enhanced rate for jobseekers under 30 forms part of the subsidy for employing a disadvantaged jobseeker under § 50. The higher rate is available only if all conditions are met together.

How much an employer can receive

Original statutory wording:

Mesačná výška príspevku poskytovaného na podporu zamestnávania znevýhodneného uchádzača o zamestnanie […] alebo uchádzača o zamestnanie, ktorý je občanom mladším ako 30 rokov, je 80 % z celkovej ceny práce zamestnanca, najviac 60 % z celkovej ceny práce podľa § 49 ods. 4 vypočítanej z priemernej mzdy zamestnanca v hospodárstve Slovenskej republiky za prvý až tretí štvrťrok kalendárneho roka, ktorý predchádza kalendárnemu roku, v ktorom sa príspevok poskytuje.

§ 50 ods. 3 zákona o službách zamestnanosti

Unofficial translation: The monthly subsidy for employing a disadvantaged jobseeker […] or a jobseeker who is a citizen aged under 30 is 80% of the employee’s total labour cost, capped at 60% of the total labour cost under § 49(4) calculated from average earnings in the Slovak economy for the first three quarters of the calendar year preceding the year in which support is provided.

Total labour cost includes wages together with insurance and mandatory contributions paid by the employer for the employee. This is the definition used for the cap in § 49(4). The cap depends on average earnings in the economy and therefore changes each year. The labour office gives the 2026 cap as EUR 1,291.17 a month. If an employee costs the employer EUR 1,400 a month, the subsidy could reach EUR 1,120. At EUR 1,900, 80% would be EUR 1,520, but payment cannot exceed the cap. The subsidy is reduced proportionately for shorter working hours (§ 50(4)). For jobseekers who are not covered by the enhanced rate under § 50(3), the statutory rate depends on district unemployment and is considerably lower (§ 50(2)).

The relevant period for determining the amount is the period in which the employer concluded a written agreement with the labour office. Subsequent changes in average earnings do not alter the subsidy paid (§ 70(14)).

Who can be recruited

Before starting work, the person must have been on the jobseekers’ register for at least three months. Their employment must cover at least half the statutory weekly working time (§ 50(1)). An agreement for work outside an employment relationship is not enough. A new graduate who registers only after leaving education must therefore first spend three months on the register.

The opening paragraph of § 50 links the subsidy to employing a disadvantaged jobseeker. Paragraph 4 also allows twelve months for a disadvantaged jobseeker covered by paragraph 3. However, paragraph 3 mentions young jobseekers alongside disadvantaged jobseekers without referring to § 8 for the former. The Act therefore does not clearly establish whether a jobseeker under 30 must also satisfy one of the disadvantage criteria in § 8(1), such as graduate status or long-term unemployment. The explanatory memorandum to the government amendment introducing the rate does not resolve this either. It refers only to jobseekers under 30 “who are at significant risk in the labour market”. The Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family simply repeats the statutory wording on its page about § 50. If a young candidate does not meet any criterion under § 8(1), we recommend checking the interpretation with the relevant labour office before agreeing their start date.

The job must be created and maintained

A newly created job requires an increase in the average number of employees over 12 calendar months compared with the corresponding preceding period. If there has been no increase, the employer must show that this was not because jobs were abolished through redundancy (§ 50(6)).

The job must be maintained for a period corresponding to half the agreed subsidy period. Otherwise, the employer must repay a proportionate amount for the period during which it failed to maintain the job (§ 50(5)). An employee for whom support is being received cannot be temporarily assigned to a user employer (§ 50(8)). The employer must also satisfy the general conditions in § 70(7), such as compliance with tax and contribution obligations and having no fine for illegal employment imposed in the two years before the application.

How long support lasts

For a jobseeker under 30, the office may provide support for no more than 12 calendar months. The twelve-month limit also applies to the other groups listed in § 50(3). In other cases, the general limit is 9 months (§ 50(4)). With twelve months of support, the job must be maintained for six months. The precise period is set out in the agreement with the office (§ 50(9)(k)).

The Central Office’s page on § 50, last updated on 2 January 2026, gives a general period of twelve months and a longer period for people registered for a long time. That reflects the Act as it stood until 31 December 2022. The distinction between nine and twelve months has applied since 1 January 2023. The Act governs the position. Under it, support for a young jobseeker is limited to twelve months even if they have been registered for a long time. The agreement with the office then sets the specific duration.

How to proceed

Applications must be submitted electronically with a qualified electronic signature using the form specified by the Central Office (§ 70(17)). According to the office, this has been done through slovensko.sk since 1 September 2025. Support is provided by the office for the district where the employer creates the job (§ 50(7)). The agreement specifies when the job will be filled and the deadline for submitting the employment contract (§ 50(9)). The Act therefore envisages the agreement being concluded before employment starts. It is sensible to sign the employment contract afterwards.

There is no legal entitlement to the subsidy (§ 70(6)). Approval is not guaranteed even where the conditions are met. Labour offices also offer support through national projects with their own conditions. Whether support can be combined for the same job must be checked against the particular project’s rules. For the same period, this subsidy cannot be combined with support under § 60 (§ 50(1)).

How we can help

Before recruiting a young employee, we can check whether the job meets the workforce increase requirement and prepare the employment contract and onboarding documents to align with the labour office agreement. For businesses recruiting regularly, we maintain their documentation through our ongoing employment documentation service. Our article on support for employing someone over 50 explains the conditions for that age group under the same subsidy.