Slovenia Radno Pravo

The Author
Zvone Vodovnik (1952), Ph.D., is a full professor of law

at the University of Ljubljana and University of
Primorska. He also performs academic activities for the
University of Maribor, the University of Trieste (Italy)
and the private European Faculty of Law in Nova Gorica.
His activities are focused on the research and teaching of
labour law, social security law as well as the legal aspects
of the human resource management and industrial rela-
tions. He is author or co-author of significant number of
books and more than 200 articles and other authorial
documents.
He studied law at all levels at the University of
Ljubljana. He started his professional career as the researcher of the Institute of
Labour Law at the Law Faculty of the Ljubljana University. From 1986 until 1999
he was the Head of the Institute. Apart from research and performing managerial
working tasks in this period, he was active as a judge for the Ljubljana Labour and
Social Court. From the year 1999 until 2002 he was the Supreme Court Judge at the
Supreme Court of Slovenia, while staying in touch with the academic life at
Slovenian and foreign universities. From the year 2002 on he has been exclusively
dedicated to a wide range of academic activities. During his professional career he
has performed scientific research, been a consultant to the Slovenian Parliament,
the Slovenian government, an instructor of the Slovenian social partner officials, the
President of the Slovenian Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations
Association, a member of the Executive Committee of the International Industrial
Relations Association (IIRA). He has also been active in the International Society
for Labour Law and Social Security and in some national professional associations.
ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011) Slovenia – 3

The Author
4 – Slovenia ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011)

Table of Contents
The Author 3
List of Abbreviations 17
General Introduction 19
Chapter 1. General Background 19
§1. GEOGRAPHY, LOCATION, SIZE AND BOUNDARIES 19

I. The State 19
II. The Capital 20
III. Geography 21
§2. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 21

I. History 21
II. Parliamentary Democracy 22
§3. VITAL STATISTICS 22

I. Population 22
II. Economy 24
A. The Formation of the Private Sector:
Property and Entrepreneurship 24
B. Statistics: Macroeconomic Data 25
§4. OTHER IMPORTANT DATA 26

I. Language 26
II. Religion 27
III. Sports 27
IV. Music 28
V. Literature 28
VI. The Arts 29
VII. Architecture 30
VIII. Education System 30
§5. UNDERLYING SOCIAL AND CULTURAL VALUES 31

I. Basic Values 31

Table of Contents
Chapter 2. Definitions and Notions 33
§1. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ITS RELATION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES 33
§2. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND OTHER LEGAL SUBSYSTEMS 33
§3. THE STRUCTURE AND OBJECTIVES OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION, 36

GENERAL FRAMEWORK
§4. THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF THE GOALS OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION 39
§5. MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS, DUTIES, AND

RESPONSIBILITIES AS A LEGAL ASPECT OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT 39
§6. DECIDING ON PROMOTION AND REMUNERATION 41
§7. OTHER FORMAL RULES REGARDING BODIES AND PROCEDURES FOR

DECISION-MAKING 43
§8. HARASSMENT AND MOBBING 43
§9. DISCRIMINATION 43
Chapter 3. Historical Background 45
§1. THE BIRTH OF SLOVENIA AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS 46
§2. THE CONSTITUTION AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 46
§3. INTERNATIONAL LAW AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE NATIONAL

REGULATION OF COLLECTIVE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS 52
I. European Social Partners 58
II. Constitutional Case Law in the Field of Social Dialogue 60
Chapter 4. Role of Government Institutions in the Shaping

and Administration of Labour and Industrial
Relations Policy 63
§1. DEFINITION AND MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EMPLOYMENT

RELATION 63
§2. PARTICIPANTS IN THE EMPLOYMENT RELATION 64
§3. RECORDS AND REGISTERED DATA 64

Table of Contents
§4. EVIDENCE OF THE EMPLOYEE’S WORKING LIFE 66
§5. AN EMPLOYMENT BOOKLET 66
Chapter 5. Sources of Labour Law 67
§1. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION 67
§2. THE COVERAGE OF NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW 68
§3. HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLE OF PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION 68
§4. AUTONOMOUS LEGAL RESOURCES AND EMPLOYER’S GENERAL ACT 70
§5. THE ACT OF JOB SYSTEMATIZATION AS A CENTRAL EMPLOYER’S

GENERAL ACT 72
§6. INFLUENCE OF THE OFFICERS’ REPRESENTATIVES ON LEGAL

REGULATION AND DECISION-MAKING ABOUT THEIR LEGAL POSITION 73
Select Bibliography 75
Part I. The Individual Employment Relation 81
Chapter 1. Definition and Concepts 81
§1. THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE 81

I. The Limitations of the Directive Power of the Employer 81
II. Self-employed Persons 82
III. A General Notion of Employees in the Private Sector and Civil
Servants 82
V. Special Regulations Regulating the Employment Contract
of Posted Employees 85
V. Foreign Employees Posted to Work in Slovenia 86
VI. Work of Children 86
VII. Apprentices 87
VIII. Traineeships 88
IX. Temporary and Occasional Work of Secondary-school
and University Students 89
X. Seafarers 90
§2. INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT 90

I. Employment Contract 90
A. Historic Background and Constitutional Basis 90
B. Freedom of Contract 91
C. Transfer of Civil Servants 92

Table of Contents
D. Procedure in the Case of Transfers due to Work Requirements 93

E. Concluding Employment Contracts and Freedom of Work 93
F. Duties of the Employer and the Applicant in the Hiring
Procedure 95
G. Changing the Employment Relation due to Changed
Circumstances 97
H. Change of the Contract in Case of Termination of Employment
by the Employer 97
I. Relationship between Changes of Existing Law and
the Provisions of the Employment Contract 97
J. Suspension of the Contract 98
II. Ability to Conclude an Employment Contract 98
A. Contracting Parties 98
B. Capacity to Conclude an Employment Contract 99
III. Types of Employment Contract 99
A. Typical and Atypical Employment Contracts 99
B. Historical Overview of the Employment Contract 100
C. Unlawfulness of the Employment Contract or its Clauses 101
IV. Atypical Employment Contracts 102
A. Duration of the Employment Contract – Historical View 102
B. Fixed-term Employment Contract and its Limitations 102
1. First Limitation – Defined Cases 103
2. Time Limits 104
C. The Consequence of the Violation of the Regulations 105
D. Calculation of Working Hours 105
E. A Contract for Temporary Work 106
1. Authorization and Different Types of Limitation 106
2. Special Features of the Employment Contract 107
3. Relations between the Worker, the Employer and the User 107
F. A Part-time Employment Contract 107
1. A Part-time Employment Contract and the Different
Nature of Employees’ Rights 107
2. A Part-time Employment Contract with Several Employers 109
G. Home Work 109
1. Employment Contract on Home Work 109
2. Rights and Duties of Contracting Parties 110
H. Public Works 110
I. Management 111
1. Legal Position of Different Types of Manager 111
2. An Employment Contract with a Top Manager or
Authorized Clerk 113
V. The Form and Content of the Employment Contract 114
1. The Form 114
2. Content 114

Table of Contents
Chapter 2. Rights and Duties of the Parties during

Employment 116
§1. DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYEE 118

I. A Duty to Work to His or Her Best Ability and the Right
to Recognition of Work Results 118
II. Assessment of the Job Performance and Employee’s Promotion
and Acknowledgements 120
III. The Obligation to Inform and the Prohibition of Harmful
Actions or Activities 121
§2. DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER 122

I. General 122
II. The Obligation to Provide Work and to Ensure Remuneration 123
III. The Obligation to Provide Safe Working Conditions 123
IV. The Obligation to Respect and Protect the Employee’s Human
Rights 123
Chapter 3. Working Conditions 125
§1. WORKING TIME 126

I. Definition of Working Time 126
II. Full-time Work 126
III. Overtime Work 127
IV. Additional Employment 128
V. Working Time Management 128
VI. Working Time Recalculation in Case of its Irregular Distribution 129
VII. Night Work 130
VIII. Restrictions on Night Work 131
IX. Consultation with Trade Unions and Supervision of Night Work
by the Labour Inspector 132
§2. BREAKS AND RESTS 132

I. Breaks during Working Time 132
§3. THE PARTICULARITIES OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF WORKING TIME

AND BREAKS AND RESTS FOR NIGHT WORKERS 133
I. Exemptions for Certain Categories of Employees 133
II. Exemptions Related to the Nature of the Working Process
and the Employer’s Activity 134
§4. ANNUAL LEAVE 134

I. The Nature of the Right to Annual Leave and the Extent
of the Right 134
II. Exercising the Right 135

Table of Contents
§5. PAID ABSENCES FROM WORK 136

I. Holiday Leave and Other Paid Absences from Work 136
II. Cases in which Employees have the Right to Paid Absences 137
§6. EDUCATION AND TRAINING 137

I. Scholarships 137
II. The Role of Training for the Parties to the Employment
Contract 138
III. The Right to Absence from Work due to Education 140
§7. LIABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 140

I. Legally Envisaged Consequences of the Breaches
of the Employees’ Duties 140
II. The Sanctioning of Breaches of the Employer’s Duties 141
III. Employees’ Responsibilities or Liabilities 141
IV. Disciplinary Responsibility 142
V. Time Limitations on the Use of a Disciplinary Power 143
VI. General Remarks on the Employer’s and Employee’s Liability
for Damage 143
VII. Workers’ Liability for Damage 144
VIII. Lump-sum Compensation 145
Chapter 4. Remuneration and Benefits 146
§1. WAGES, SALARIES, REMUNERATION AND COMPENSATION 146

I. Minimum Wage or Salary 146
II. Types of Remuneration 146
II. National and International Approach to the Regulation
of Wages and Salaries 147
III. Salaries in the Public Sector 147
IV. A Basic Wage or Salary, Job Performance, and Supplements 149
V. The Amount of Extra Payments Related to Working Conditions 149
VII. A Supplement for Years of Service 150
VIII. Supplements as Elements of the Wage or Salary System
in the Public Sector 150
§2. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES RELATED TO WORK 151
§3. HOLIDAY ALLOWANCE 152
§4. RETIREMENT SEVERANCE PAY 152
§5. EQUAL REMUNERATION OF WOMEN AND MEN 153
§6. MODALITIES OF PROVIDING REMUNERATION 154
§7. WAGE COMPENSATION 155

Table of Contents
§8. PROFIT-SHARING 156
Chapter 5. Incapacity to Work 157
§1. TEMPORARY HEALTH INCAPACITY TO WORK 157
§2. PERMANENT INCAPACITY TO WORK 157

I. Disabled Persons 157
II. Employment of Disabled Persons 159
III. Employment Rehabilitation 160
IV. Securing the Right to Employment Rehabilitation 160
V. Rights and Duties of Disabled Persons 161
VI. Providing for Employment Rehabilitation 162
VII. Employability and Programmes for Social Inclusion 163
VIII. Legal Position of Persons Entitled to Employment Rehabilitation 164
IX. Protective and Supportive Employment 164
X. Undertakings Employing Persons with Disabilities 165
XI. Duty to Employ Disabled Persons 165
XII. Financial Incentives for the Employment of Disabled Persons 166
Chapter 6. Job Security 167
§1. JOB SECURITY IN GENERAL 167

I. Job Security as a Value 167
II. Stability of Employment through Time 167
III. Contractual Job Security Clauses 168
IV. The Influence of a Change of Employer on Employment
Relations 169
§2. MANNER OF TERMINATING THE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT

CONTRACT 170
I. General 170
II. Duties of the Employer after the Termination
of the Employment Contract 171
III. Termination of a Fixed-term Employment Contract 171
IV. Termination of Employment Contract due to Death
of a Worker or Employer – Natural Person 171
V. Mutual Consent 172
VI. Termination of an Employment Contract on the Basis
of a Court Decision 172
VII. Termination of an Employment Contract pursuant
to the Law 172
VIII. Exclusion of the Civil-Law Regulations 173

Table of Contents
§3. THE TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT ON

THE BASIS OF THE UNILATERAL EXPRESSION OF THE WILL
OF ONE OF THE PARTIES 173
I. The Party’s Will to End the Employment Relation 173
II. Regular (Ordinary) Termination and Irregular (Extraordinary)
Termination of the Employment Contract 174
III. A Procedure Prior to Termination by the Employer and the Trade
Union’s Role 175
IV. Legal Effects of the Trade Union Action against the Intended
Dismissal 175
V. Form, Content and Serving the Notice of Termination 176
VI. Severance Pay 176
VII. Serving the Notice of Termination 177
VIII. The Regulation of the Notice Period and its Legal Nature 177
IX. Duration of Notice Periods 178
X. Compensation Instead of the Period of Notice and Rights and
Obligations of Parties during the Period of Notice 178
XI. Notice of Termination by Offering a New Contract 179
§4. REASONS FOR DISMISSAL 179

I. The Legal Nature of Dismissal 179
II. Reasons for Regular (i.e. Ordinary) Dismissal 180
III. Reasons for Regular (i.e. Ordinary) Dismissal of Officers
and Other Civil Servants 180
IV. Additional Limitations on Dismissal by Offering a New Job 181
V. A Special Provision Regulating Employment Protection in State
Administration and the Local Communities 182
VI. Time Limits for Dismissal 183
VII. Unfounded Reasons for Dismissal 183
VIII. The Position of Redundant Employees in Case of
the Bankruptcy or Judicial Liquidation of the Works Unit 184
IX. Employees’ Income Protection 185
§5. COLLECTIVE DISMISSALS 185

I. The Termination of the Employment Contract for a Larger
Number of Workers due to Business Reasons 185
II. A Programme for Managing Dismissals 187
III. Criteria for Identification of Redundant Workers 188
IV. Participation and Role of the National Employment Service 188
V. Preferential Right to Reemployment 188
§6. IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT 189

I. Types of Immediate Termination of the Employment Contract 189
II. Immediate Dismissal of the Employee, Reasons on
the Worker’s Side 189
III. The Employee’s Notice Related to the Extraordinary
Termination of the Employment Contract 191

Table of Contents
§7. SPECIAL PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES’ REPRESENTATIVES AGAINST

UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL 193
§8. SPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL OF OTHER

VULNERABLE CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE 193
I. Older Persons 193
II. Family Protection 194
III. Protection of Disabled Persons 194
IV. The Postponing of the Date of the Termination of the
Employment Contract of a Dismissed Employee in
case of Illness 195
V. Multiple Legal Protection 195
Chapter 7. Protection of Certain Categories of Worker,

Protection against Discrimination in Employment 196
§1. PROTECTION OF WOMEN 196

I. Sexes and the Risk of Potential Discrimination 196
II. The Prohibition on Carrying out Underground Work 196
§2. PROTECTION OF WORKERS DUE TO PREGNANCY AND PARENTHOOD 197

I. Pregnancy or Parenthood as Expected Events 197
II. Parental Leave, Wage Compensation, and the Right to
Breaks for Breastfeeding Mothers 198
§3. PROTECTION OF WORKERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 199
§4. PROTECTION OF DISABLED PERSONS 200
§5. PROTECTION OF OLDER WORKERS 200
§6. PROTECTION FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYEES 201
Chapter 8. Covenants of Non-competition 203
Chapter 9. Inventions by Employees 205
Chapter 10. Settlement of Disputes 207
§1. THE DEFINITION OF A LABOUR DISPUTE 207

I. Characteristics and Types of Labour Dispute 207
II. Enforcement and Protection of Rights, Obligations,
and Responsibilities of Employees 207
III. Individual Labour Disputes 209
IV. Arbitration 210

Table of Contents
§2. THE ROLE OF COURTS 210
§3. SANCTIONS FOR THE VIOLATION OF DUTIES IN EMPLOYMENT

RELATIONS 213
I. Criminal Offences 213
II. Minor Offences 213
Part II. Collective Labour Relations 217
Chapter 1. Trade Union Freedom 217

I. Constitutional and International Regulation of Trade
Union Freedom 217
II. Freedom of Association 217
III. Trade Unions – Definition and their Legal Position 220
A. Legislation 223
B. Autonomous Sources of Law 226
IV. Similar Organizations 227
V. Trade Union Freedom and International Law 227
VI. The Violation of Union Freedom and the Consequences 228
VII. Employers’ Support for Trade Unions 229
VIII. Intolerable Practices against Employees 229
IX. Intolerable Practices against Unions 230
Chapter 2. Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations 232
§1. ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF TRADE UNIONS 232

I. Trade Unions and their Members 232
II. Trade Union Associations’ Organization 232
III. Formal Characteristics of Trade Unions 233
IV. Trade Unions’ Size and the Financing of Trade Unions 235
V. Trade Unions and their Changing Role 236
VI. Trade Union Structure 237
VII. Employers’ Organizations 238
VIII. Trade Unions as Employees’ Associations 239
§2. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATIONS 239

I. Different Types of Trade Union and their Legal Position 239
II. The Protection of Employees’ Representatives against
Discrimination 243
III. Representativeness of Slovenian Trade Unions and their Legal
Position 243
IV. Employees’ Meetings 244
V. Training of Employees’ Representatives 245
VI. The Right to Call a Referendum 246
VII. The Employer’s Role in Communications between Employees
and their Representatives 246

Table of Contents
VIII. Unlawful Actions of Employers against Trade Unions and

Union Members 247
§3. ANTI-UNION ACTIVITIES AND CONSEQUENCES 247

I. Formal Means of Confrontation with Anti-union Activities 247
II. Actions against Individual and Collective Rights of Employees 248
Chapter 3. Institutionalized Relations between Employers

and Employees 249
§1. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 249

I. Historical Evolution of Collective Bargaining and its Perspectives 249
A. The Evolution of the Main Legal Characteristics of Collective
Contracts 250
B. Centralization or Decentralization of Collective Bargaining 251
II. The Legal Status and Procedure of Collective Bargaining 253
A. Different Types of Collective Agreement 253
B. The Legal Regulation of Collective Bargaining and
the Duty to Bargain 254
C. The Contents of Collective Agreements and Other
Autonomous Sources of Law 255
III. The Binding Effects of Collective Agreements 256
IV. Personal Validity of Collective Agreements 257
V. The Obligatory Part of Collective Agreements 258
A. Clauses on Mutual Obligations 258
B. Institutional Clauses 260
VI. Procedure for Negotiating Collective Agreements and Duration
of the Collective Agreements 260
A. Procedure 260
B. Duration 261
VII. Enforcement of Collective Agreements 261
A. Collective Agreements and the Legal System 261
B. Arbitration 262
C. Preventing and Resolving Collective Labour Disputes
in Practice 264
D. Labour Courts 265
§2. WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION 267

I. Legitimate Basis 267
II. Fundamental Statutory Regulation 268
III. Principles 270
A. Universality 270
B. Minimum Statutory Regulation and Extended Regulation by
Collective Agreement 271
C. Peaceful Resolution of the Disputes between Employees’
Representatives and Employers 272

Table of Contents
D. Self-protection 273
E. The Area of Employees’ Participation 273
F. The Forms of Employees’ Participation in Decision-making 274
G. Modes of Employee Participation in Decision-Making 275
Chapter 5. Strikes, Lock-outs and other Legal Forms

of Industrial Action 277
I. History 277
§1. A STRIKE 277
§2. STATUTORY REGULATION OF THE RIGHT TO STRIKE 279
§3. LEGAL POSITION OF EMPLOYEES ON STRIKE 282
§4. LOCK-OUT 284
Chapter 6. Sanctions 286
§1. CRIMINAL OFFENCES 286
§2. MINOR OFFENCES 287
§3. LIABILITY FOR THE DAMAGES OF THE SOCIAL PARTNERS 288
Index 291

List of Abbreviations
CCA Collective Contracts Act

CE Council of Europe
CEEP European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public
Services
CSA Civil Servants Act
CTW Contract for Temporary Work
EPMA Employees’ Participation in Management Act
EC Employment Contract
ERA Employment Relations Act
ESC European Social Charter
ESC Economic and Social Council
ESS Employment Service of Slovenia
ETUC European Trade Union Confederation
EWCA European Works Councils Act
EU European Union
ILO International Labour Organization
PSSA Public Sector Salary System Act
SFRJ Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
TURA Trade Union Representativeness Act
UEAPME The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises
UNICE Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe
(became BUSINESSEUROPE in 2007)

List of Abbreviations

1–1
General Introduction
Chapter 1. General Background

§1. GEOGRAPHY, LOCATION, SIZE AND BOUNDARIES
I. The State
1. The Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) lies in southern central

Europe bordering Italy on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the south-west, Croatia on
the south and east, Hungary on the north-east, and Austria on the north. Slovenia
covers an area of 20,273 square kilometres and has a population of 2.06 million.
Around 40 per cent of Slovenia’s land mass is elevated land – mostly in the form
of mountains and plateaux – which is located in the interior regions of the country.
The highest point of Slovenia is the 2,864 metre (9,396 ft) high Mount Triglav. The
majority of the population speaks Slovene, which is also the country’s official
language. Other local official languages are Hungarian and Italian.1

2–5 General Introduction, Ch. 1, General Background
Slovenia is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen area,
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe,
NATO, UNESCO, WTO, OECD and the UN.
1. The data in this chapter are taken from various websites of the Slovenian state institutions and
the selection of data made by R. Bohinc in his monograph Corporate Law – Slovenia, Kluwer, 2007.
II. The Capital
2. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Ljubljana is the political and cultural

heart of the Slovenian nation. It is an important European commercial, business,
exhibition and congressional centre as well as the transport, science and education
centre of Slovenia. Its geographical position in the centre of Europe has determined
Ljubljana as a natural meeting place for merchants and soldiers as well as – and
more than once – peacemakers. The victors of the Napoleonic wars selected this
peaceful city as the site of the Holy Alliance congress, which in 1821 sealed
European political geography for years to come. In Ljubljana the old meets the new;
and it seems that history has spent all of the settlement’s five millennia preparing it
to become the nation’s capital. It has managed to retain traces from all periods of its
rich history; from the legacy of Roman Emona, through to the Renaissance,
Baroque and Art Nouveau periods characterized in the house fronts and ornate door-
ways of the city centre, the romantic bridges adorning the Ljubljanica river, the lop-
sided rooftops and a park reaching deep into the city centre. Here eastern and
western cultures met, and the Italian concept of art is combined with the sculptural
aesthetics of Central European cathedrals.
3. The city owes its present appearance partly to Italian baroque and partly to
Art Nouveau, which is the style of the numerous buildings erected immediately after
the earthquake of 1895. In the first half of the 20th century, modern Ljubljana was
shaped by the strong personal style of Jože Plečnik, a great European architect and
a native of Ljubljana. The cityscape was complemented by his modernist followers
as well as by creations of the New Wave of acknowledged young architects. All the
different facets of Ljubljana blend harmoniously into a single image.
4. Ljubljana is a city of culture. It is home to numerous theatres, museums and

galleries, and boasts one of the oldest philharmonic orchestras in the world. The first
music society in Slovenia, the Academia Philharmonicorum, was founded in 1701.
It was a vehicle for baroque music and also facilitated the development of musical
production in this region. Its honorary members included such renowned compos-
ers as Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, and distin-
guished musicians such as the violinist Nicolo Paganini. Between 1881 and 1882,
at the very start of his career, Gustav Mahler was its resident conductor.
5. For the people of Ljubljana culture is a way of living and thinking and is very
much a part of everyday life. Over 10,000 cultural events take place in the city every
year, among which there are 10 international festivals. The inhabitants of Ljubljana
and its visitors can admire artists from all the different fields – from music, theatre
and fine arts to the alternative and avant-garde.

General Introduction, Ch. 1, General Background 6–9
6. Ljubljana hosts over 50,000 students, who give it a special vibe. Ljubljana
earned the label of ‘the city of wine and vine’. In the past it was the wine-trading
centre of the region and grapevines were planted on the slopes leading up to the
present-day castle by the inhabitants of the Roman settlement of Emona. Today sci-
entists are drawn to the city because of its high-calibre institutes and university, as
are artists due to its world-famous graphic biennial, art academy and many art gal-
leries. International businessmen, economists and experts from all fields frequently
attend the city’s many business and congressional meetings, exhibitions and trade
fairs.1
1. http://www.ljubljana.si/en/about-ljubljana/, September 2010.
7. Slovenia’s towns have many well-preserved buildings representing various

styles of architecture dating from the 1100s on. Fine examples of Romanesque
architecture can be found throughout Slovenia, including the church at Stična
Abbey and Podsreda Castle. Architecture from the late Gothic period also survives.
Many buildings in older sections of Slovenia’s towns are in the Italian Baroque
style, particularly in Ljubljana. After a serious earthquake in 1895, extensive sec-
tions of Ljubljana were rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style. Throughout Slovenia the
focus of town life revolves around the older city centres, squares, churches, and
marketplaces.1
1. Read more: Culture of Slovenia – traditional, history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food,
customs, family, social, marriage, men, life, tribe, population, religion, rituals, history and ethnic
relations, http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Slovenia.html#ixzz10YK8mH3H.
III. Geography
8. Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the
Dinarides, the Pannonian plain, and the Mediterranean. Slovenia’s highest peak is
Triglav (2,864 m; 9,396 ft); the country’s average height above the sea level is 557
metres (1,827 ft).
§2. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
I. History
9. At various points in Slovenia’s history, the country has been part of the
Roman Empire, the Duchy of Carantania, Austria-Hungary, the State of Slovenes,
Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929) between the World Wars, and the SFR of
Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991.

II. Parliamentary Democracy
10. According to its Constitution,1 Slovenia is a democratic republic, a state

governed by the rule of law and a social state.
The Slovenian Head of State is the President, who is elected by popular vote
every five years. The executive branch is headed by the Prime Minister and the
Council of Ministers or Cabinet, who are elected by the Parliament.
The bicameral Parliament of Slovenia consists of the National Assembly (Drža-
vni zbor), and the National Council (Državni svet). The National Assembly has 90
seats, which are partially filled with directly elected representatives, and partially
with proportionally elected representatives (two seats reserved for autochthonous
Hungarian and Italian minorities).
The National Council has 40 seats, and is made up of representatives of social,
economic, professional and local interest groups. Parliamentary elections are held
every four years.
Slovenia’s statistical regions exist solely for legal and statistical purposes. The
government, however, is preparing a plan for new administrative regions. The num-
ber of these regions is not yet defined. Constitutional changes allowing the creation
of regions have already been approved by the National Assembly.
Slovenia held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the
year 2008.
1. The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (CRS) was adopted on 23 December 1991, and
was amended in 1997, 2000, and 2004 as well as in 2006.
§3. VITAL STATISTICS
I. Population
11. On 1 April 2010 Slovenia had a population of 2,048,488. In the first quarter
of 2010 Slovenia’s population increased by 0.1 per cent. The annual population
growth rate (2007) was 0.8 per cent.
Ethnic groups (2002) were as follows: Slovenes 83.06 per cent, Croats 1.81 per
cent, Serbs 1.98 per cent, Bosniaks 1.10 per cent, Hungarians 0.32 per cent, Mon-
tenegrins 0.14 per cent, Macedonians 0.20 per cent, Albanians 0.31 per cent, Ital-
ians 0.11 per cent, Roma 0.17 per cent. Religions (2002) were as follows: Roman
Catholic 57.8 per cent, atheist 10.1 per cent, Orthodox Christian 2.3 per cent, Mus-
lim 2.4 per cent, and persons who refused to reply 15.7 per cent.
The in elementary school was 26.1 per cent, in high school 54.1 per cent, taking
two- and four-year university degrees 13 per cent.
Life expectancy in 2006 was 74.84 years for men, 81.89 years for women.
The work force in 2009 totalled 1,064,000.

Table 1. Population by groups and sex, Slovenia, 1 April 2010
1 April 1 July 1 October 1 January 1April

2009 2009 2009 2010 2010
Total population 2,038,733 2,042,335 2,045,901 2,046,976 2,048,488
Men 1,009,431 1,011,767 1,013,871 1,014,107 1,014,739
Women 1,029,302 1,030,568 1,032,030 1,032,869 1,033,749
Citizens of the
Republic of
Slovenia, residents
of Slovenia
Total 1,961,669 1,962,680 1,964,062 1,964,660 1,965,079
Men 952,036 952,669 953,491 953,951 954,221
Women 1,009,633 1,010,011 1,010,571 1,010,709 1,010,858
Foreigners, residents
of Slovenia
Total 77,064 79,655 81,839 82,316 83,409
Men 57,395 59,098 60,380 60,156 60,518
Women 19,669 20,557 21,459 22,160 22,891
Sources: SORS, Ministry of the Interior, Central Population Register.
12. The share of working age population in Slovenia (people aged 15–64) was
constantly rising for several decades up to 2003. At the end of 2003 it was 70.4 per
cent of the population of Slovenia. After 2003 it started to slowly decrease. That is
the result of population ageing and of the decreasing number of births in the coun-
try. Despite the fact that net migration to Slovenia is the most numerous in the ages
15–64, it failed to replace the decreasing of the share of working age population. In
the second quarter of 2007 the unemployment rate was 4.6 per cent (3.6 per cent for
men and 5.8 per cent for women). Slovenia is among the countries that implement
a fully register based method. The registered unemployment rate was 10.0 per cent
in October 2009. The number of unemployed persons is still increasing in 2010. At
the end of 2009 the number of registered unemployed persons was 46 per cent
higher than at the end of 2008. The exceptional increase was the result of high
inflow into the records of the unemployed.
13. Average annual earnings per person in paid employment in 2006 according
to the Structure of Earnings Survey amounted to EUR 14,642. In 2006, average
annual gross earnings in Slovenia reached 53.3 per cent of average annual gross
earnings in the EU-27. Women’s gross earnings were on average 94.8 per cent of
men’s gross earnings. In 2008, 40.3 per cent of the labour costs of a person in paid
employment who earned 67 per cent of average worker’s gross earnings went to pay

taxes and 59.7 per cent for net earnings. The tax burden in 2008 was 0.6 per cent
lower than in 2007. The decrease in the tax burden on labour costs is mostly the
result of lower payroll tax rates.
II. Economy
A. The Formation of the Private Sector: Property and Entrepreneurship
14. In the framework of old socialist political and economic order the non-
ownership concept of business enterprises imposed labour-based corporate gover-
nance. The nucleus of the power of formal decision-making process was an elected
workers’ council in the role of a board of directors, with the power to appoint and
remove managers, to monitor them and to make strategic and long-term business
decisions. The legal form of business was the so-called organization of associated
labour, which was not capital but labour governed.
15. Reforms in the early 1990s abolished this concept. The self-management
and non-ownership concepts were abandoned and the privatization process enabled
the transformation of organizations of associated labour, first to so-called enter-
prises with social capital and later, after the adoption of the new modern European-
patterned company law, to traditional corporate forms.
16. In the search for a new equilibrium between the private, public and social
sectors, Slovenia today faces the challenge of the post-privatized ownership struc-
ture of the economy, significant for the strong public, weak social and emerging,
newly formed and consolidating private sectors.
17. The distribution of the ‘social’ means of production resulted in the strength-
ening of the public sector. The state as an owner thereby took over total public ser-
vices and, in addition, became the owner of substantial parts of other businesses.
State and para-state institutions (i.e. funds, investment companies, public banks)
today own more than 50 per cent of the economy in Slovenia. The predominant
institutional ownership structure strongly influences decision-making in Slovenian
companies. In the 1990s citizens received so-called certificates of part of the social-
ist ‘social property’ which was distributed between the citizens and institutions.
Later the certificates were changed to privatization shares.
18. These processes resulted in very heterogeneous ownership structure of the

Slovenian economy.
The predominant institutional ownership structure is more or less under the politi-
cal control of the existing political nomenclature. The substantial extent of internal
ownership on one hand and the organized influence of employees on managerial
decisions on the other hand is another specific factor of a relevant part of the
economy that makes business decisions subordinate to the interests and pressures of
organized employed shareholders.

A significant part of the national economy is still directly owned by the state; thus
it is not privatized, mainly as wholly or majority controlled stock at the level of the
corporation, which in itself carries the danger of subordinating the interests of the
state as an owner to the interests of the state as public regulator, or the agent of
political parties.
19. As far as the culture (behaviour) of shareholders, business (investment)

motives and goals, and tradition of different types of owners is concerned, the char-
acteristics are as follows. Institutional shareholders are ever more active and pro-
fessional with regard to the current business performance of corporations, at least
those of which they own a substantial part. Employees as an ‘internal’ shareholder
group are normally well organized, and act in the interests of employees unless they
are a minority, when either enter into a shareholders’ agreement with the institu-
tional owners or behave like an opposition, which is more usual.
Concentrated ownership and concentrated voting power means a danger of
squeezing out minority shareholders; therefore the legislator is trying to find a way
to protect such shareholders against being squeezed out by block holders.
20. The legal regulation of the securities market can greatly affect the disper-
sion of ownership in deconcentration of monopoly power and prevent the formation
of huge block holdings and voting pools, with all the negative implications for cor-
porate governance efficiency and competition on the security market.
B. Statistics: Macroeconomic Data
21. In 2008 most government expenditure was intended for social protection
(15.9 per cent of GDP), education (6.2 per cent of GDP) and health (6.1 per cent
of GDP).
22. The prices of new dwellings in Slovenia were growing significantly in 2007,
slowed down in the first half of 2008, did not change in the third quarter of 2008,
decreased for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2008 and dropped by 10 per cent
in the first quarter of 2009. According to provisional data for 2009 Slovenia’s
exports amounted to EUR 16,039.9 million (a decrease by 19.0 per cent compared
to 2008), while imports amounted to EUR 16,958.6 million (a decrease by 26.4 per
cent compared to 2008). The external trade deficit amounted to EUR 918.6 million
and the export/import ratio was 94.6 per cent.
23. In 2008 enterprises in Slovenia generated EUR 12,585 million of turnover

from the sale of goods in retail trade. According to the commodity groups, the larg-
est share of turnover was generated by the sale of non-food products (45.8 per cent
or EUR 5,761 million). Wholesale enterprises generated on the domestic market
EUR 15,744 million of turnover from their trade activity. More than half of turn-
over in wholesale was generated by the sale of non-food products (58.1 per cent or
EUR 9,144 million).

24. Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008 was 54,613 million US dollars; GDP
per capita at current prices, however, amounted to $24,330 (2010 estimate). The
GDP composition by sector is as follows: agriculture 2.2 per cent, industry 34.2 per
cent and services 63.6 per cent (2008 estimate). The inflation forecast for the year
2010 is 1.5 per cent. Unemployment trends are as follows: 4.4 per cent (2008), 6.2
per cent (2009), 7.4 per cent (2010 forecast).
25. Slovenia completed the process of European integration by joining the Euro
area on 1 January 2007. In June 2004 it joined the European Exchange Rate
Mechanism.
Slovenia’s trade is oriented towards Western (EU) countries, mainly Germany,
Austria, Italy, and France. This is the result of a wholesale reorientation of trade
toward the West and the growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe in the face
of the collapse of its Yugoslav markets. Slovenia’s economy is highly dependent on
foreign trade. Trade equals about 120 per cent of GDP (exports and imports com-
bined). About two-thirds of Slovenia’s trade is with EU members, a primary moti-
vation for it seeking EU membership.
Industry and construction comprise over one-third of GDP. As in most industrial
economies, services make up an increasing share of output (57.1 per cent), notably
in financial services.
§4. OTHER IMPORTANT DATA
I. Language
26. The official language is Slovenian. Standard Slovene is the national lan-
guage that evolved from the Central Slovene dialects in the 18th century and con-
solidated itself through the 19th and 20th centuries. While distinct regional varieties
descended from the older rural dialects still exist, the spoken and written language
is uniform and standardized. Some dialects differ considerably from the standard
language in grammar and vocabulary. Though not facing imminent extinction, such
dialects have been in decline during the past century, despite the fact that they are
well researched and their use is not discouraged by the authorities. Notable excep-
tions are the Prekmurje dialect, which is one of the few Slovene dialects in Slovenia
still widely used by the local population, and some Slovene dialects in Italy, most
notably the Resian dialect.
The distinctive characteristics of Slovene are dual grammatical number, two
accentual norms, one characterized by pitch accent, and abundant inflection (a trait
shared with many Slavic languages). Word order is very flexible, often adjusted for
emphasis or stylistic reasons. Second-person plural forms are used for individuals
as a sign of respect. During World War II, when Slovenia was divided between the
Axis Powers of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Hungary, the occupying powers
attempted to suppress the Slovene language.
Following World War II, Slovenia became part of the Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia. Slovene was one of the official languages of the federation. On the

territory of Slovenia, it was commonly used in most areas of public life. One impor-
tant exception was the Yugoslav army where Serbo-Croatian was used exclusively
even in Slovenia. National independence has revitalized the language: since 1991,
when Slovenia gained independence, Slovene has been used as an official language
in all areas of public life. It also became one of the official languages of the
European Union upon Slovenia’s admission in 2004. Hungarian and Italian enjoy
the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian
and Italian borders.
II. Religion
27. By religion, Slovenes have traditionally been largely Roman Catholic.

Before the communist era, as many as 88 per cent of Slovenes were Roman
Catholic, while by 1991 this had fallen to around 72 per cent, and the number of
followers is still falling. There are also nearly 40 other religious communities, spiri-
tual groups, societies and associations registered in Slovenia. Along with the guar-
anteed right to preserve national identity, Slovenes have a right to their own
religious beliefs. Under the Slovenian Constitution, state and religion are separate.
Religious communities enjoy equal rights, and they pursue their activities freely.
Since the Constitution states that no one is obliged to declare their religious or
other beliefs, there are no exact figures on numbers within various religious groups.
According to the 2002 Census the figures for religious affiliation are as follows:
Roman Catholic 57.8 per cent, Muslim 2.4 per cent, Orthodox 2.3 per cent, other
Christian 0.9 per cent, unaffiliated 3.5 per cent, other or unspecified 23 per cent,
none 10.1 per cent.
Religious communities must register with the Government Office for Religious
Communities if they wish to be legal entities, and registration entitles such groups
to value-added tax rebates. This office monitors the position of religious commu-
nities, maintains a register of religious communities active in Slovenia, and issues
certificates of registration for the establishment and cessation of activities of reli-
gious communities.
While there are no legal restrictions on the Muslim community’s freedom of
worship, services are usually held in private homes for lack of larger venues. In
December 2006, Ljubljana introduced plans for a location for a mosque on city-
owned land close to the city centre; both city and Muslim community leaders
approved the site.1
1. http://www.slovenia.si/society/religion/, September 2010.
III. Sports
28. In Slovenia sports are widely appreciated by the people of the country. Writ-
ings and other sources of history show that Slovenia has a long history of sporting
activities, beginning from the Middle Ages. Shooting, hunting, boating, fishing and
a host of other activities were the common sports in Slovenia during the Middle

Ages. In the present times, the numerous sports clubs of Slovenia are the main
patrons of sports in the country.
Among the various types of Slovenian sports, football is quite popular. The entire
country was in a mood of ecstasy when the national football team of Slovenia won a
qualifying match to the European Championships held in the year 2000. The 2002
Football World Cup also saw the participation of the Slovene football team. However,
it is gymnastics that has won the country many laurels in the field of sports. The name
of the world-renowned gymnast Leon Štukelj has gone down in the history Slovenia
sports. Representing the country in Olympics and other World Championship tourna-
ments, he has won several gold, silver and bronze medals. Other noteworthy names of
Slovene gymnasts include Mitja Petkovšek and Aljaž Pegan.
Favourite sports in Slovenia are skiing, volleyball, dance sport, ski jumping,
handball, rowing, paragliding and basketball. The Slovene rowers have won gold
and silver at the Olympics as well as at the World Rowing Championships. Slovenia
sport also features world famous mountaineers and athletes.
IV. Music
29. Music plays an important part in enriching the culture of the country. The
music of Slovenia has been considerably influenced by the musical forms of other
European countries like Austria and Germany. Contemporary Slovenian music fea-
tures several world-renowned musical bands. The folk music of Slovenia is com-
monly associated with a type of polka. The Avsenik is a music band of Slovenia who
have popularized a specific type of Slovenian folk music not only in Slovenia but
also in other parts of the world. Their folk songs are a celebration of local life that
paint a lush picture of the Slovenian countryside. The soothing tunes and melody of
their folk songs have captured many hearts.
The world of music in Slovenia has witnessed the growing phenomenal popularity
of two music bands, Siddharta and Laibach. Several other music composers and
performers have contributed towards the development of Slovenia music. These
musicians have also won international accolades. Mitja Vrhovnik Smrekar is a
Slovenian musician who is making his mark in the field of theatre music. Aldo Kumar
of Slovenia is yet another accomplished musician. The enthralling musical works of
Vinko Globokar have garnered a wider European audience for Slovenian music.
Music is celebrated through a number of music festivals that the country hosts.
Well-known classical musicians participate in the Ljubljana Summer Festival. The
Ljubljana Jazz Festival on the other hand is a celebration of jazz music. The Druga
Godba Festival is an equally popular Slovenia music festival.
V. Literature
30. Literature has always been enthusiastically supported in Slovenia, and with
the country’s high literacy rate, this interest continues to grow. The earliest written
texts in Slovene, which were religious, date from around 970 CE. The first pub-
lished book in Slovene appeared in 1550, and in 1584 a Slovene grammar text and

Bible were published. Until the late eighteenth century, however, almost all books
published in Slovenia were in Latin or German. Slovenian literature flourished in
the early 1800s during the Romantic period and began to develop an identity. Dur-
ing this period France Prešeren was considered Slovenia’s greatest poet, published
his works. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Fran Levstik published his
interpretation of oral Slovene folktales, and in 1866 Josip Jurčič published the first
long novel completely in Slovene, entitled The Tenth Brother. Slovenian literature
immediately before and after World War II was heavily influenced by socialist real-
ism and the struggles of the war period. Various other literary styles, such as sym-
bolism and existentialism, have influenced Slovene writers since the 1960s.
31. Slovenia’s first book was printed by the Protestant reformer Primož Trubar
(1508–1586). It was actually two books, Catechismus (a catechism) and Abece-
darium, which was published in 1550 in Tübingen, Germany. Slovenia’s two great-
est writers were the poet France Prešeren (1800–1849) and writer Ivan Cankar
(1876–1918).
VI. The Arts
32. Slovenia has an enormous variety of art ranging from Gothic frescoes to
contemporary sculpture. The late 19th century saw the rise of a Slovene Expres-
sionist school led by the painter Božidar Jakac. In the early 20th century a new trend
in art emerged as a group of artists joined to form the Club of Independents, some
of whom continued working under Tito’s socialist government. Slovenia has a small
but vibrant art community today that is dominated by the multimedia group Neue
Slowenische Kunst and a five-member artists’ cooperative called IRWIN. There is
also a rich tradition of folk art which is best exemplified by the painted beehives
illustrated with folk motifs that are found throughout Slovenia.
The most important Slovenian painters are Ivana Kobilca and impressionist
Rihard Jakopič.
33. Folk music and dance are an important part of Slovenia’s culture. The Insti-
tute of Music and National Manuscripts in Ljubljana maintains an archive of the
wide variety of traditional songs and fables set to music. Folk dances are still a part
of traditional celebrations, and the first ballet school, which was established in
Slovenia in 1918 as a part of the Ljubljana Opera, continues to perform. Other dance
companies, including contemporary and avant-garde, have also been formed.1 In
2008, theatrical performances in 32 theatres operating in Slovenia were attended by
867,220 people. In the same year more than 2.4 million people saw Slovenian and
foreign long films in cinemas. In addition, 6,358 titles of books and brochures were
published, among them 1,274 titles of literature as well as 1,554 titles of periodicals.
1. Read more: Culture of Slovenia - traditional, history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food,
relations, http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Slovenia.html#ixzz10YM25Pa5.

VII. Architecture
34. Slovenia’s towns have many well-preserved buildings representing various

styles of architecture dating from the 1100s on. Fine examples of Romanesque
architecture can be found throughout Slovenia, including the church at Stična
Abbey and Podsreda Castle. Architecture from the late Gothic period also survives.
Many buildings in older sections of Slovenia’s towns are in the Italian Baroque
style, particularly in Ljubljana. After a serious earthquake in 1895, extensive sec-
tions of Ljubljana were rebuilt in the Art Nouveau style. Throughout Slovenia the
focus of town life revolves around the older city centres, squares, churches, and
marketplaces.1 The most famed Slovenian architect is Jože Plečnik who worked in
Vienna as well as in Prague.
1. Read more: Culture of Slovenia - traditional, history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food,
relations, http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Slovenia.html#ixzz10YM25Pa5.
VIII. Education System
35. The Slovenian education system consists of pre-school education, basic

education (single structure of primary and lower secondary education), (upper) sec-
ondary education: vocational and technical education, secondary general education,
higher vocational education, higher education. Specific parts of the system are adult
education, music and dance education, special needs education, programmes in eth-
nically and linguistically mixed areas. Currently there are four universities in
Slovenia: the University of Ljubljana, the University of Maribor, the University of
Primorska, and the University of Nova Gorica. At the end of 2008 54,722 upper sec-
ondary school pupils and students in Slovenia were receiving scholarships, which
was a quarter of all enrolled pupils and students. In the school year 2007–08, 22 per
cent of the total population of the Republic of Slovenia participated in education, of
whom 19 per cent were in programmes for obtaining education. Data on people par-
ticipating in education shows that in the last three years almost all 15-year-olds and
three-quarters of 19-year-olds participated in education:
– Five year olds today can expect to spend the next 18 years in education.
– With the growing number of people participating in education the educational
structure of population is improving: in 2008, 82 per cent of people aged 25 to
64 had at least upper secondary education and 23 per cent of them had tertiary
education.

§5. UNDERLYING SOCIAL AND CULTURAL VALUES
I. Basic Values
36. According to its Constitution, Slovenia is a democratic republic, which is

based on the rule of law and on the principle of the social state as well as on the
principle of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It is a constitutional obligation to provide for the preservation of the natural
wealth and cultural heritage and create opportunities for the harmonious develop-
ment of society and culture in Slovenia. The right to social security is a constitu-
tional right; citizens have the right to social security under conditions provided by
law. The state regulates compulsory health, pensions, disability and other social
insurance, and ensures its proper functioning. The right to health care is also a con-
stitutional right; everyone has the right to health care under conditions provided by
law. The right to health care from public funds have to be provided by law. The free-
dom of education is constitutionally guaranteed. Primary education is compulsory
and is financed from public funds. The state creates the opportunities for citizens to
obtain a proper education. State universities and state institutions of higher educa-
tion are autonomous. The freedom of scientific and artistic endeavour is constitu-
tionally guaranteed. The constitutional framework of economic and social relations
consists of the following constitutional provisions:
– The state creates opportunities for employment and work, and ensures the protection
of both by law.
– The manner in which property is acquired and enjoyed is established by law, so
as to ensure its economic, social and environmental function. Ownership rights
to real estate may be revoked or limited in the public interest with the provision
of compensation in kind or monetary compensation under conditions established
by law.
– Special rights to use national assets may be acquired, subject to conditions established
by law. The condition under which natural resources may be exploited is established
by law. The law may provide that natural resources may also be exploited by
foreign persons and establishes the conditions for such exploitation.
– The law establishes special conditions for land utilisation in order to ensure its
proper use. Special protection of agricultural land is provided by law. The state
promotes the economic, cultural and social advancement of the population living
in mountain and hill areas.
– Everyone has the right in accordance with the law to a healthy living environment.
The state promotes a healthy living environment. To this end, the conditions and
manner in which economic and other activities are pursued are established by
law. The law establishes under which conditions and to what extent a person
who has damaged the living environment is obliged to provide compensation.
The protection of animals from cruelty is regulated by law.
– Everyone is obliged in accordance with the law to protect natural sites of special
interest, rarities and cultural monuments. The state and local communities promotes
the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage.

37. Free economic initiative is guaranteed. The conditions for establishing

commercial organizations are established by law (i.e. the Commercial Companies
Act). Commercial activities may not be pursued in a manner contrary to the public
interest. Unfair competition practices and practices which restrict competition in a
manner contrary to the law are prohibited.
38. Employees participate in the management of commercial organizations and

institutions in a manner and under conditions provided by law. The freedom to
establish, operate and join trade unions is guaranteed.
Employees have the right to strike. Where required by the public interest, the
right to strike may be restricted by law, with due consideration given to the type and
nature of activity involved.

39–40
Chapter 2. Definitions and Notions

§1. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ITS RELATION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES
39. Slovenian employment law or labour law is an independent subsystem of

the legal system. This characteristic is confirmed by the fact that it has its own par-
ticular structure of regulations with its own principles, and that individuals’ rights,
which have their origin in this legal subsystem, are protected in the special branch
of Slovenian court system. The subsystem can be divided into different elements
applying different approaches. The most important division is the division of indi-
vidual labour law, which deals with the legal position of the single employee in rela-
tion to the employer, from collective labour law, which deals with the legal position
of the group of employees and their legal position in relation to the employers. The
first area has a close relationship to the sociological and psychological aspects of
working life. Observed from this point of view, individual labour law is a part of an
interdisciplinary approach to labour, namely human resource management. The sec-
ond area of labour law, observed from the interdisciplinary point of view, can be
considered a part of interdisciplinary scientific approach, namely industrial or post-
industrial relations. Nevertheless labour law is also significantly influenced by the
political life of the society (Cerar, 2009). In addition to the division of employment
law in the area of individual and collective labour law there are also other divisions
of the central employment legislation, e.g. labour legislation concerning employ-
ment relations in the private sector of the economy and labour legislation concern-
ing employment relations of civil servants in the public sector. Employment law as
the subsystem is connected with other legal subsystems. It has its constitutional
basis and basis in the area of international law. The most important connection of
employment law with other legal subsystems is the connection with social security
law; however, important connections especially with civil contract law, administra-
tive law, company law, and penal law can also be mentioned.
§2. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND OTHER LEGAL SUBSYSTEMS
40. The fact that employment law must be considered as a subsystem of

employment relations leads to the conclusion that the character of the connection
between employment law and other subsystems must be clarified in order to get a
complete picture of employment law. The first insight must be directed towards the
relation between employment law and civil law. The most important characteristics
of this relation are as follows: employment law has developed from civil law,
namely contract law, and has a close relationship with it. This relationship can be
seen through the statutory approach to the regulation of the employment contract.
The statute determines that labour law legislation regulates only particular elements
of the employment contract; however, other elements, which are the same for all
types of contract, are regulated by civil-law provisions. These provisions are also
widely used in certain other areas. The most evident case of such regulation is the
liability for damages arising from the employment relation. Another close relation
between the subsystems is the statutorily defined demarcation line between the

41–42 General Introduction, Ch. 2, Definitions and Notions
two systems with regard to the types of contracts whose subject is human work and
creativity. From this point of view a statutory definition of the employment relation
or employment contract is of great importance. This definition contains the essen-
tial elements of the employment relation. Whenever they appear in reality, they indi-
cate the existence of the employment relation. In other words, this means that in
such cases the stipulation of the civil contract is not permitted. The relationship
between civil law and employment law can also be found in the area of formal (pro-
cedural) law. Again certain civil-law provisions can be directly applied in the area
of employment relations. Statutory law regulating court procedure in civil cases can
to a great extent also be applied in cases of the resolution of labour disputes before
labour and social courts. Only a few procedural regulations are different from civil
procedural regulations and these are regulated in special statutory provisions.
41. There are many important connections between employment law and penal
law. In the employment relation, employees and employers or their management
can commit many inadmissible acts with a different degree of injury. With regard to
employees there is less need for special definitions of their wrongdoings in penal
law than for employers’ wrongdoings. Employers have complete power and author-
ity to react to the possible misbehaviour of the employees therefore the reinforced
protection of employers’ interests by statutory provisions is not needed. On the
other hand, employees as weaker parties in the employment relation must be pro-
tected more decisively by statutory provisions against the employers’ or managers’
misuse of their powers. Penal law therefore determines and regulates particular
criminal offences which can be committed by employers and managers against
employees. In addition, statutory regulations also determine less harmful wrongdo-
ings of both parties as minor offences that are punishable by fines.
The second important relation between employment law and penal law is con-
nected with the fact that employers and managers have to deal with legal categories
which are precisely defined in penal legislation. These categories may not be inter-
preted differently in the area of employment law when they have to be used in prac-
tice. Statutory descriptions of intent, negligence, self-defence, accountability, and
other matters must be strictly taken into account if the employer or manager has to
decide on the consequences for the employee because of his or her guilt-related
behaviour in relation to his or her job performance.
The third connection between the two legal areas is related to procedural law.
Statutory employment law provides only the most important provisions about the
right of the employees to defend themselves against accusations of wrongdoings in
a job. Those single provisions are relatively abstract; therefore, they must be inter-
preted applying other statutory provisions. This can be done if general principles
about the rights of the accused persons arising from penal procedural legislation are
taken into account.
42. Connections between employment law and corporate law must also be
explained. Corporate law among other topics deals with the regulation of the various
forms of works unit. Different forms of works unit are related to the different position of
the employees who work in these units. The rights of employees in companies are not
necessarily the same as the rights of the employees in state institutions, which

General Introduction, Ch. 2, Definitions and Notions 43–45
provide public services, or the legal position of employees in one type of the company
is not always the same as in other types (Ivanjko, 2007, Bohinc, 2007, Kocbek 2005).
The size of the company can be a decisive factor for the type and characteristics of the
rights of the workers’ participation in decision-making, for example.1
1. New organizational forms of works units have been appearing or existing forms may face important
changes. These changes and novelties raise the question of which labour-law regulation may be
applied in such cases, e.g. in the case of the forming of works units instituted on the basis of a
public–private partnership (Tičar, B. 2007).
43. The next observation must be made with reference to the legal position of
managers. Managers, as the group of persons who make decisions about the work
activities of other persons, are divided into two groups. The first group consists of
top managers, who are authorized by the statute to represent the works units in their
legal relations, and the second group of managers consists of persons who have the
authorization to exercise managerial function, however, on the basis of the autono-
mous enactments or the explicit written authorization of top managers. The mem-
bers of the first group are considered persons who are not dependent on employers
and therefore there is no need for them to be protected by employment law.
In consequence, the law permits the contracting parties, namely the top manager
and the employer, to conclude a contract of their own choice when establishing their
mutual relations. The contract can therefore be a civil-law contract or an employ-
ment contract with all or only certain benefits of the employment-law protection,
namely certain employment law guarantees may be excluded or rearranged by con-
tractual clauses. Because of this option the contract is considered a special flexible
employment contract. The second group of mangers is considered to be subordinate
and dependent in the employment relation, therefore, the statute requires that the
contracting parties stipulate the employment contract, offering managers total
employment-law protection.
44. International law is also an important legal area which is closely related to
employment law. Many employment law regulations are created by international
organizations such as the UNO, the International Labour Organization, the Council
of Europe, the European Union, and others. In addition to regulations, which are the
result of the activities of these organizations, the principles and regulations of inter-
national law on the conflict of laws must be applied. International regulations can
be divided according to different criteria. However, the most important division
divides the regulations in to two groups: regulations which can be used directly in
the national territory (e.g. ratified ILO Conventions, EU regulations) and regula-
tions which must be transposed into the national legal system by means of appro-
priate activities of national state bodies (e.g. ratified ILO Recommendations, EU
directives). For international regulations regulating employment relations, bilateral
and multilateral treaties signed between countries, which are or are not members of
a certain international organization, are also important.
45. The relationship between employment law and administrative law is based
on the fact that the public interest touches upon the question of the quality of job
performance of people employed in the public sector with much greater weight.

The Slovenian legal system divides the employees in the public sector into two
groups. The first group of employees are considered civil servants, who have the
public authorization to decide on the legal position of citizens. The second group
consists of employees without such authorizations. In order to secure the efficient
exercise of the functions of civil servants, employment legislation gives them a spe-
cial legal position in comparison with employees in the private sector. The differ-
ences, however, are not so great that their legal position could be considered a
separate legal subsystem, apart from general employment law; therefore, the Slov-
enian regulation of the employment relations in the public and private sectors is still
based on the monistic theory. The main reasons in support of this theory is the fact
that civil servants stipulate the employment contract with the public authority and
that civil servants have the right to establish or join unions and to exercise the right
to strike with some exceptions. There are also some elements of workers’ partici-
pation in decision-making processes secured to employees in the public sector,
strikes are in general not forbidden in this sector, and so on. Collective bargaining
between the trade unions of the public sector and the public authorities is a widely
used method for the regulation of the working conditions of employees in the public
sector.
§3. THE STRUCTURE AND OBJECTIVES OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION,

GENERAL FRAMEWORK
46. Employment legislation is traditionally connected with the achievements of

employees’ fight for good working conditions and with the efforts of the modern
state to secure the balance between capital and labour. After the Constitution of
1991, these goals are secured by means of balanced legislation, which secures for
employees the necessary legal protection, on the one hand, and for employers and
their managers the necessary organizational tools to manage human resources effec-
tively, on the other hand. The basis of Slovenian contemporary employment law is
the regulation of individual employment relations by means of some complex stat-
utes, with the ERA 2002 being the central law in this area. The central statute in the
area of the individual employment relations is accompanied by special legislation.
Special legislation may have different characteristics in relation to general regula-
tion. The main types of special regulation are the following:
– they contain more profound elaboration of single institutions, generally elaborated

in the ERA (e.g. the legislation of minimum salary);
– they regulate legal institutions of individual labour relations in a special manner
for certain professions (e.g. doctors, pilots, truck drivers) or for the employees
in certain economic branches (e.g. industry, agriculture, traffic);
– they regulate the entire area of employment relations (e.g. safety and health on
the workplace) or explicitly connect the legal area of employment relations to
other legal areas (e.g. industrial property);
– they connect the regulatory area of individual employment relations with other
employment relations’ areas or other areas (e.g. the regulation of the trade union
rights in the area of the individual labour relations).

47. In the public sector the central statute is the Civil Servants Act (CSA) 2002,
which applies for civil servants employed in state bodies and works units of local
communities and partly in institutes which exercise public services. This Act is
organically connected with the Salary System in the Public Sector Act (SSAPS)
2002, which deals with the salaries and promotion of civil servants in the public sec-
tor. These general and central statutes are accompanied by many others, which regu-
late the special position of certain categories of employees (e.g. police forces) or
certain narrower fields of the relationship between a single employee and an
employer. As examples of such statutes can be mentioned the Act regulating mini-
mum salaries or the Act regulating safety and health on workplace, and many oth-
ers.1 These Acts are designed to secure for employees their essential and minimum
rights. These regulations are connected with international obligations of the state.
According to the Constitution, ratified treaties are part of the state’s legal order.
After adopting the Constitution in 1991, all the most important international acts
became a part of the Slovenian legal order. In addition to the acts of the UN, these
are also the most important ILO conventions and recommendations, the acts of the
European Council, and acts of the European Union. Nevertheless, the legal position
of individual employees also depends on bilateral and multilateral agreements
between Slovenia and other states. The state legislation which guarantees the
employees their minimum rights also has a function to give decisive incentives to
the process of widening the rights of the employees by collective bargaining2 and
by forming the necessary provisions in the employment contracts. This function of
the legislation is based directly on Article 66 of the Constitution. It provides that
the state must create opportunities for employment and work, and ensure the pro-
tection of both by law. Regulations which have the function of protecting individual
employees have, as mentioned before, their origin in state legislative activities, on
the one hand, and in the processes of social dialogue, on the other hand. Protective
regulations are the main element of the autonomous legal sources, namely employ-
ers’ general acts and different types of collective agreements, more precisely, their
normative parts.
1. The CSA states that particular issues relating to judicial personnel, personnel in the state prosecutor’s
office, the state attorney’s office, and in independent bodies competent for violations, diplomats,
professional members of the Slovenian army, civil servants in the field of defence, civil protection
and rescue, police officers, inspectors, employees in the customs and tax administration, personnel
in the service for execution of sentences, authorized public officers in security services and other
public officers with special authorizations, may be governed by law in a manner different from
the provisions of the CSA, if so necessary due to the special nature of the tasks or the performance
of special duties and authorizations.
2. Individual labour law is inseparably connected to collective labour law. This statement is valid
as for the private sector as well as for the public sector. According to Articles 75, 76, and 77 of
the Constitution and relevant statutory regulations, the employees in both sectors have the right
to employees’ participation in decision-making, the right to organize unions freely and to join
unions freely as well as the right to strike (i.e. social partnership). In order to support social
dialogue in the public sector, the CSA provides for a special body established for the implementation
of social partnership in state bodies and local community bodies. A collective labour agreement
settles the composition and the procedural regulations about the operation of the standing body.
In the standing body, the representatives of public administration bodies, other state bodies and
local communities participate on the part of the employer, and the representatives of most representative
trade unions of branches and professions participate on the part of civil servants.

Another important element of social dialogue in the public sector is the right of the most
representative trade unions of branches and professions in state bodies and local community
administrations to give their opinion prior to adopting regulations affecting employment relations
or the status of civil servants in state bodies and local community administrations. A state body
principal must enable the representative trade union, operating within the body, to give its opinion
prior to adopting general acts affecting the rights and obligations of civil servants.
48. The second main objective of employment legislation is to enable employ-

ers and managers to manage human resources in works units efficiently in order to
make decision-making processes in this area flexible to the greatest extent possible.
Modern Slovenian legislation on employment relations has arisen from the socialist
social and political order which was burdened by some disadvantageous ideological
premises. They did not permit building flexible legislation on the basis of the bal-
ance between the interests of owners of resources of production means and employ-
ees. Exaggerated job protection and other types of protection of employees in a
socialist legal order prevented employers from keeping the costs of labour force
within normal bounds and gaining a normal competitive position on global mar-
kets. After radical social changes at the beginning of the 1990s and after the enact-
ment of employment legislation from that time, based on the new Constitution of
1991, the powers of the employers and mangers have increased significantly. Along
with this process the legislation development in the area of employment relations
has developed new flexible legal instruments which are nowadays comparable with
those known in the labour legislation of other modern countries. With the increased
power of owners of companies and with their growing influence on politics, which
is growing faster than the development of general political culture in the country,
the pressures for further deregulation of protective employment legislation can be
notied. In Slovenia, however, the trade unions have a strong position and success-
fully oppose these trends. This fact and the fact that the state follows a decisive
action plan for the permanent development of so-called active politics of employ-
ment which can successfully neutralize employees’ losses in the area of job protec-
tion, offer the country a balance of the two apparently antagonistic goals of the
employment legislation, namely efficient protection of employees and the powers of
the employers and managers in the area of human resource management. The bal-
ance which is in Europe already known as the concept of flexicurity is therefore
present in modern Slovenian social and economic politics. Due to legitimate orien-
tation in the direction of greater flexibility of the employment regulations, which is
making the activities of managers in the area of the human resource management
easier, the question of the appropriateness of the application of the labour law stan-
dard in favorem laboris arises. The question is whether the labour-law regulations
in case of a doubt or ambiguity may be explained and interpreted in favour of the
worker (Novak, M., 2010). The standard mentioned above is connected to the basic
objectives of labour law, therefore, it is legitimate and there should be no doubt
regarding its application.

§4. THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF THE GOALS OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
49. According to the ERA provisions, the aim of employment legislation is to

achieve the inclusion of the employees in the working process in accordance with
the country’s strategy of pursuing the goal of the full employment. This goal is con-
sidered more or less a strategic target for social and economic politic of the coun-
try; however, it has no concrete value as the legal right despite the fact that it is
mentioned as such in the European Social Charter (article 1 The Right to Work),
ratified by the Slovenian Parliament (i.e. the National Assembly) in 1999. The sec-
ond aim of the employment legislation mentioned in the ERA is to ensure a har-
monized running of the working process through the adequate performance of
management within the framework of its competence. In order to preserve its pro-
tective function, employment legislation also has the objective of preventing unem-
ployment by regulating the substantive rights of workers with regard to their
protection in case of dismissal and employers’ duties with regard to the procedure
when deciding on the termination of the employment relation. Last but not least the
important explicitly expressed aim of the regulations is to secure the freedom of work
and dignity at work, and to protect the interests of workers in the employment rela-
tion, who are considered dependent and weaker parties in the employment relation.
§5. MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS, DUTIES,

AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS A LEGAL ASPECT OF HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
50. By concluding an employment contract an employee enters into an employ-

ment relation with an employer; however, he or she starts to exercise his or her rights,
duties, and responsibilities with the beginning of his or her work performance accord-
ing to the employment contract. The position of the employee is protected by the
contract and also by the compulsory regulations of different types. With reference to
the nature of the employment relation and a general duty of the employee to follow the
employer’s orders with regard to job performance (subordination), facts about the
authority of the persons responsible for making such decisions should be explained.
This right belongs to top managers who have the original authority, regulated by the
statute, to decide on the entire scope of the business activities of the employer. The right
to decide on these matters can also be granted to other persons, usually a lower level of
managers. The statutory law of the private sector does not contain any restrictions on
such authority; however, in the public sector statutory law contains such restrictions.
The content of the restrictions arising from the CSA is related to the duration of the
previous working experience1 and a special level of the education, which are condi-
tions that must be fulfilled on the part of the civil servant who is to obtain the authority.
The original power to make decisions about the legal position of civil servants in the
employment relation in state bodies and local communities is given to the principal2 or
in some parts of the public sector to a person, determined by the statute, other regu-
lations, or general acts of the body. Their authority may arise from a general autho-
rization, determined in autonomous legal enactments or may be granted to them by
a single written authorization of the manager who already has such authority.

1. Work experience entails the years of employment at jobs requiring the same level of education
and the period of apprenticeship requiring the same level of education, regardless of whether a
person entered into employment or apprenticeship with the same employer; work experience
also include work experience that a civil servant gained by working at jobs requiring a one-
degree lesser level of education in the same line of profession or the same occupation, not including
the period of apprenticeship at one-degree lesser level of education. The statute therefore does
not require a certain period of years of service which is defined as the number of years of employment
as a civil servant in state bodies or local community administrations.
2. A principal means a person managing the work of a state body or a local community administration;
a mayor is a principal of municipal administration; in cases in which the principal holds the
status of an official, decisions on his or her rights and obligations are taken by the person or
body to whom the principal is held responsible.
51. In state administration and local communities, a principal may grant author-
ity for exercising the rights and duties of the employer to an official, a head of the
personnel management with the appropriate level of education and appropriate num-
ber of years of service. This authorization must be published within the body in an
appropriate manner and a representative trade union in the body must be notified of
it. By a special statutory provision, a head of personal management in a body will
retain full authority with respect to the exercising of the rights and obligations of
the employer. A principal may also authorize other persons for the performance of
individual tasks in the field of personnel resources management, if this is explicitly
provided by the statute.
From the substantive-law point of view a legal basis for the decision-making
should be mentioned. Persons authorized to make decisions about the legal position
of civil servants have to take into account existing law, an employment contract, as
well as administrative acts issued unilaterally; however, the statute emphasizes that
a principal may not adopt an administrative act containing a decision granting civil
servants rights to a lesser or to a greater extent, or more or less favourable working
conditions other than that provided by acts.
52. Many decisions on the employee’s rights, duties, and responsibilities

depend on the quality of the employee’s work performance. This fact is a starting
point for the recognition of the need of a systematic and permanent evaluation of an
employee’s work results. The issue is not only among the main subjects of human
resource management, but it is also an important legal question. On the one hand,
the ERA does not contain a wide regulatory area of this issue, whereas the CSA
does. The main reason for that is the fact that managers in the private sector bear
great economic liability for the quality of their decisions in the area of human
resource management, whereas in the public sector the liability of the authorities in
this regard is less emphasized. Consequently, public sector regulations must regu-
late this area more strictly. In addition, the working and professional qualities of
civil servants are observed and documented systematically in accordance with CSA
provisions. According to these CSA provisions, assessments of officials are carried
out with the purpose of fostering careers and the correctness of the decisions on
their promotion. Assessments are also carried out having regard to the evaluation of
the contribution of individual officials to the operations of the body. The statute
defines the essential elements of the assessment of officials. Such elements are the
following:

– work results;
– independence, creativity, and accuracy in the performance of work;
– reliability in the performance of work;
– quality of cooperation and the organization of work;
– other skills in relation to the work performance quality.
53. The CSA provisions regulate the modalities of the assessment of the quali-
ties of civil servants so as to define the time of regular assessment (e.g. once a year),
the group of the officials who are the subject of the assessment (fixed-term contract
holders and employees with a short service period are excluded). The evaluation is
determined by the superior.1
1. Evaluation sheets must be completed each year by a superior. A principal must ensure that the
evaluation sheets are completed by the end of January for the previous year. Officials must be
notified of their evaluation through an interview with their superior. They must be notified of
their evaluation within 30 days after the evaluation has been determined. Officials disagreeing
with the evaluation may request the test of the evaluation within eight days. The test of the
evaluation is conducted by a commission composed of the superior and two other officials. Officials
are entitled to be present at the test of the evaluation. The commission’s decision is final.
§6. DECIDING ON PROMOTION AND REMUNERATION
54. Promotion and the flexible part of the wage or salary depend on the work
results of the employee. In the private sector, a legal basis for these decisions is
modest. The main principle, which must be fully respected in this area, is the prin-
ciple of equality, namely the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of personal
circumstances. In order to secure the implementation of this principle, it is neces-
sary for employers to enact regulations containing the rules which determine the cri-
teria for the statement of work results and the work efficiency of the employees. The
legal order provides incentives for the bilateral regulation of these matters by col-
lective agreements. Employees’ representatives will normally be eager to make such
agreements with employers; however, in the opposite case or if no agreement is
reached in the processes of social dialogue the employer must enact such criteria
unilaterally. If a works council is established in the company the employer has to
enact criteria for the statement of wage elements depending on work efficiency with
the consent of the works council. These general rules may be analogically applied
for the promotion system of the employees in accordance with modern human
resource management strategies and managerial skills.
55. A regulation on the process of deciding in regard to promotion and remu-

neration on the basis of work efficiency in the public sector is entirely different,
much more precisely regulated by the statute (i.e. the Public Sector Salary System
Act of 2007). Promotion entails that a civil servant or functionary depending on his
or her job or title may be granted the rights arising from a higher salary bracket or
even that he or she may be transferred to a new job, placed in a higher salary bracket
or appointed to a new title with a correspondingly higher salary bracket. A
decision on the promotion is taken by the competent authority. The statute also

provides for the limitations or exclusion of promotion for some categories of civil
servants or functionaries as well as regular promotion periods. The main criterion
for the promotion is the work efficiency of the person. The criteria for its assess-
ment are also determined by the statute.1 Apart from the conditions for the promo-
tion, the statute also regulates the procedure of deciding in regard to promotion by
stating formal acts and bodies which have the role in this procedure. A formal act
may be a state regulation or general acts of bodies with certain degree of autonomy
in this regard. In both cases representative unions must be given the opportunity to
express their views about it.
1. As such criteria are determined work results, the independence of the person in his or her job
performance, creativity and reliability of his or her work, organizational skills and other competences
developed by the job performance, education, and training.
56. Another area of deciding on the legal position of the employee on the grounds
of his or her work efficiency is the area of the part of a wage or salary. In the private
sector, this area is not regulated by statutory rules; therefore, it is left to the wide
regulation of the contracting parties to employment relations. The main category,
which must be mentioned, is the duty of the employers to secure the equal treatment of
employees and to avoid any kind of discrimination in this regard. Taking into account
this principle, the employers must regulate the criteria for the statement of the work
efficiency. In the public sector, the statutory regulation is wider. According to the
Public Sector Salary System Act, civil servants are entitled to a part of the wage or sal-
ary on the basis of regular work efficiency,1 a part of the wage or salary on the basis of
increased workload, and a part of the wage or salary on the basis of business results
arising from the market activities of the work unit of the public sector. The statute
regulates the entire relatively defined amount of the financial resources available for
distribution among employees. Normally functionaries are not entitled to this part of
the salary; however, there are certain exceptions, e.g. judges.
1. Civil servants whose work efficiency is rated exceptionally good are entitled to this part of the
wage or salary, which is limited. The criteria for the statement of this part of the wage or salary
are determined by the collective contract for the public sector. There are some special regulations
for certain functionaries.
57. Increased workload may be a basis for payment of a part of work efficiency if
a works unit in the public sector has necessary financial means. These financial means
may be obtained by works units especially on account of reduced wages or salaries in
cases where civil servants are absent from work either partly or full time. In the case of
their absence their work is replaced by increased workload of someone else. Another
possibility for such work and remuneration is project work that is planned and
financed by the government. An increased workload may be introduced for a civil
servant on the basis of a written agreement between the civil servant and the
competent representative of the body. Similar statutory regulation of this issue is in
force for judges; however, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia and the
Judicial Council has a certain regulatory role. In public services there may be special
statutory regulation of this subject. The part of the wage or salary on the basis of busi-
ness results arising from market activities of the works unit of the public sector is
secured to civil servants employed in institutes performing public services

together with other legal activities which enable them to sell their goods on the mar-
ket. According to the statute, a part of the financial income earned on the market
may be used for the distribution of wages or salaries of employees on the grounds
of the business results if the works unit meets certain additional statutorily defined
conditions.1 The government must publish the regulation which defines the list of
incomes of the works unit on the market, and the amount of the financial means
which may be distributed among the employees on the basis of business results. The
amount of the sum which is assigned to the distribution on the basis of business suc-
cess of the works unit must be determined by the management in agreement with
representative unions.
1. A works unit has to perform public service in accordance with a planed programme of work and
financial plan, must not have problems with business success, it must have surplus income for
past periods, and must also have internal regulations regarding the standards for cost management
in regard to public services and market activities. The particularities of these issues are regulated
by an ordinance.
§7. OTHER FORMAL RULES REGARDING BODIES AND PROCEDURES

FOR DECISION-MAKING
58. According to the legal principle of freedom of collective bargaining and the
possible extension of the rights of the employees through the statutory regulation of
the employees’ participation in decision-making in the works units of the private
sector, there is another possibility for the authorization of the subject that could
decide on the individual legal position of the employee. Collective bargaining pro-
cesses can namely lead to an agreement between the employer and workers’ rep-
resentative body to establish a mixed body authorized to take such decisions.
§8. HARASSMENT AND MOBBING
59. Closely connected with discriminatory practices which are in their nature
the misuse of the employer’s power over the employee are different kinds of unlaw-
ful pressure on employees which can also be considered the misuse of the employ-
er’s power. The amendments to the ERA adopted in 2007 precisely define different
modes of harassment, including sexual harassment and mobbing. According to the
statute, such behaviour is unlawful if it attacks the human dignity of the employee
or if it leads to other circumstances which violate the employee’s human rights. The
statute also emphasizes that defending employees against such unlawful practices
must not lead to harmful consequences for the defender.
§9. DISCRIMINATION
60. If in case of a dispute the applicant or worker presents facts which justify
the assumption that the prohibition of discrimination was not respected, it is the duty
of the employer to prove that different treatment is justified by the type and nature

of work. Should the prohibition of discrimination be violated, the employer is liable

for damages to the applicant or worker pursuant to general rules of civil law. The
ERA regulation on the prohibition of discrimination is also based on EU Directive
76/207/EEC modified by Directive 2002/73/EC, Directive 97/80/EC on the burden
of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex, and Directives 2000/43/EC and
2000/78/EC on equal treatment of persons.1
1. The term EU Directive is used in this text as a common noun for this type of enactments regardless
of the changing legal nature of European organizational form and its governmental bodies which
are competent to enact.

61–62
Chapter 3. Historical Background

61. Employment law is a legal subsystem which deals with employment rela-
tions between employers and employees as well as other participants in the employ-
ment relations. It is divided into two areas, namely the area of the legal regulations
dealing with relations between single employees and employers (i.e. individual
labour law), and the second area of regulations, dealing with relations between the
groups of the employees who have a common legal position and the employers or
their groups which also have a particular legal position (i.e. collective labour law).
Within employment law there is a place for many regulations that are beyond the
direct legal regulation of labour relations (Kyovsky 1978, Tintić 1969). The regu-
lations regarding the activities of the Employment Service of the Republic of
Slovenia in the area of the employment can be mentioned as an example. Employ-
ment law as a legal subsystem has to be regarded through different angles. The inter-
pretation of employment law regulations has to take into account the historical and
cultural grounds of this legal area, its international and comparative aspects, its rela-
tion to other legal subsystems, and its relation to different social approaches with
reference to the relations between labour and capital. From this point of view
employment law is a part of two interdisciplinary areas, namely human resources
management as well as industrial or post-industrial relations.
62. Employment law, considered as the wider area of labour law, has to be
divided into two areas, namely the regulatory area of the private sector and the area
of the public sector. It must be emphasized that this division does not justify the the-
sis of the two subsystems of employment law; the two areas are not strictly sepa-
rated but are closely related and consequently there exists only one legal subsystem.
Employment relations of civil servants have a contractual basis, the same as
employment relations of the workers employed in the private sector. Narrowly con-
nected with this basic statement is the fact that the general employment relations’
regulations are envisaged to be applied for the public sector employment relations.
Slovenian employment law therefore corresponds to the theoretical paradigm of
monism and not dualism of employment law, which is a theoretical framework of
the legislation in some other European countries (e.g. Germany).1 From the employ-
ment relations point of view, the public sector includes the relations between civil
servants and public employers in the state bodies and in the administrations of self-
governing local communities, public agencies, public funds, public institutions, and
public commercial institutions, as well as other entities of public law that indirectly
use state or local budgetary funds (Pirnat 2002).
1. An important indicator of fostering a monistic character of national employment relations, i.e.
a complex comprehension of the employment relations in the private and public sector as one
legal subsystem, is the development of the social dialogue in the public sector, especially the
development of collective negotiations in the public sector and the existence of certain elements
of the participation of the civil servants (Vodovnik, Turi 2008). Trade unions keep their traditional
role and activities in the area of the individual employment relations even in times of social
instability and economic crises. Their role, however, has been changing in the area of the collective
employment relations, namely their strategic needs meet the employer’s interest for the economic
success of the works unit, and therefore they are more willing to make compromises with the
employers (Novak, 2008).

63–65 General Introduction, Ch. 3, Historical Background
§1. THE BIRTH OF SLOVENIA AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
63. Slovenia has only recently become an independent country (i.e. in 1990). At
the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries) the Slovenian territory
was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In these times different forms
of labour movements of the workers were considered unlawful practices and some-
times treated as criminal offences. Workers’ attempts to unite and fight for better
working conditions were considered a rebellion against the owners of the means of
production. Union leaders faced police and judicial repression. At the end of the
19th century in European countries state authorities changed their view with regard
to employees’ associations. They began to treat them as allies against the plant own-
ers and businessmen in regard to the exploitation of the manpower, which at that
time caused serious social tensions. After the First World War, Slovenia became a
part of Yugoslavia. Between the two wars, Slovenia was under the rule of the Yugo-
slav legislation, which contained some modern regulation of employment relations
and industrial relations. Within these frameworks trade unions enjoyed the protec-
tion of the state legal regulation. After the Second World War, Slovenian territory
became a part of the new Yugoslav state proclaimed already during the war in 1943
and named Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (DF Yugoslavia, DFY), which later
became the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia (FPR Yugoslavia, FPRY), and
in 1963 the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia, SFRY).
64. The state was organized in accordance with the socialist ideology and policy
which was in some ways antagonistic to the existence of the trade unions as employ-
ees’ representative associations. All the power of decision-making in production
units was formally given to employees and their self-governmental bodies, so there
was no need for the unions to negotiate with the management. Notwithstanding is
uniform trade unions still existed in the socialist order but their role and compe-
tences were limited (see Igličar, 2004). The trade unions had a so-called transmis-
sion role, which entailed that they were a kind of command channel of the sole
Communist Party. The role of the unions of that time can also be considered lim-
ited. As they had no negotiating function, their traditional activities were limited to
the less important issues of the common interest of the employees, such as organiz-
ing sports activities, providing benefits to employees, etc. At that time a workers’
strike was permitted as it was considered a reaction of the workers against the mis-
use of the managerial powers in works units.1
1. See Novak et al., 1992.
§2. THE CONSTITUTION AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
65. The Slovenian Constitution, which was adopted in 1991, brought to the
Slovenian legal system some new principles. Some of them can be considered to be
of great importance for relations between the capital and labour or industrial rela-
tions. The principle of democracy requires democratic development in all the impor-
tant areas of the social life in the state. The principle is a basis for the legal

General Introduction, Ch. 3, Historical Background 66–66
regulation that supports efficient communication between the owners of the means
of production and employees. This principle is the essential foundation for trade
union freedom and the development of workers’ direct participation in decision-
making as well as their financial participation. The principle of the rule of law and
social state is also important in the area of industrial relations because it requires
that the government ensures the appropriate statutory regulation of the social dia-
logue, supports the processes of the collective bargaining, and effectively oversees
the implementation of the regulations. There are many factors that influence a suc-
cessful implementation of this principle. One of them is the efficient regulation and
practice of the prevention and the resolution of the labour disputes. Labour disputes
in the Slovenian legal system are divided into two groups: individual labour dis-
putes between individual employees and their employers and collective labour dis-
putes between employers and groups of the employees or all employees’ in a single
working unit. The general legal principle of conflict resolution is that conflicts
should be settled peacefully between the two parties. The law does not make it
impossible for the parties to initiate court proceedings if their rights have been vio-
lated, but the statute strongly recommends the use of other alternative means of dis-
pute resolution. This principle applies to both types of dispute; however, it is
enforced to a much greater extent in the area of the collective labour disputes by
providing different legal tools that can be applied within this scope. In the area of
the collective dispute resolution this approach is quite logical, because collective
labour relations may arise not only from disagreements about rights and duties but
also from disagreements about the interests of the parties in the process of the cre-
ation of autonomous law, namely collective agreements of different types. In such
situations the dissatisfied party is guided by the statute to initiate out-of-court pro-
cedure in order to reach the agreement; however, the statute also provides the party
with the procedural right to require the court to intervene in such a dispute. A con-
dition for such intervention is that the other party consents to the court’s interven-
tion, because the court’s decision substitutes for the missing will of the parties.
66. The constitutional values mentioned above are a legal framework for
the development of the social dialogue, which allows a symbiosis between key
social subjects who participate in creating the foundations for socio-economic
and social development. Social dialogue is a communication between social part-
ners.1 Social dialogue is most of all a collective communication between social
partners carried out in different forms and at different levels, i.e. from the national
level to the level of individual organizations. Social dialogue as a communication
process plays a key role in planning social development and in harmonizing various
interests of different population groups. From this perspective, this process is of key
importance for the prevention and resolution of interest disputes between the own-
ers of capital and employees. The level of the development of this communication
process is especially important in periods of economic and social crisis when it is
possible to provide for a balanced preservation of traditional social values within
the frameworks of the social dialogue, especially the preservation and development
of a social state and the promotion of economic development.

In numerous EU documents social dialogue is defined as an important value that

has its origin in the historical and cultural foundations of Europe. It is one of the
pillars of the emerging European social model; therefore it is understandable that it
is a constituent part of the legal order of the European Union, i.e. the acquis
communautaire.
1. Social partners are subjects who, because of the implementation of their own interests in the
fields of economic and social relations, communicate in a legally regulated manner with subjects
who have fundamentally the same long-term interests. Social partners are trade unions as well
as employers and their associations. Also the state plays a role of the social partner, namely as
an employer, on the one hand, as it employs persons in the state administration, and, on the
other hand, it negotiates with trade unions of the public sector within the frameworks of which
it provides for the performance of public tasks which it finances.
67. As regards the origin of the development of the social dialogue in Europe
certain authors highlight or emphasize the political roots of this communication pro-
cess, whereas others are of the opinion that the reasons for the social dialogue are
always economic and social interests. Such interests can most intensely be formed
and expressed in collective bargaining processes and in processes in which collec-
tive contracts are adopted.
From the point of view of persons involved in social dialogue, the legal theory of
industrial relations divides social dialogue into tripartite and bipartite social
dialogue.
In Slovenia both types of the social dialogue are applied, i.e. bipartite and tripar-
tite social dialogue. Within the scope of the social dialogue a two-way or three-way
communication takes place between employees, employers, and the state or between
the representatives of these groups.
68. Tripartite social dialogue is the manner of communication between social

partners, which was implemented as a principle in international law. This principle
is a guideline for forming bodies of the central international organization respon-
sible for adopting principal international legal instruments, i.e. the International
Labour Organization (ILO). This principle is also implemented in ILO Convention
No. 144 concerning Tripartite Consultations and in ILO Recommendation No. 152.
These instruments determine in which cases social partners in the Member States
should hold tripartite consultations. The states that adopted and have been success-
ful in implementing the contents of these instruments in their legislation and case
law can be deemed modern from the viewpoint of the development of partner rela-
tions between work and capital. Tripartite communication is certainly an extremely
important social damper in cases of crisis situation in society.
69. In Slovenia one of the types of the tripartite social dialogue is formally
implemented already in the structure of the National Council of the Republic of Slo-
venia. The second House of Parliament is the representative body for social, eco-
nomic, professional, and local interests. The National Council is, inter alia,
composed of four representatives of employers’ associations and four representa-
tives of trade unions. Members of the National Council are elected for a term of five
years. Members are elected at indirect elections held within interest organizations

or local communities by electoral bodies (i.e. electors). Representatives of the elec-

torate (i.e. electors) are elected by interest organizations in accordance with their
rules of procedure.1 The National Council may propose to the National Assembly
the passing of laws or amendments of individual statutory provisions (the first
indent of Article 97 of the Constitution of the RS). It conveys to the National
Assembly its opinion on all matters within the competence of the National Assem-
bly. The National Council may also exercise a suspensive veto, which entails that it
may require the National Assembly to decide again on a given law prior to its pro-
mulgation, this time with a higher majority. Every member of the National Council
may issue a written call for a referendum, which is approved in the National Coun-
cil if a majority of all members vote in favour of the call. Every member of the
National Council may file an initiative for a parliamentary inquiry.2
1. Http://www.ds-rs.si/?q=drzavni_svet/volitve, August 2010.
2. Http://www.ds-rs.si/?q=drzavni_svet/pristojnosti, August 2010.
70. The foundation of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic
Slovenia (ESC) has importantly contributed to strengthening the tripartite social
dialogue in Slovenia. From its foundation in 1994, the ESC has functioned as the
broadest body of social dialogue in Slovenia.1 Employers and their interests are in
the ESC represented by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, the
Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia, the Association of Employers of
Slovenia, and the Association of Employers of Craft of Slovenia. Employees’ inter-
ests are represented by trade unions, which are at the national level organized for
individual activities and are most often associated in trade union associations. The
state is included in the social dialogue as a partner; its interests are represented by
representatives of the government. The main outcome of a tripartite communication
is a social agreement. This document is a general contract, which contains guide-
lines for the operation of the social partners over a certain period of time.
1. The ESC monitors economic and social situation, discusses it, and develops standpoints and
proposals with reference to these areas and areas which have a great significance for all three
social partners. The basic fields of the operation of the ESC are the following:
– concluding social agreements;

– social rights and rights from compulsory insurance, such as pensions, disability allowances,
social relief, compensations;
– issues of employment and employment relations;
– the system of collective bargaining;
– prices and taxes;
– economic system and economic policy;
– legal security of the employees;
– cooperation with the ILO and the Council of Europe as well as with the judicial institutions
of the European Union and of the Member States of the European Union;
– co-management of employees;
– trade union rights and freedoms.

71. The ESC has two key roles. The first role is an advisory one. The ESC takes
an active part in drafting legislation and other documents. It may also express opin-
ions and alternative proposals in other areas, such as draft laws and budget memo-
randa. The ESC communicates its proposals, recommendations, and opinions to the
National Assembly, the National Council, and to expert and general public (Article
3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Economic and Social Council).
The second role is a quasi-negotiating role. The ESC negotiates on issues which
are a subject of the social agreement, on the agreements regulating the salary policy,
and on similar tripartite agreements. In recent years Social Agreement 2006–2009
has applied in Slovenia, which was adopted with the objective that the social part-
ners assuming certain obligations and thereby contributing to faster economic
growth and to the promotion of new employment positions.
72. A tripartite composition of the ESC guarantees equal representation of all

three social partners. The ESC has 15 members; each side has 5 members. Each
member has a deputy who has the same competencies and rights as the members.
The term of office of the members and their deputies is three years. The ESC
appoints a president and his or her deputy for a term of one year. Every year the
president is appointed by one of the three social partners. Decisions are adopted
unanimously, with each of the social partners carrying one vote. If a common con-
sent cannot be reached, they negotiate until it is reached. A time limit for the ter-
mination of the negotiations is determined at the ESC session before negotiations
begin and may not exceed 30 days. If also within this time limit common consent
cannot be reached, it is deemed that the ESC cannot formally adopt a common posi-
tion on the issue. If common consent is not reached between the members of one of
the social partners, that group engages in separate negotiations to endeavour to
reach a common consent. In practice in the past operations of the ESC the main
problem was that in certain instances the social partners were not invited to discus-
sions regarding planned draft laws in due time and that in certain instances the con-
clusions of this body were not respected.
As a consequence, in legal theory there have been serious initiatives for a statu-
tory regulation of the operations of the ESC and for its further development by
upgrading its role in the field of the system of the prevention and resolution of
labour disputes.
73. Bipartite social dialogue takes place between employers, the group of
employers or one or more employers’ organizations, on the one hand, and one or
more employees’ organizations or elected workers’ representatives, on the other
hand. At the international level a legal basis for developing this type of the social
dialogue is ILO Convention No. 154 concerning the Promotion of Collective Bar-
gaining, which the Republic of Slovenia ratified in December 2005 (Official Gazette
RS, No. 121/2005). This modern convention was adopted in order to promote stron-
ger collective bargaining and it complements ILO Convention No. 98, which under-
lined the principle of free collective bargaining at the international level. Article 2
of the Convention defines the term collective bargaining which extends to all nego-
tiations which take place between an employer, a group of employers or one or more
employers’ organizations, on the one hand, and one or more workers’ organizations,

on the other, for determining working conditions and terms of employment; regu-
lating relations between employers and workers; and regulating relations between
employers or their organizations and a workers’ organization or workers’ organiza-
tions. ILO Recommendation No. 163 concerning the Promotion of Collective Bar-
gaining (1981) elaborates in more detail the principles arising from the Convention.
74. Two basic types of the bipartite social dialogue are applied; the it expected
outcome is a conclusion of one of the types of collective agreements. These two
types of the social dialogue are the following:
– collective bargaining; and

– negotiations between elected workers’ representatives and representatives of individual
employers.
75. Collective agreements are autonomous, general written agreements between

employees and employers. Most often collective agreements are agreements regu-
lating general working conditions as well as the rights and obligations of contract-
ing parties. An employment contract may only determine the same or a higher level
of rights and benefits for employees than are determined by a collective contract.
Collective contracts are thus an important autonomous source of law. However, all
collective contracts and other collective agreements are not autonomous sources of
law. If a collective contract does not contain provisions which would apply to indi-
vidually undetermined members of the parties and participants, it does not have a
nature of a normative instrument but can have the nature of a multilateral employ-
ment contract with certain civil-law elements or even public-law elements. This
applies also to other types of collective agreement. With reference to social dia-
logue, international law gives preference to collective contracts over other types of
collective agreements. Parties to collective contracts are trade unions and institu-
tions of civil society whose significance for a balanced legal regulation of labour
relations and for the supervision over the implementation of such relations is gen-
erally recognized. Taking into account the principle of free trade union organiza-
tions and collective bargaining, which is limited by the recognized possibility in
international law that trade union freedom and consequently collective bargaining
are limited in cases in which this is necessary due to the protection of the public
order, the question is raised not only at the international but also at the national
level, of where the boundaries of the public order are on the one hand, and the
boundaries of trade union freedom and collective bargaining, on the other hand. The
field of the regulation of economic and social relations, which is not in the exclu-
sive competence of the state, is a subject of free collective bargaining. However, the
state with its measures cannot interfere with these relations by any legislative inter-
vention by simply referring to the public interest. In accordance with the criteria of
the ILO, the state may namely interfere with the existing relations regulated by col-
lective agreements with ex nunc effects only in a crisis situation.
76. Social dialogue takes place at different levels. Social partners are in the
social dialogue represented by persons that they appoint themselves in accordance
with their internal acts or national regulations. An especially important and

fundamental level of the social dialogue is the company level at which communi-
cation processes take place between employees and their representatives and an
individual employer and employer’s representatives. At this level, the employer is
represented by management that can be more or less qualified for human resource
management and for managing relations with employees’ representatives.
77. Social dialogue has the best outlook in those works units in which a modern
style or model of managing with people is implemented, i.e. participative manage-
ment. This is a comprehensive and systematic model of including employees in
decision-making processes in organizations, which combines the application of
models of human resource management, and models of employee participation in
decision-making. One of the characteristics of this model is that the initiative for
ensuring the employees’ influence on decision-making processes in these organiza-
tions comes from managers (Vodovnik, 2-3/2005, 192). The above-mentioned style
of management of the employees ensures a high level of motivation of the employ-
ees, as it considerably encourages the employees with non-monetary goods and a
high level of employees’ human rights protection in their working environment.
Managers’ efforts in this sense have to be highly appreciated (see, Djokić, 2009);
however, the management also accepts certain responsibilities (see, Tičar, 2008) in
order to act in such a manner.
78. Taking into account that not only trade unions but also elected workers’ rep-
resentatives are constitutionally protected categories, the question of the relation
between them must be answered in order to explain the role of both. Considering
the Slovenian legal regulation, which regulates a legal position of trade unions, on
the one hand, and elected workers’ representatives, on the other hand, it can be
established that the relation between them can be defined as complementary. Both
types of representation promote the implementation of economic and social inter-
ests of the employees; however, legal regulation guarantees trade unions for this
purpose various means which trade unions select themselves, whereas elected work-
ers’ representatives are provided with means which are regulated by legal instru-
ments, however, no means are envisaged by which they could pressure employers.
§3. INTERNATIONAL LAW AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE NATIONAL

REGULATION OF COLLECTIVE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
79. National legal regulation of the collective labour relations considers the main
international sources of law which regulate this field (Korpič-Horvat, 2006). Among
the important international agreements must first of all be mentioned the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,1 which was adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1948. This legal instrument does not have a nature of an enforceable
legal instrument, as it cannot be enforced, its norms are abstract and of an interpreta-
tive nature, and it contains important values with regard to human rights. Article 20 of
the Declaration determines that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful
assembly and association and that no one may be compelled to belong to an associa-
tion. The fourth paragraph of Article 23 determines that everyone has the

right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests. The
right to freedom of association, including the right to form and join trade unions, is
also mentioned in Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights of 1966;2 more exhaustive, however, are provisions of Article 8 of the Inter-
national Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966,3 which con-
tain more specific guidelines which all the state parties to this covenant must
recognize and ensure their appropriate implementation in national legal systems.
The following provisions must be ensured:
– the right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of his choice,
subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, for the promotion and
protection of his economic and social interests. No restrictions may be placed
on the exercise of this right other than those prescribed by law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public
order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
– the right of trade unions to establish national federations or confederations and the
right of the latter to form or join international tradeunion organizations;
– the right of trade unions to function freely subject to no limitations other than
those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the
interests of national security or public order or for the protection of the rights
and freedoms of others;
– the right to strike provided that it is exercised in conformity with the laws of the
particular country.
1. Official Gazette RS, No. 24/1999 – MP, No. 7/1999

2. Official Gazette SFRY, No. 7/1971, Official Gazette RS, No. 35/1992 – MP, No. 9/1992.
3. Official Gazette SFRY, No. 7/1971; Official Gazette RS, No. 35/1992 – MP, No. 9/1992.
80. The principle of autonomy of the parties in collective bargaining is under-

lined also in certain basic ILO conventions, namely ILO Convention No. 87,1 which
determines the protection of the right to organize and freedom of association of
workers’ and employers’ organizations in relation to the state. It is underlined that
the public authorities shall refrain from any interference that would restrict this right
of workers and employers as well as their organizations or impede the lawful exer-
cise thereof.
ILO Convention No. 87 is supplemented by ILO Convention No. 98,2 which
defines certain principles of the freedom of association and collective bargaining, of
which the aim is to ensure conditions for implementing trade union freedom and
encouraging voluntary collective bargaining procedures.
1. Official Gazette SFRY – MP, No. 8/1958.
2. Official Gazette SFRY – MP, No. 14/1982.
81. Voluntary collective bargaining is also a subject of ILO Convention No. 154
concerning the Promotion of Collective Bargaining (1981)1 together with ILO Rec-
ommendation No. 163 of the same name (Belopavlovič, 2006). These documents
encourage the states to adopt measures to facilitate the establishment and growth,
on a voluntary basis, of free, independent and representative employers’ and

workers’ organizations. The states must ensure pre-established and objective crite-
ria with regard to the organizations’ representative character. Measures adapted to
national conditions are to be taken to promote collective bargaining and are the
following:
– collective bargaining should be made possible for all employers and all groups
of workers in the branches of activity covered by this Convention;
– collective bargaining should be progressively extended to all branches of economic
activity, the police, the armed forces and the public service, to the extent to which
the guarantees provided for in this Convention apply for them;
– the establishment of rules of procedure agreed between employers’ and workers’
organizations should be encouraged, whereas collective bargaining should not
be hampered by the absence of rules governing the procedure to be used or by
the inadequacy or inappropriateness of such rules;
– bodies and procedures for the settlement of labour disputes should be so conceived
as to contribute to the promotion of collective bargaining.
1. Official Gazette RS, No. 121/2005.
82. For the principles of the freedom of association and the autonomy of the
parties to collective agreements the instruments of the Council of Europe are also
important. Within this framework two documents must be mentioned, namely the
European Convention on Human Rights1 and the European Social Charter (ESC),2
which in paragraph 5 of Part I determines that all workers and employers have the
right to freedom of association in national or international organizations for the pro-
tection of their economic and social interests. In paragraph 6 it determines that all
workers and employers have the right to bargain collectively. The European Com-
mittee of Social Rights is the body responsible for the interpretation of the provi-
sions of the ESC on the basis of the national reports of the states parties and in
collective complaints procedures. Within this scope the European Committee deter-
mines whether national regulation and practice in states parties are in conformity
with the Charter.
2. Official Gazette RS, No. 7/1999 – MP.
83. ILO Convention No. 151 concerning Protection of the Right to Organize
and Procedures for Determining Conditions of Employment in the Public Service
(1978) provides for the protection against acts of anti-union discrimination as well
as complete independence of unions from public authorities. Such facilities should
be afforded to the representatives of recognized public employees’ organizations as
may be appropriate in order to enable them to carry out their functions promptly and
efficiently, both during and outside their hours of work. Measures appropriate to
national conditions should be taken to encourage and promote the full development
and utilization of machinery for negotiation of terms and conditions of employment
between the public authorities concerned and public employees’ organizations, or
of such other methods as will allow representatives of public employees to
participate in the determination of these matters. The settlement of disputes

arising in connection with the determination of terms and conditions of employ-

ment shall be sought, as may be appropriate to national conditions, through nego-
tiation between the parties or through independent and impartial machinery, such as
mediation, conciliation and arbitration, established in such a manner as to ensure the
confidence of the parties involved (see Vodovnik, Turi, 2008). The settlement of dis-
putes arising in connection with the determination of terms and conditions of
employment should be sought, as may be appropriate to national conditions. Con-
flict prevention and conflict resolution should be based on the negotiation between
the parties or through independent and impartial machinery, such as mediation, con-
ciliation and arbitration, established in such a manner as to ensure the confidence of
the parties involved.
84. ILO Recommendation No. 159 concerning Procedures for Determining

Conditions of Employment in the Public Service (1978) elaborates in more detail
the principles on the negotiation of terms and conditions of employment in the pub-
lic services. In addition, the Recommendation also notices methods other than nego-
tiation in the determination of terms and conditions of employment. For such cases
the Recommendation emphasizes that in these cases the methods which allow rep-
resentatives of public employees to participate in the process of the creation of the
regulations should be determined by national law or regulation or other appropriate
means.
85. The Slovenian legal regulation of collective labour relations is also based
on certain European Union legislative instruments and documents.1 The first impor-
tant documents were drafted by European Community bodies based on the ideas of
French statesman and the President of the European Commission Jacques Delors.
In 1985 he achieved a unanimous non-formal approval regarding the role of social
partners for the institutional development of the European Communities.2 However,
the social partners had not yet concluded any agreements; only a few joint opinions
were formed,3 therefore we may speak of the period of forming joint opinions. A
formal recognition of social partnership, as one of the pillars of the European Com-
munity, was achieved by the Single European Act (SEA), which came into force on
28 February 1986, and the Maastricht Treaty of 1991. These acts underlined the role
of the Commission to promote consultation with the social partners that are orga-
nized at the Community level before submitting proposals of normative instru-
ments. The Treaty furthermore regulated:
– the social partners’ right to decide whether to regulate these issues themselves
by concluding collective agreements at the Community level; and
– the possibility of Member States transposing to the social partners that are organized
at the national level the competence to ensure the implementation of directives
of the European Community.
Social partners thereby achieved a formal inclusion in legal procedures at the

Community level and became an important factor in creating European law (Weiss,
2006). Social partners implement their role in creating a legal regulation of social

relations on the basis of their programmes which they adopt for the period of sev-
eral years (Leiber, 2005, pp. 23-25).4
1. See Nunin R., 2001, Blanpain R., 2004.
2. In 1985 three major social partner organizations were established at the European level: Union
of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe – UNICE, which was later renamed
BUSINESSEUROPE; European Trade Union Confederation – ETUC; and the European Centre
of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interests – CEEP.
3. “Joint opinions of social partners” ensured the European social partners an influence on economic
policy and other important Community policies for the employees (Končar, 2004, p. 226 and
www.eurofound.europa.eu).
4. An important role in the development of social partnership and social dialogue at the Community
level can also be contributed to the establishment of the Social Dialogue Commission (1993),
the adoption of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997), the establishment of sectoral social dialogue
commissions (1998), etc.
86. A legal basis for the social dialogue at the Union level is today determined
in the Lisbon Treaty, namely in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union TFEU (OJEU, C 115/98, 9 May 2008) According to Article 151 the Union
and the Member States proclaim as their objectives:
– the promotion of employment;

– improved living and working conditions, so as to make possible their harmonisation
while the improvement is being maintained;
– proper social protection;
– dialogue between management and labour;
– the development of human resources with a view to lasting high employment
and the combating of exclusion.
In accordance with the Treaty provisions of the EU the Member States have as
their objective the promotion of dialogue between the social partners in the field of
social relations,1 especially by consulting management and labour on the possible
direction of EU action.
1. According to Article 154 of the Treaty the Commission has the task of promoting the consultation
of management and labour at EU level and of taking any relevant measure to facilitate the dialogue
between them by ensuring balanced support for the parties.
The question of the representativeness of the social partner organizations at the European
level is fundamental, as it constitutes the basis for their right to be consulted by the Commission
(http://www.eurofound.europa.eu). In 1993 the Commission determined criteria for representativeness
of the organizations, which are trans-sectoral or sectoral and are organized at the European level,
or associations comprised of organizations which are a recognized part of the social partnership
structure in a Member State with the capacity to negotiate on agreements and on the condition
that they must have an appropriate structure which allows them efficient participation in communication
processes. The Commission on regular basis publishes a list of the European social partner organizations
that in its opinion fulfil these criteria.
87. Before submitting proposals in the social policy field, the Commission con-
sults social partners. Two stages of consultations are envisaged (Leiber, 2005, p.
23). At the first stage the Commission consults the social partners on the possible
direction of EU action in the social policy field. At the second stage of the procedure

the Commission drafts its proposal and consults on the possible contents of Com-
munity action. The social partners may within six weeks forward to the Commission
an opinion or a recommendation. The additional option and right of the social partners
to inform the Commission of their wish to initiate the process to legally regulate the
issue (Article 154 of TFEU), is of essential importance. The duration of the procedure
may not exceed nine months so that the social partners conclude an agreement on
the issue. The deadline may be prolonged by joint decision of the social partners and
the Commission.
88. The concluded agreement may be implemented:
– in accordance with the procedures and practices specific to social partners and
the Member States, or
– in matters covered by Article 153 of the TFEU, at the joint request of the signatory
parties, by a Council decision on a proposal from the Commission (the second
paragraph of Article 153 of the TFEU).
If the negotiations are successful, the agreement substitutes for Community

action.1 If there are no negotiations or if they are not successful, Community bodies
draft legal instruments in regular procedure. In literature as well as in discussions
on the social dialogue at the Community level, the term ‘European social dialogue’
is often used as a general term for different forms and levels of cooperation of the
social partners. This not only concerns adopting legal instruments at the European
level, but also other forms of communication between social partners which can
influence Community social policy. An important form is, for instance, the opera-
tion of the European network of governments and tripartite institutions, which draft
programmes on the development of social relations in the Member States of the EU
as well as at the EU level.
1. Some of the successful agreements implemented hitherto are the following:
Framework Agreement on Parental Leave (Directive 96/34/EC);
Framework Agreement on Part-Time Work (Directive 97/81/EC);
Framework Agreement on Fixed-Term Contracts (Directive 1999/70/EC);
Autonomous Framework Agreement on Telework (16 June 2002, implemented by social partners);
Autonomous Framework Agreement on Work-Related Stress (8 October 2004, implemented
by social partners).
European social dialogue has resulted in over 300 joint texts by the European social partners.
89. For the collective legal position of the employees the Community Charter
of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (1989) is of great importance. Among
other regulations, the Charter emphasizes:
– freedom of association and collective bargaining for employees by stating that

the employers and workers of the European Community shall have the right of
association in order to constitute professional organizations or trade unions of
their choice for the defence of their economic and social interests;
– the right of information, consultation, and participation for workers which should
be developed along appropriate lines, taking account of the practices in force in
the various Member States, especially in companies or groups of companies having

establishments or companies in several Member States of the European Community.

According to the Charter such information, consultation, and participation must
be implemented in due time, particularly in the cases determined by the Charter.1
These principles are further elaborated by various EU directives about the employees’
participation in different types of works units, on the one side, and by European
collective bargaining between European social partners, on the other side.
1. These are the following:
– when technological changes which, from the point of view of working conditions and work
organization, have major implications for the work force are introduced into undertakings;
– in connection with restructuring operations in undertakings or in cases of mergers having
an impact on the employment of workers;
– in cases of collective redundancy procedures;
– when trans-frontier workers in particular are affected by employment policies pursued by
the undertaking where they are employed.
I. European Social Partners
90. The bodies and the manners of work and deciding of European Trade Union
Confederation (ETUC) are the following:1
– the Congress, which is the supreme authority of the ETUC. It is composed of

delegates from the affiliated organizations in proportion to their membership;
– the Executive Committee, which is composed of representatives from the organizations
which are members of the ETUC. Its members are elected by the Congress;
– the Steering Committee, a smaller body, which is responsible for following up the
decisions of the Executive Committee between its sessions. It meets eight times
a year and is composed of 21 elected members from the Executive Committee;
– the President of the ETUC;
– the General Secretary;
– the Secretariat, which runs the day-to-day activities of the ETUC and takes care
of relations with the European institutions and the employers’ organizations, plans
and recommends ETUC action, and is responsible for the internal functioning
of the ETUC.
1. Blainpain, 2003, p. 111.
91. The prime objective of the ETUC is to promote peace and stability where
working people and their families can enjoy high living standards all over Europe.
The ETUC is a member of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC),
which functions at the broader level of trade union organization worldwide. It has
its headquarters in Brussels. It was founded in 2006 and it groups together the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the Christian oriented World
Confederation of Labour. Slovenian trade unions have been members since 2007.

The ITUC promotes the interests and rights of workers within the framework of
international cooperation with trade unions by means of global projects and lobby-
ing with important international institutions. The most important areas of work are
trade union rights and human rights, economy, workplace, equality and non-
discrimination, and international solidarity. The ITUC aims to promote trade union
democracy and trade union independence, which are fundamental principles that
follow from the ITUC Constitution. The ITUC bodies are the Congress, General
Council, Executive Bureau, General Secretary, and the President. In the Congress
as well as in the General Council and Executive Bureau the principle of gender par-
ity is applied, determined in the ITUC Constitution.
92. The Union des Industries de la Communauté européenne (UNICE in 2007

it changed its name into BUSINESSEUROPE) is an association of employers’ orga-
nizations from various European countries. It has developed the main priorities of
the employers with the principal aim of preserving and strengthening the economic
competitiveness of Europe. Its priority tasks are the following:
– implementing reforms in order to accelerate economic growth and new employment;

– removing barriers to the comprehensive implementation of the single internal
market of the EU;
– increasing the efficiency of the management of the EU;
– combating national measures against free competition;
– taking advantage of the enlarged EU; and
– implementing reform of a social system by promoting sustainable development.1
Bodies and manners of work and deciding of the Confederation are the following:
– seven main policy committees (i.e. Economic and Financial Affairs Committee,
International Relations Committee, Industrial Affairs Committee, Social Affairs
Committee, Legal Affairs Committee, Entrepreneurship and SME Committee,
Internal Market Committee);
– numerous working groups;
– Council of Presidents;
– Executive Committee;
– Executive Bureau;
– Director General;
– Management Committee; and
– staff.2
1. Summarized from the web site: http://www.zds.si/si/o_zds/mednarodno_sodelovanje, August 2010.

2. Summarized from the web site: http://www.businesseurope.eu/Content/Default.asp, August 2010.
93. The European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Ser-
vices (CEEP) is an association of the enterprises and employers’ organizations with
public participation as well as the enterprises carrying out activities of general eco-
nomic interest, whatever their legal ownership or status. The centre therefore rep-
resents the public employers in the European Social Dialogue. CEEP sends

representatives and observers to a large number of committees and consultative bod-

ies of the European institutions, and through its involvement is kept up to date with
developments at European level which are of interest to its members. As a social
partner, CEEP believes that employer consultations as well as social dialogue are
fundamental to promote Lisbon targets, i.e. innovation and growth. In order to help
members meet the Lisbon targets, CEEP focuses mainly on crucial aspects of the
European Employment Strategy (EES), e.g. promoting the adaptability to change
and addressing regional disparities. Another main concern is to build stronger part-
nerships at regional and local levels.1
1. http://www.ceep.eu/index, August 2010.
94. The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

(UEAPME) is an employers’ organization representing the interests of European
crafts, trades and SMEs at EU level. UEAPME is a recognized European social
partner and acts on behalf of crafts and SMEs in the European Social Dialogue and
in discussions with the EU institutions. It is a non-profit seeking and non-partisan
organization. As the European SME umbrella organization, UEAPME incorporates
85 member organizations consisting of national cross-sectoral SME federations,
European branch federations and other associate members, which support the SME
family.
Across the whole of Europe, UEAPME represents over 12 million enterprises
with nearly 55 million employees. The main objectives of UEAPME, as the voice
of crafts, trades and SMEs in Europe, include:
– monitoring the EU policy and legislative process and keeping its members informed
on all matters of European Union policy of relevance to crafts, trades and SMEs;
– representing and promoting the interests, needs and opinions of its member
organizations to the EU institutions and other international organizations. Supporting
its members academically, technically and legally all areas of EU policy;
– supporting the idea of European integration and contributing to European co-operation.
Some of the key legislative areas in which UEAPME is active include economic
and fiscal policy, employment and social policy, environmental policy, enterprise
policy, the internal market, legal affairs, and R&D. UEAPME analyses the role of
SMEs in European economies and the challenges they face. On the basis of this
analysis, UEAPME, with its members, identifies the ways in which SMEs can adapt to
the challenges of the open and competitive EU economy (http://www.ueapme.com).
II. Constitutional Case Law in the Field of Social Dialogue
95. In the field of collective labour relations there are relatively a few statutory
regulations that regulate this otherwise exceptionally broad and complex field. As a
consequence, this field is facing a problem of legal unpredictability and legal uncer-
tainty. In such circumstances the role of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Slovenia is especially important, as the Constitutional Court supervises the

constitutionality of the legislation in this field and by individual decisions creates

standards for the correct understanding of constitutional, statutory, and other
regulations.
96. The powers of the Constitutional Court are listed in Article 160 of the Con-
stitution of the Republic of Slovenia1 and in Article 21 of the Constitutional Court
Act2. In the field of collective labour relations the Constitutional Court most often
decides on:
– constitutional complaints stemming from the violation of human rights and

fundamental freedoms by individual acts; and
– the conformity of laws with the Constitution.
The procedure before the Constitutional Court is also regulated by the Constitu-
tion of the Republic of Slovenia and the Constitutional Court Act. Furthermore, the
Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia also con-
tain some provisions thereon.3
1. Official Gazette RS, No. 33I/1991-I, 42/1997, 66/2000, 24/2003, 69/2004, 69/2004, 69/2004,
68/2006.
2. Official Gazette RS, No. 64/2007 - official consolidated text.
3. Official Gazette RS, No. 93/2003 (98/2003 corr.), 86/2007.
97. A constitutional complaint may be lodged against individual acts by which

state authorities, local community authorities, or bearers of public authority decided
the rights, obligations, or legal entitlements of individuals or legal entities. A con-
stitutional complaint may be lodged only after all legal remedies have been
exhausted. The Constitutional Court decides in a panel of three Constitutional Court
judges at a closed session whether to initiate proceedings on the basis of a consti-
tutional complaint. If the Constitutional Court accepts the constitutional complaint
for consideration, it notifies the authority which issued the challenged individual act
thereof. If a constitutional complaint is accepted, as a general rule it is considered
by the Constitutional Court at a closed session, or a public hearing may be held. The
Constitutional Court decides on the constitutional complaint by a decision. By a
decision the Constitutional Court either dismisses a constitutional complaint as
unfounded or grants it in whole or in part annuls or abrogates the individual act, and
remands the case to the authority competent to decide thereon.
98. The Constitutional Court occasionally also decides cases that are of prin-
cipled nature and may be met with resistance in legal theory. An example of such
a decision is Decision No. U-I-220/94, dated 6 February 1997, in which the Con-
stitutional Court decided that it was not competent to review the constitutionality of
the provisions of the collective contract, as this fell within the competence of labour
courts.1 One of the Constitutional Court judges submitted a dissenting opinion in
which he stated that the Constitutional Court was competent to review collective
contracts which applied for all workers and employers in Slovenia, that it was thus
competent to review the collective contracts with general applicability. Legal

theory also agrees with this position by arguing that collective contracts may origi-
nally regulate issues which are not a subject of the statutory regulation, therefore,
they can only be reviewed from the viewpoint of their constitutionality, which
requires a decision of the Constitutional Court.
In Decision No. U-I-193/93, dated 7 April 1994, trade unions lodged a petition
that the procedure for the review of the constitutionality of the provisions of numer-
ous regulations on state administration, which limited the right to strike in different
areas of state administration, be initiated. They stated that the limitation of the right
to strike by special regulations was not admissible and was discriminatory. The
Constitutional Court decided that the legislature was allowed to limit the right to
strike if such was required by public benefit, whereby it must consider the type and
nature of the activity.2
1. The Constitutional Court stated this in Decision No. U-I-19/02, dated 22 April 2004.
2. With reference to such the Constitutional Court referred to the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

99–101
Chapter 4. Role of Government Institutions in the Shaping

and Administration of Labour and Industrial
Relations Policy
§1. DEFINITION AND MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATION
99. An employment relation is defined as a relation between an employee and

an employer, whereby the employee is placed in the employer’s organized working
process on the basis of the values arising from the constitutional right to freedom of
work (Article 49 of the Constitution and Article 4 of the ERA). This definition of
the employment relation is the dividing line between the employment relations and
civil-law relations based on civil-law contracts, whose object is human work as
well. An Organized working process entails human work, which is a part of the
employer’s economic or social activity, or is continuously performed as a support-
ing activity. When a person is engaged in an organized working process, an employ-
ment contract is the only legal basis for his or her work, therefore the use of a civil-
law contract is not permitted if not regulated otherwise by the statute. Such
Exceptions are permitted for the work of students and voluntary workers who can
be engaged in the working process on the basis of a civil-law contract, however, to
a limited extent.
Remuneration of the employee is an essential element of the employment rela-
tion and has a special form. It has the form of the wage or salary, according to spe-
cial regulations of this important element of the employment relation.
An employee’s work must be carried out continuously. Bearing in mind that the
employment relation is considered to be a relation based on trust,1 the work must
be performed in person.
1. The trust between the employer and the employee is based on the principle of equality of the
contracting parties. Legal regulations try to establish an equilibrium between the powers of employers
and employees in the employment relation and to minimize the subordination of employees.
These efforts are a consequence of changes of the character of the modern employment relation
which is more flexible and brings to managers and employees more freedom in managing the
employment relations.
100. The employer himself or herself or his or her managers have a right to give
instructions to employees according to directive power over employees. Moreover,
he or she also has the power to perform control over the employee’s execution of
his or her duties. This right includes the employer’s power to make decisions about
the employee’s responsibility for failures to comply with his or her duties. It gives
him or her the right to assess civil-law liability and/or disciplinary responsibility of
the employee or to dismiss the employee.
101. The rights and obligations of the employment contract parties with regard
to working conditions are also an essential part of the employment relation. They
are of two kinds. The first group of rights and duties of the contracting parties is
stipulated by the contract itself. The second group of rights and duties is regulated
by legal sources, first of all a statute, which also provides for the framework for the

102–103 General Introduction, Ch. 4, Role of Government Institutions
parties’ autonomy in stipulating the contract and autonomous legal sources. The
employer and the employee must therefore follow the provisions of the ERA and
other statutes, ratified and published treaties as well as other regulations, collective
agreements, and employer’s general acts.
§2. PARTICIPANTS IN THE EMPLOYMENT RELATION
102. An employment relation is considered a special social relation between

direct and indirect participants. As indirect participants – subjects who have some
rights, duties or responsibilities in the employment relation – can be mentioned for
instance state bodies. Direct participants in the employment relation are the parties
to the employment contract, namely the employer and the employee. The employee
is considered any natural person who has entered into an employment relation on
the basis of a concluded employment contract. The employer, however, is consid-
ered a legal and natural person in the private sector or an entity such as a state body
or local community and other entities of the public sector as well as the subsidiary
of a foreign company and a diplomatic and consular mission employing the worker
on the basis of an employment contract.
According to the ERA provisions a small employer is an employer employing ten
or fewer workers and which has a special legal position in regard to the duties to
the employees. By stipulating an employment contract, a natural person expresses
his or her consent to the employer about the essential elements of the employment
relation.
§3. RECORDS AND REGISTERED DATA
103. Records in the area of labour are regulated by the Records on Work and
Social Security Act of 2006 as well as in the special legislation dealing with this
issue in the public sector. The statute regulates the methods of collecting records,
their management, and the modes of providing relevant records to users. The man-
agement of the records is a process secured by the state administration service
according to the regulation adopted by the minister responsible for employment.
The state administration service uses data collected from subjects who have the duty
of providing it according to the statute. The data may also be collected from other
state records. The service must manage the data in a manner determined by the regu-
lations. The record managing services have to secure access to the data to legiti-
mate users. The access must be free of charge. The managing service also has the
duty to build the web services which may provide direct access to data collected in
records. The statute furthermore regulates a special mode of dealing with sensitive
data related to taxation and the role of the Statistic Office of the Republic Slovenia
in this area. The records, which must be managed according to the statue, are the
following:
– record of employed persons;

– record of work expenses;

General Introduction, Ch. 4, Role of Government Institutions 104–104
– record on working time management;

– record on forms available for resolving collective disputes at employer;
– record of unemployed persons;
– record of demand for labour force;
– record of EU citizens and persons who have the same legal position and have
the right to be employed in Slovenia;
– record of citizens of foreign countries who are employed in Slovenia;
– record of persons insured in accordance with the regulations regulating health
insurance and users of rights related to health insurance;
– record of the family members of citizens of the Republic of Slovenia who temporarily
work abroad who are entitled to health care and protection;
– record of persons who are insured in the system of pensions and disability insurance
and are the users of the rights in this area;
– record on social protection allowances;
– record on family protection payments;
– record on parenthood salary compensations;
– record on users of rights in the area of war disabled, veterans, and victims of
war aggression;
– record on health and safety at work.
The statute determines which state authorities or institutions are competent to

manage the records mentioned above and which records must be managed by the
employers as well as the elements of the individual type of record.
104. The CSA regulates the system of personnel records in the public sector.
According to the statute, the central personnel records (CPR) of the public admin-
istration are established for the purposes of implementing personnel management
policies in public administration bodies, keeping account of salaries, for the support
of carrying out other obligations of the employer, and for the purposes of support-
ing decision-making on the rights and obligations arising from the employment rela-
tion. The statute determines which personnel data on civil servants should be
recorded in the evidence. The state body competent for personnel issues manages
the records of the internal labour market (ILM) in public administration. In these
records the following data are kept: data on vacant work posts, data on work
requirements in project groups and similar personnel requirements, and data on civil
servants who request permanent or temporary transfer or whose principals propose
such transfers. The records may contain the data on civil servants from the central
personnel records, and, upon the civil servant’s request, other data relevant to deci-
sions on personnel management. Larger bodies may keep records of their internal
labour market as well.
The principal must provide the data subject to entry in the CPR and the records
of ILM. Data on the possibility of transfers may be acquired from civil servants who
wish to be transferred to another work post. For the founded purposes the data from
the CPR may be accessed by the principal, the head of personnel management and
other persons deciding on the rights and obligations of civil servants, and the inspec-
tor. Civil servants may access from the CPR the data pertaining to their own person.
Civil servants may also access from the records of the ILM the data on personnel

105–106 General Introduction, Ch. 4, Role of Government Institutions
requirements. Other state bodies and local community administrations may keep
personnel records for their own needs. The records may be integrated, if so agreed
by state bodies and local communities. The agreement on the integration of the CPR
of the public administration with other personnel records must be approved by the
government.
§4. EVIDENCE OF THE EMPLOYEE’S WORKING LIFE
105. Until 2007, the traditional mode of registering and keeping records on the
employee’s working activities for the purposes of the legitimate use of these data
by the state authorities and employers was the employment booklet. In 2007, how-
ever, the legislation was amended and this tool was abolished due to modern tech-
nology which made the old mode of evidence of the employee’s working periods
and other important data unnecessary. Until the amendment to the legislation,
employment booklets were issued by the competent administrative units, which also
kept a record of issued employment booklets. The minister responsible for labour
enacted the necessary executive regulations with regard to this document.
§5. AN EMPLOYMENT BOOKLET
106. In the past, employees had the right to maintain a personal document con-
taining the most important data about their past work. Employers, however, had the
duty to keep and safeguard the booklet for employees during the time the employee
was employed by the employer. The former statutes regulated the elements of
the booklet, which was issued by the competent state body upon the request of the
employer who employed the person for the first time.
The employer and the employee had some special rights with regard to handling
the employment booklet. A worker submitted his or her employment booklet to the
employer when stipulating the employment contract. The employer, however, had
to hand the worker a written acknowledgement of the receipt of the employment
booklet. The employer was obliged to keep the worker’s employment booklet for
the duration of the employment relation; however, the employer had to hand it to
the worker upon his or her explicit request and against a signature confirming the
receipt. The employer was obliged to enter the data in the employment booklet in
accordance with the executive regulations. Immediately upon the expiry of the
employment contract, the employer had to return the employment booklet to the
worker against an acknowledgement of the receipt. If the employer was not able to
deliver the employment booklet to the worker within 30 days from the termination
of the employment contract, he was obliged to forward it to the competent admin-
istrative unit in worker’s place of permanent residence, or, if worker’s place of per-
manent residence was unknown, to the administrative unit which issued the
employment booklet.

107–108
Chapter 5. Sources of Labour Law

§1. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION
107. The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia has a wide range of provi-
sions which can be considered a basis of employment law. They are various and dis-
persed in different parts of the Constitution and they also have a different role. The
most abstract constitutional provisions are the general provisions of the Constitu-
tion, which are important as the source of the general values of society. These val-
ues, however, give the ground for the regulation of the relations between employees
and employers. They also serve as a guideline for the application of regulations in
practice and as the tool for interpretation of the regulations concerned. The most
important regulations of this kind are the constitutional provisions which determine
that Slovenia is a democratic state (Article 1 of the Constitution). The value of
democracy has an important role in Slovenian employment relations, more so in the
area of collective employment relations than in the area of individual employment
relations. Democratic values are largely implemented in the area of legal regulation
and practice of the social dialogue between social partners. Employees and their
representatives have the right to influence the processes of decision-making in com-
panies, in wider society, and even on the international level. Another constitutional
rule which has to be emphasized is the rule that Slovenia is a state, which is based
on the rule of law and has the character of a social state (Article 2 of the Consti-
tution). The first provision in the area of the employment relations requires the
appropriate evaluation of the regulations in the area of employment law, permanent
development of these regulations in accordance with the cultural and historical char-
acteristics of the state, and corresponding social development. It also requires the
development of the system of the supervision over the implementation of regula-
tions by the competent institutions. The second provision, however, challenges soci-
ety to develop a modern system of social security, which will provide the people on
the territory of the country with all the necessary means for a decent life. This goal
is pursued by building a system of efficient social insurance of various types and
the additional system of social protection.
108. The fundamental social values which are of significant importance for
employment relations are also the constitutional provisions on human rights and
fundamental freedoms. First of all, the provisions about equality must be mentioned
(Article 14 of the Constitution). A constitutional provision prohibits discrimination
against persons on the basis of their personal circumstances. The provision must be
highly respected by the employers and managers when they deal with the employ-
ees or job seekers therefore the message of the constitutional provision is empha-
sized also as the employment-law principle in the ERA provisions. The majority of
other human rights and fundamental freedoms have such a nature that employers
and managers may easily violate them when using their powers over them. The most
important and at the same time most vulnerable among them seems to be the right
to personal integrity and the right to privacy (Article 35 of the Constitution).
Employers or managers must always keep in mind these human rights and funda-
mental freedoms when they deal with staff, therefore, statutory provisions

109–111 General Introduction, Ch. 5, Sources of Labour Law
which touch upon this subject are only guidelines for managers or they only partly
regulate individual legal questions about the topics (e.g. mobbing). The provisions
about the freedom of work (Article 49 of the Constitution) have a similar signifi-
cance. In addition to the rules which prohibit forced labour the provisions have a
broader sense. Every person may freely choose his or her employment and may
have access under equal conditions to any position of employment.
109. The second group of constitutional regulations requires from the state
authorities the statutory regulation of particular labour law issues that are of a great
importance for the employment relations. Some of these constitutional regulations
are included in the group of human rights and fundamental freedoms, some in the
group of provisions about economic and social relations, and some in the group of
provisions about the state organization. As an important example is the constitu-
tional regulation, which determines that citizens have the right to social security
under conditions provided by law (Article 50 of the Constitution) can be men-
tioned. In the area of economic and social provisions, the Constitution provides for
employees’ participation in decision-making which should be regulated by law
(Article 75 of the Constitution). In the area of the organization of the state bodies,
the Constitution provides for many important factors of the employment relations
such as the National Assembly, the National Council, state administration, courts,
and others are regulated by law, and so on.
§2. THE COVERAGE OF NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW
110. Employment relations’ legislation is applied to employment relations

between employers with their establishments in the Republic of Slovenia and the
workers employed with them. The employment relation legislation entirely or par-
tially also applies to employment relations between foreign employers and employ-
ees who work in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia.
In the case of workers posted to the Republic of Slovenia by a foreign employer
on the basis of an employment contract pursuant to foreign law, Slovenian employ-
ment legislation applies in accordance with the special provisions regulating the
position of workers posted to work in the Republic of Slovenia.
§3. HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLE OF PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION
111. The Member States of the Council of Europe are responsible for the pro-
tection of human rights and fundamental freedoms; however, the bodies and insti-
tutions of the Council of Europe also have an important role. In the first place, the
European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) should be mentioned. The European
Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) is also an important institution, which
monitors the implementation of the rights defined in the European Social Charter.
The Committee takes decisions in two different procedures: firstly, in the

General Introduction, Ch. 5, Sources of Labour Law 112–112
procedure for the analysis of the reports of Member States about the implementa-
tion of the ESC, and secondly, in the procedure for collective complains (Končar,
2010/2). The area of human rights is also a subject of the EU legislation and its
implementation is monitored by the European Court of Justice. From the perspec-
tive of human rights the main EU document is the Charter of Fundamental Rights
of the European Union, followed by the numerous directives (Trstenjak, 2010).
International regulations may sometimes be applied directly; however, they may
also be often applied as the aid for the interpretation of the content of domestic regu-
lations (Klampfer, 2010).
112. According to the ERA, an employer may not treat job seekers unequally
when they are applying for a vacancy, or when deciding on the employee’s legal
position during the employment relation, or with regard to the termination of the
employment contract. Unequal treatment of an employee is considered any conduct
which makes his or her legal position dependent on sex, race, colour of skin, age,
health or disability, religious, political or other conviction, membership in a trade
union, national and social origin, family status, financial situation, sexual orienta-
tion, or other personal circumstance if this circumstance is not decisive for the
employer’s success in his or her economic or social activity.1 This special labour-
law approach to prohibit discrimination of certain categories of persons is provided
in accordance with the general constitutional regulations, concerning the general
prohibition of discrimination (Article 14 of the Constitution).2
Furthermore, the ERA requires that women and men must be provided with equal
opportunities and equal treatment in access to employment, promotion, training,
education, retraining, wages and other income arising from employment relation,
absences from work, working conditions, working hours, and notice of termination
of the employment contract.
Emphasizing the international approach to this problem, the ERA underlines that
any direct as well as indirect discrimination is prohibited. Indirect discrimination is
described by the statute as a situation where apparently neutral provisions, criteria,
and practice would put persons of certain sex, race, age, health or disability, reli-
gious or other conviction, sexual orientation, or national origin at a disadvantage,
unless such provisions, criteria, and practice are objectively justified, appropriate
and necessary. The amendments to the ERA adopted in 2007 gave special emphasis
to the special type of practice, which may be discriminatory, namely managerial
instructions or orders which may have the intention of discriminating between
employees. The protection against discrimination is enjoyed not only by employees
who may be victims of the discriminatory action but also by persons who may help
them in their resistance against such treatment. The question of human rights and
fundamental freedoms is widely regulated by the provisions of the ERA as well as
other statutory regulations. Important provisions about the prohibition of discrimi-
nation can be found in the Implementation of the Principle of Equal Treatment Act
(2004), which defines molestation of a person as intolerable activity and provides
legal sanctions for such behaviour. Similar regulations about the prohibition of dis-
crimination can be found in the Civil Servants Act (2002) and the Penal Code
(2008). This legal regulation is also supplemented with the European Framework
Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work (2007), signed by the

European social partners (Mlinarič 2006, Zajc 2005). The growing awareness of
people about the importance of human rights and the emphasized importance of this
subject in legislation could lead to the regulation of more severe sanctions for vio-
lations of these rights. As a consequence higher indemnities approved by courts may
be expected. According to statements of reasons of court sentences with reference
to indemnities in this area they also have a preventive and penal function. The
indemnities should be such that employers will not repeat their intolerable practices
(Mežnar Š., 2010). In addition to civil-law protection of the victims a more severe
penal policy is applied in cases of the gravest violations of human rights (Janko,
2010).
1. Personal characteristics can be taken into account legitimately if they are an essential and decisive
condition for the work performance and if this condition corresponds to the principal of proportionality
with regard to the goals, defined by the labour legislation.
2. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, UN, 1966 (entry into force
3 January 1976) may be considered a basis for national and international legal regulation on
human rights and fundamental freedoms. The extent of the area covered by the Covenant points
out the double legal nature of some rights mentioned in it, e.g. human rights and economic and/
or social rights. The following rights may be considered as such:
– the right to work, the right to just, favourable, and safe working conditions;
– the right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of his or her choice.
– even before the Covenant was adopted, the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted
some conventions and other legal acts regulating this area. Among such conventions is e.g.
ILO C87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948
and ILO C29 Forced Labour Convention, 1930. On the European level the basic legal acts
in this area are the European Convention on Human Rights (the Council of Europe, Rome,
1950) and its Protocols. The Convention regulates political rights and rights of citizens;
however, economic and social rights are regulated by the European Social Charter (the Council
of Europe 1961, 1996). The European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) monitors the
application and implementation of these acts.
§4. AUTONOMOUS LEGAL RESOURCES AND EMPLOYER’S GENERAL ACT
113. In Slovenian employment law various types of autonomous legal resources

play an important role. They are of two kinds: first, legal sources which are a result
of the social dialogue between the employers and workers’ representatives. In the
first place such sources are collective contracts, concluded between employers or
employers’ organizations and trade unions or their associations. Important sources
are also agreements between employers and employees’ elected representatives, i.e.
special collective agreements. Secondly, legal sources can be created also as a result
of the unilateral legislative action of the employer (i.e. employer’s legislative
power). In the first area there are various types of collective agreement and in the
second area there is the employer’s general act. The law supports the regulation of
working conditions by means of collective agreements; however, it also gives a lot
of room for unilateral regulatory action by the employer.1 In the former socialist
legal order employers’ general acts were considered an essential element of the sys-
tem of legal sources. The state regulated which employment relations issues must
be regulated through these sources and to what extent. After the privatization

of social property and the introduction of the market-based economy, the state
secured measures for the support of collective bargaining on different levels of com-
munications between labour and capital. Among such measures there was also a
special rule in the ERA of 2002, which provided for the termination of the validity
of the old socialist general enactments and ordered that the essential content of these
acts, still required by statutory law, must be regulated by collective contracts. The
ERA amendments adopted in 2007 established a new duty of the employers with
regard to their regulatory function. Employers must provide for the regulation of the
job requirements in the general acts,2 bearing in mind that this topic will rarely be
an issue in collective bargaining and the subject of collective agreements.
1. The basic right of the employer who has the need to protect his resources is the right to enforce
internal regulations about working conditions and working surroundings. This right may be considered
the basis for a relative regulatory power of the employer. The legal order limits this power of
the employer by imposing on the employer the duty to negotiate a collective agreement about
this issue together with social partners. Issues in question must be regulated in a works unit. If
this type of the regulation is not possible, the employer is due to regulate the issue unilaterally
(Vodovnik, 2006).
2. Such regulation supports the implementation of the constitutional principle of freedom of work
and enables the efficient control over the hiring procedures. The ERA of 2007 brought a new
exception to the application of the constitutional principle mentioned above. The content of this
exception is the right of the employer to employ a person, who does not meet job requirements
determined by the autonomous enactment; however, only a fixed-term contract in duration of up
to one year is allowed. In cases in which job requirements are defined by the statute this possibility
does not exist.
114. When outhining the scope for employer’s regulatory actions, the ERA
determines certain conditions for exercising this employer’s regulatory power. In
accordance with the law, the employer has to consult employees or their represen-
tatives about the proposal of the act that he or she has the intention to put into force,
therefore, the draft of the enactment must be previously presented to the represen-
tative trade union at the employer. According to the ERA a representative trade
union is considered a union which fulfils the criteria of density and others under a
special statute. The representative trade union may deliver its opinion to the
employer within eight days. If the trade union delivers its opinion, the employer
must discuss it and present its position before adopting a general act. However, if
no representative trade union exists at the employer, the employees have to be
directly informed of the content of the draft of the act. Similar regulations, which
correspond to the principle of the development of social partnership in the private
as well as in the public sector, can also be identified in the statutory regulation of
the public sector. Namely, the trade union is involved even in adopting the
government regulations about the legal position of civil servants.1
1. The government may, in conformity with laws and collective labour agreements concluded by
the government, by regulation adopt, with respect of the rights and obligations of civil servants,
provisions for uniform rules and standards for decision-making in public administration bodies,
judiciary bodies and entities of public law established by the state, or entities of public law to
which the state provides the funds for salaries. Prior to issuing such a regulation, the government
must enable representative trade unions of branches and professions in the public administration
to give their opinion on the issue. In case of a negative opinion, the government must carry
out harmonization proceedings. Issues that failed to be harmonized must be explained and the
explanations communicated to the trade unions. Where so provided by law, the government

may also by a regulation make detailed provisions for local community administrations with
respect to issues governed by the CSA. Prior to the adoption of such a regulation, the government
must enable the associations of local communities to communicate their opinion and carry out
a harmonization procedure. Issues that failed to be harmonized must be given special explanation
by the government. Therefore, in case of the local communities the governmental regulations
may be the subject of the harmonization procedure with two subjects, namely representative
trade unions and associations of local communities.
§5. THE ACT OF JOB SYSTEMATIZATION AS A CENTRAL EMPLOYER’S GENERAL

ACT
115. Throughout different periods of Slovenian history, employment law has

always provided for the regulation of job systematization as a result of the detailed
analysis of the working process at the employer. The law has also provided for a
formal act which contained the regulations regarding the systematization which is
the result of the above-mentioned analysis. A general act on the job systematization
is a compulsory document. Only small employers are not obliged to publish this
general act. From the employment law point of view, the main function of this gen-
eral act is a job description which enables the clear identification of working tasks
that an employee who is placed on a particular job is due to perform. The job
description enables the valuation of the characteristics of the job from security,
health, and evaluation point of view. The essential element of the job description is
also the determination of the job requirements which have to be fulfilled by job
seekers when they apply for a vacancy.
A general act containing job systemiatzation is also envisaged with regard to
employment relations in the public sector. With reference to this, the CSA requires
that unless otherwise provided by a particular law, each state body, local commu-
nity administration, and entity of public law must have an act on jobs systematiza-
tion determining the jobs required for the performance of tasks in accordance with
the internal organization of a work unit. With each job, the systematization must at
least include a description of tasks and conditions for an individual job. For the jobs
of officials, the statute determines special conditions, namely, the title which may
be gained if a person meets complex special conditions determined by the statute
which makes him or her competent to make decisions in public matters. A title may
be acquired by appointment following the selection of applicants on the basis of
open competition1 or by promotion to a higher title. The conditions for the access
to the title are determined by the statute and are at least related to education, pro-
fessional examination,2 active knowledge of the official language, but usually also
to work experience or period of service. For special titles additional conditions may
be prescribed, such as citizenship, clear penal record, and similar. The statute also
regulates the issue of the termination of the title. The acquired title must terminate
on the date of the termination of employment relation of the official, upon dis-
missal, and upon promotion to a higher title. Officials may also be dismissed from
their title in the event of the ascertained incompetence, in the event of the transfer
of the civil servant in case of redundancy, if he or she so requests or with his or her
consent, and in other cases determined by the statute.

1. Titles of regular state administration officials are classified into 16 grades from lower clerk to
senior secretary, however, titles in special areas of the public sector may be regulated by special
statutes or government regulation.
2. Normally a person would be employed prior to the appointment. The statute also permits that
the appointment to the title is possible even without a professional exam on condition that the
officer passes the exam within one year.
116. Each state body, local community administration, and entity of public law
must keep a record on the actual occupation of existing jobs;1 if only in these works
units a system of titles has been established, a record on the structure of civil ser-
vants according to title must be kept in the evidence. General acts mentioned above
must be edited by the principal of the works unit in the public administration. The
government is authorized to adopt the regulation containing common grounds of the
systematization in public administration bodies and local community administra-
tions. In addition, the government has to approve the systematization in public
administration bodies, prepared by the competent body. The systemiatzation in the
public sector must be accompanied by another act so as to define the extensiveness
of the staff management needs. With this objective personnel plans have to be
adopted by competent state bodies on the proposal of principals or in case of state
bodies and local communities by principals themselves. Their main content is
the definition of target state of employment, potential reduction of employment, and
the number of apprentices, trainees, pupils, and students having practice lessons or
receiving similar theoretical or practical training. Joint personnel plans may be cre-
ated for public administration bodies, courts, state prosecutor’s office, and some
other state bodies, on the basis of the common proposals of their principals or com-
petent bodies.2
1. Jobs are classified with regard to difficulty of work and conditions of work and other circumstances
regarding conditions of work. The classification is done by a government regulation, employer’s
general act, or the collective agreement. The CSA also provides for the notion of special working
conditions of the officials, namely the title, the course of education or vocational qualifications,
functional and special learning and special skills, as well as other conditions determined by the
statute. Work at particular official jobs and positions may, as a rule, be performed holding one
of the three possible titles.
2. A personnel plan has to be harmonized within public institutions and the most representative
unions at branch levels and professions must have the possibility to express their opinion on the
proposal. Personnel plans and joint personnel plans may be amended in the case of permanent
or temporary increase in workload that cannot be handled with the existing number of civil servants
provided that funding for new employment has been secured.
§6. INFLUENCE OF THE OFFICERS’ REPRESENTATIVES ON LEGAL

REGULATION AND DECISION-MAKING ABOUT THEIR LEGAL POSITION
117. Officers are a special category of civil servant who need special knowl-
edge and skills for their job performance. In order to develop appropriate standards
in this area they have the right to be represented by unions, professional associa-
tions, as well as a special independent body with statutorily determined compe-
tences, i.e. the Official Council (hereinafter referred to as the Council), which is
elected by the officials themselves1 and appointed by subjects defined by the CSA.

The Council may express its views on the legal regulation of organizational and
legal position of the officers. Its important role is to develop a codex of professional
ethics of civil servants. The Council may also define standards for determining pro-
fessional competences of civil servants, criteria for their selection, and methods of
determining their competences. The Council may also directly influence the selec-
tion of officials by appointing the members to open competition commissions.
1. The structure and competence with reference to appointment of members are regulated by the
statute. A person can also become a member of the Council by the appointment of the President
of the Republic, a representative trade union, or the government.

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118–118
Part I. The Individual Employment

Relation
Chapter 1. Definition and Concepts

§1. THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE
I. The Limitations of the Directive Power of the Employer
118. In accordance with the ERA (2002) provisions, employees have to perform
their work within the framework of their job and the orders of the employer or
employer’s manager. This directive power of the employer, however, has additional
limitations. The employer has no right to order the employee to work in working
conditions that are prohibited by special regulations. These limitations can be
imposed by explicit prohibitions or merely by certain conditions which must be ful-
filled in order to give the employer’s order the legal grounds. Among such limita-
tions there is also a special regulation of the employer’s right to send the employee
to continuously perform the work outside the country where there is the headquar-
ters of the company (i.e. posted employee). The first condition, which gives the
employer this right is the explicit written clause about such engagement in the
employment contract. The second condition consists of the fact that the order to
work abroad should be temporary. The third condition is the absence of circum-
stances which allow the employee to refuse the work abroad or the fact that the
employee accepts the work even when he or she has the right to refuse to be posted
abroad. These circumstances may be determined by the statute or collective agree-
ment. The additional list of circumstances may be agreed upon in the employment
contract. With reference to such circumstances the statute mentions the pregnancy
of the employee, the care of a child under the age of 7, the care of a child under the
age of 15 if the worker lives alone with the child and takes care of the child’s edu-
cation and protection, disability, health reasons, or other reasons provided by the
employment contract and/or the collective agreement.
Should the employment contract not foresee the possibility of work abroad and
the employer has the need to post the worker to work abroad, the employer and the
worker may conclude a new employment contract. The contract may be concluded
for a period of completion of the project or for a period of completion of the work
which the posted worker performs abroad.

119–120 Part I, Ch. 1, Definition and Concepts
II. Self-employed Persons
119. Self-employed persons who are not working on the basis of the employ-
ment contract but exercise certain professional activity independently as their main
economic activity have to pay social security contributions. According to govern-
ment policy the duty to pay contributions is planned to be introduced in the near
future also for persons who execute working tasks on the basis of civil-law con-
tracts (Strban, 2008, Tičar L., 2008).
III. A General Notion of Employees in the Private Sector and Civil Servants
120. Employees in the private sector have a legal position according to the gen-
eral regulations of employment law. These regulations allow the medium range of
the contractual freedom between the employment relation parties. This characteris-
tic follows from the dimensions, wideness, and depth of the compulsory regulations
of different legal types in the area of the employment law (ius cogens). The con-
tractual freedom of civil servants is limited by more detailed regulations of their
employment relations, which is the consequence of the need for the protection of
public interest over the functioning of public entities. From the point of view of the
limitations of the contractual freedom, the division of civil servants is of great
importance. Within the general notion of civil servants, the statute provides special
regulations for the subcategory of officials.1 Officials’ legal position is based on cer-
tain special legal principles. They have to perform public tasks for the public ben-
efit in a politically neutral and impartial manner (i.e. the principle of political
neutrality and impartiality). By promotion they are enabled to pursue a career. Pur-
suing a career depends on professional qualifications, other work and professional
qualities, as well as work results (i.e. the career principle). Officials as well as other
civil servants may be transferred to another job within the bodies, under the con-
ditions determined by the statute (i.e. the principle of transferability). They must be
protected against harassment, threats, and similar conduct that may threaten perfor-
mance of their work. All civil servants have this right (see below) but the statute
emphasizes the protection of the officers. The same applies to the statutory provi-
sion that the employer must provide officials or former officials with paid legal
assistance in judicial proceedings, initiated against individuals who committed acts
at or relating to the work of the officials, causing harm to the officials or to their
immediate family (protection of professional interests). The employer may refuse
to pay for legal assistance, if it holds that the grounds for the commencement of the
proceedings are not justified. If the judicial proceedings result in reimbursement of
the cost of legal assistance to the official, the official must repay the employer. Pub-
lic bodies have to keep the public informed of their service and of the results of
work performed by officials, in a manner provided by law and executive regulations
(i.e. the principle of publicity).
1. Officials are considered civil servants that perform public tasks in the bodies, while other civil
servants perform exacting ancillary work. These working tasks are of a professional-technical
nature. If necessary, officials may be transferred and posted to such jobs; however, they must

Part I, Ch. 1, Definition and Concepts 121–121
keep the legal position of an official as well as the rights and obligations arising therefrom, including
the right to promotion.
121. The main emphasis of these characteristics can be seen in the introductory
part of the CSA 2002, which stresses certain principles as the basis for the legal
position of civil servants. The particular characteristics of the civil servant’s legal
position are the following:
– the selection of the civil servants in the hiring procedure is more formal (open
competition) and the freedom of the authorized persons to hire civil servants is
narrower than in the private sector because the statutory rules refer to professional
qualifications than a decisive criterion for the selection of candidates (i.e. the
principle of equal access);
– the statute underlines the duty of the civil servants to perform public tasks on
the basis and within the framework of the Constitution, ratified and published
treaties, laws, and executive regulations (i.e. the principle of legality), which
significantly limits the area of the free negotiations among the employment relations
participants. The consequence of the application of this principle is limited space
for free negotiations in the process of stipulating the employment contract and
in reaching collective agreements in the public sector;1
– the statute imposes on civil servants the duty to perform public tasks with due
expertise, and in a timely and conscientious manner. They must act in line with
the rules of the profession. The statute also underlines their duty to participate
in constant training in order to gain additional qualifications (i.e. the principle
of the professional conduct);
– the duty to refrain from any behaviour which could be harmful for the employer
is a general statutory duty of all employees; however, the CSA stresses that in
the performance of public tasks, civil servants must act honourably and in line
with the rules of professional ethics (i.e. the principle of the honourable conduct);2
– in addition to the general legal prohibition of corruption, the CSA regulates the
due conduct of civil servants in order to prevent this phenomenon in the public
sector. Civil servants performing public tasks may not accept gifts relating to
their work, with the exception of protocol and occasional gifts of smaller value.3
This prohibition should also be applied to the spouses of the civil servants, to
persons living with them extramaritally, their children, parents, and persons living
with them in joint housekeeping. Civil servants are obliged to warn donors that
gifts of more than small value become the property of the employer. If the donor
insists on presenting the gift, civil servants are obliged to deliver the gift to the
employer or to the body of the employer authorized to dispose of the gifts. Data
on the accepted gifts, their value, the donors, and other circumstances are entered
in a list of gifts. Civil servants accepting gifts are obliged to report the data subject
to entry. The manner of disposing of gifts, the manner of managing the list
of gifts, and other issues relating to the implementation of the restrictions
and duties according to the statute with respect to public administration bodies,
judiciary bodies, local community administrations, and entities of public

law, are governed by regulations adopted by the government (i.e. the principle
of gift acceptance limitations);
– the duty of the employees is the general duty of all the employees; however, the
position of civil servants in this respect is underlined. They must not only safeguard
the protected data, but also protect secret information regardless of how they
learned of it. The duty of protecting secret information must continue to apply
also after the termination of their employment. It must continue to apply until
civil servants are released form this duty by their employer (i.e. the principle of
confidentiality);
– the quality of the job performance in the public sector is of public interest, therefore,
the statute regulates the civil servants’ legal position in a manner such that the
civil servants will be held responsible for the quality, speedy, and efficient performance
of public tasks entrusted to them (i.e. the principle of responsibility for results);
– every employee has to act in a manner such that his or her job performance is
useful for the employer. This duty is defined more specifically for the civil servants.
They must use public funds in an economic and efficient manner, in pursuit of
the best results possible at the same cost, or in pursuit of the same results at the
minimum cost possible (i.e. diligence of a good manager);
– on the one hand, the principles and characteristics mentioned above generally
entail additional burdens for candidates or civil servants, the statute, on the other
hand, also underlines the straightened position of the civil servants in situations
in which they may find themselves under attack of the users of their services. In
this sense must be understood the statutory provision which imposes on the employer
the duty to provide for paid legal assistance to civil servants or to former civil
servants, against whom criminal proceedings or action for damages have been
instituted in relation to performance of public tasks (i.e. the protection of professional
interests).
1. Regardless of this principle which is realized through many legal institutions of the CSA (e.g.
dependence of the employment contract on the unilateral authoritative decision of the employer),
according to the statute the rights and obligations of civil servants arising from an employment
relation are governed by regulations on employment, collective labour agreements, the CSA itself
and other laws, and by executive regulations adopted on their basis. The employer may not secure
to civil servants rights to an extent greater than that provided by law, executive regulations, or
collective labour agreement, if public funds are to be burdened therewith.
2. The honourable behaviour of civil servants is one of the emphasized characteristics of the legal
regulation of their position. This fact may be regarded as the confirmation of the thesis that in
addition to salaries also non-financial benefits have a great motivating effect (Gruban 2006, Stare
2006, Trpin 2006).
3. Gifts not exceeding the statutory determined value are deemed as gifts of smaller value. Gifts
received from functionaries or civil servants of other countries or international organizations,
given during visits, guest appearances or on other occasions, and other gifts given in similar
circumstances, are deemed protocol gifts.
122. The members of the National Assembly (deputies) are elected for a four-
year term; they represent all the people of Slovenia and are not bound by any
instructions (Article 82 of the Constitution). The National Assembly exercises leg-
islative, voting and monitoring functions. As a legislative authority, it enacts

constitutional amendments, laws, national programmes, resolutions, etc. It also cre-

ates its own internal rules, ratifies the state budget and treaties, and calls referen-
dums. They execute their function professionally (Article 3 Deputy Act, Official
Gazette, 112/05, 109/08). They enter the employment relationship for the deter-
mined period of time, e.g. for the time of their mandate. They do not stipulate the
employment contract; however, they receive a written order about their salary and
the written confirmation about their mandate. On these bases they are entitled to all
the rights arising from the employment relationship. During their mandate they are
insured under the system of social insurances. The Act on the elections of the depu-
ties or Republic Slovenia for the European Parliament (Official Gazette, 40/04)
determines the legal position of the deputies. According to this act the legal posi-
tion of deputies is determined by the regulations of the European Union. If any sig-
nificant questions about the legal position of the deputy are not regulated by those
regulations, the regulations which regulate the position of the deputies of the
National Assembly must be properly taken into account.
V. Special Regulations Regulating the Employment Contract of Posted

Employees
123. If an employee has been posted to perform work abroad, an employment

contract must contain provisions which regulate the particular living and working
situation of the posted employee. The employment contract must contain the usual
elements and the elements that are particular for the regulation of the legal position
of the posted workers. In addition, the employment contract must also contain basic
elements which are the necessary part of every contract provided by general civil-
law regulations on contracts.
124. The particular provisions of the contract are as follows: the employment
contract must contain the specification of the period of posting of an employee. The
period of posting must not be considered as a fixed-term contract; however, the
employee can be employed for the fixed-term if additional conditions for such
engagement are fulfilled. According to the ERA, the contract must contain the dura-
tion of posting. After expiration of this period the employee has the right to con-
tinue to work for the employer in homeland. Holidays and work-free days must be
clearly regulated by the contract in accordance with national and foreign legal regu-
lations. Taking into account particular living and working conditions of the posted
employees, the employment contract must contain the particular provisions about
the minimum annual leave, the amount of salary and the currency in which it must
be paid, and other incomes in cash and kind, to which the employee is entitled while
working abroad. The contract must also contain the conditions of his or her return
to homeland.

V. Foreign Employees Posted to Work in Slovenia
125. An employee can be posted to perform work in Slovenia by a foreign

employer. This can be arranged on the basis of an employment contract in accor-
dance with foreign law. The worker carries out work for a limited period of time in
the Republic of Slovenia under the possible special conditions determined in regu-
lations governing work and employment of foreign citizens. The employee has
rights according to the regulations of the Republic of Slovenia. The rights which the
employee posted in Slovenia enjoys under Slovenian legislation are not only statu-
tory rights but also the rights determined in certain autonomous legal sources. The
statute provides employees posted abroad also with the protection secured to spe-
cial categories of the employees determined by the general collective agreement if
its provisions secure the employee more favourable protection or rights. The statute
a provides a more flexible solution for the employees who are posted to the country
only for a very short period of time. In case of reciprocity, the provision about the
compulsory application of the collective agreement regulations does not apply in the
part referring to salary if the period of service of the posted workers does not exceed
one month. Legal provisions about the exception of the compulsory application of
the collective agreement provisions do not apply to activities registered within the
framework of construction.
The Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia monitors and gives infor-
mation about the terms and conditions of employment and work of foreign workers
who work in the Republic of Slovenia for foreign employers.1
Despite broad legal and international legal guarantees of equal treatment of for-
eign workers their rights are often violated (Mozetič, 2010). This fact underlines the
problem of the organization and the exercise of the supervision over the implemen-
tation of regulations in this area. The growing number of violations of the rights of
the foreign workers calls for revision and re-evaluation of standards in the defini-
tion of criminal offences (Kovač–Mlinar, 2010).
1. Foreign agencies may post workers on temporary work in Slovenia. In this case the position of
posted workers is regulated by regulations on foreign workers as well as the regulations on workers
posted in Slovenia (Končar, 2010/1). In such cases the law of the country where there is a headquarters
of the agency, the law of the country where the work is being executed, and the relevant international
regulation should be taken into account (Mežnar 2010).
VI. Work of Children
126. A child cannot enter into an employment contract. An attempt to enter into
an the employment contract with a person under the age of 15 entails that no
employment relation between the child and the employer is established. This means
that the relation was never instituted and the fault committed by an attempt to enter
into an the contract is even greater than in case of absolute or relative non-validity
of the contract. Employers therefore may not enter into an contracts with persons
under the age of 15 and any attempt to do so is considered a violation of the law
and punishable by a fine as a minor offence.

127. A child under the age of 15 may, however, exceptionally perform orga-
nized work and earn remuneration in some exceptionally determined areas of busi-
ness activities, but this work follows a previous triangular agreement between the
employer, the child, and the tutorial personnel who care for the child. This trian-
gular agreement, which must also be confirmed by the labour inspector, is therefore
regulated by employment law, civil law, and administrative law. Employment law
lists instances in which child labour can be engaged. The legitimate ground for this
approach is the fact that in certain particular activities children cannot be substi-
tuted for. The law namely provides for the possibility for child engagement in orga-
nized working processes in cinematic productions and in the preparation and
performance of artistic scenes and other works in the area of cultural, artistic, sport-
ing, and advertising activities. A child who has reached the age of 13, may carry out
easy work activities also in other areas, however, not for longer than 30 days in a
calendar year during school holidays. The types of easy working task which may be
performed by children are defined by an executive regulation. The work can only
be performed to the extent and on condition that the work would not be harmful to
the safety, health, morals, and development of a child. A child may carry out easy
and safe work following the prior authorization from a labour inspector issued on
the basis of a request filed by a statutorily defined representative of the child. The
procedure and the conditions for issuing the authorization of the labour inspector
are determined in more detail by an executive regulation. The executive regulation
is issued by the minister responsible for labour in agreement with the minister
responsible for health.
128. Apprentices, secondary-school and university students who have reached

14 years of age may perform training within the framework of educational pro-
grammes with the employer.
129. In cases of permitted child labour and voluntary traineeship, the provi-
sions of the ERA on the working time, breaks and rests, special protection of work-
ers under the age of 18, and liability for damages apply. The working time of
children under the age of 15, who carry out easy work during school holidays, may
not exceed seven hours a day and 35 hours a week. A child’s work during a school
year outside the time determined for lessons may not exceed two hours a day and
12 hours a week. Children are in any case prohibited from working at night between
8 pm and 6 am In each 24-hour period, children must be granted a rest of at least
14 consecutive hours of daily rest.
VII. Apprentices
130. An apprentice concludes an employment contract with the employer with

the purpose of vocational training. The contract is considered a special contract of
employment law regulating the relation between apprentices and their employers.
Furthermore, also the provisions of civil law and administrative law are also applied
for the regulation of the legal position of the apprentices. The position of appren-
tices is namely widely regulated by the special legislation on vocational training, on

the one hand, and the provisions of the ERA providing special protection of employ-
ees under the age of 18, on the other hand. Even if they are not employed under the
employment contract, apprentices are protected as a special category of employee
by the ERA provisions regulating the distribution of working time, breaks during
working time, weekly rest, paid absence due to personal circumstances, absence
from work due to celebration, absence from work due to health reasons, absence
from work due to performance of function or obligations according to special acts,
and liability for damages.
Regarding the exercise and protection of rights of an apprentice during his or her
vocational education with an employer, the ERA provisions about the enforcement
of rights with an employer and judicial protection, arbitration, and the lapse of
claims also apply with regard to the child work.
VIII. Traineeships
131. The ERA provisions do not contain the definition of the traineeship. On the
other hand, the CSA does contain such a definition. According to the statute, a per-
son who has commenced work for the first time and is being trained in order to pass
the prescribed professional examination may be taken in as an trainee.
According to the ERA, a statute or branch collective agreement may provide that
a person who for the first time starts to carry out work appropriate to the type and
level of his or her professional qualification, concludes an employment contract as
a trainee in order to gain the ability to carry out his or her job independently. An
apprentice who successfully completes the programme of vocational training is con-
sidered qualified to work independently in the employment relation at the position
appropriate to the type and level of his or her vocational education. A traineeship
may last no longer than one year unless the statute determines otherwise. A train-
eeship may be extended proportionally, if the trainee works only part-time, but not
for more than six months. The duration of the traineeship may be extended for the
period of justifiable absence from work. However, the duration of the traineeship
may be reduced on the proposal of the trainer but for only up to one half of the ini-
tially determined period. During the traineeship, the employer must ensure for the
trainee a programme-based training for independent work. The duration and course
of the traineeship as well as the programme, the mentorship, and the method of
monitoring, surveying and evaluating the traineeship may be determined by the stat-
ute, other regulation, or branch collective agreement.
At the end of the traineeship, the trainee must pass an examination. This action
is a constituent and concluding part of the traineeship. It must be organized before
the conclusion of the traineeship period. During the traineeship the employer may
not terminate the trainee’s employment contract, except if there are reasons for the
irregular termination of the employment contract or in case of the introduction of
proceedings for the termination of the employer as well as in the case of compul-
sory composition.
132. If, pursuant to special regulations, the traineeship is served without

concluding an employment contract between the worker and the employer, i.e. is a

voluntary traineeship, the ERA provisions with regard to the duration and realiza-
tion of traineeship, limitation of working time, breaks and rests, liability for dam-
ages, and safety and health at work are applied. The contract of the voluntary
serving of traineeship must be concluded in writing.
133. According to the CSA, trainees always enter into fixed-term employment
for the duration of apprenticeship. If a trainee is absent for valid reasons for a period
longer than a month during the period of the traineeship, the period is prolonged for
the period of absence. Cases in which the trainee is entitled to receive salary com-
pensation are considered as valid reasons for absence. A person exercising the rights
of the employer decides on the prolongation of the period of traineeship. During the
period of traineeship trainees have to perform training according to the specified
programme. The Mentor and other persons who are in charge of overseeing the
work of the trainee may be held responsible for the trainees’ training during the
period of traineeship. The Mentor is authorized to determine the individual pro-
gramme of training, therewith determining the persons assigned to oversee and
monitor the work of the trainee in specified periods. After the expiry of the period
of traineeship, a written opinion about the results is prepared. The Statute deter-
mines the periods of traineeship. The principal may, on the proposal of the mentor,
shorten the period of apprenticeship by no more than a third.
134. Trainees who are trained to pass the state examination in public adminis-
tration and to pass the professional administrative examination enter into employ-
ment on the basis of the open competition, with the exception of scholarship-
holders selected on the basis of the open competition. The training programme for
trainees who are to pass the state examination in public administration and the pro-
fessional administrative examination is determined by the minister responsible for
administration. After the completion of the traineeship and the passing of the pro-
fessional examination, the person may enter into permanent employment without
open competition. The practical training received by trainees, pupils, and students
is carried out under the professional supervision of a mentor appointed by the prin-
cipal. Trainees, pupils, and students are insured against working accidents and occu-
pational illnesses during the practical training. Trainees, pupils, and students are
also entitled to receive remuneration.
IX. Temporary and Occasional Work of Secondary-school and University

Students
135. Secondary-school students who have reached 15 years of age and univer-
sity students may carry out temporary or occasional work also on the basis of a stu-
dent’s referral note from an authorized agency. A special authorized agency is
permitted to carry out the activity of providing work to secondary school and uni-
versity students in accordance with the regulations in the domain of employment.
Secondary school or university students may also carry out work for an individual
employer, however, not for more than 90 days without interruption in an individual
calendar year as temporary or occasional work.

X. Seafarers
136. In accordance with international law, the ERA determines the duty of the
employer to register the employment contract of the seafarers (Menghini, 1996). An
employer must submit the employment contract concluded with a seafarer for the
review of legality and for registration to a competent administrative unit within
eight days after its conclusion. The minister responsible for maritime affairs in
agreement with the minister responsible for labour regulates the contents, the
method, and the procedure of registration of such employment contract. An employ-
ment contract for work on a vessel may be concluded with persons who have
reached 16 years of age. A trial period of the crew member aboard an ocean-going
merchant ship may exceed the regularly determined maximum of six months, how-
ever, only until the return of the vessel to a Slovenian port. The overtime work of
a seafarer may exceptionally amount to 86 hours a month. The daily working time
of a seafarer may not exceed 14 hours a day and 72 hours a week. The daily rest of
a seafarer may be provided for in not more than two parts, whereby one part may
last not less than six uninterrupted hours. A worker–seafarer under the age of 18
may not work at night between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. of the following day, except in
cases of practical education within the framework of educational programmes.
If so provided by a collective agreement, workers-seafarers may fully use their
annual leave by the end of the following calendar year.
§2. INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT
I. Employment Contract
A. Historic Background and Constitutional Basis
137. The employment relation is established by the employment contract. The

employment contract is considered a special contract of labour law. The condition
for its existence is the consensus of two parties, e.g. an employer and an employee,
on the essential elements of the employment relation, determined in the definition
of the ERA. The contract is strictly separated from similar contracts of civil law,
regulated by the Obligations Code, legislation on intellectual property, etc. Histori-
cally the employment contract derives from a civil-law contract of work. The main
differences in the regulation of the two contracts are based on the fact that the
employee as a weaker party in the employment relation must be more legally pro-
tected in the relation to the employer than the person hired on the basis of the civil-
law contract. Due to the fact that the purpose of the entire labour law is to protect
the employee in his or her relation with the employer, the purpose of the statutory
regulation of the employment follows this approach. The result of this legislative
approach is that the statute regulates much more in detail the legal position of the
parties, as it is the case in the area of civil law.
138. The Slovenian Constitution of 1991 provides a direct and indirect basis for
the conclusion of the employment contract. Within the framework of the general

principles of the Constitution, the principle of democracy, which influences a leg-

islative approach in regulating employment relations, must be emphasized. Accord-
ing to this principle, employees have the right to influence the regulation of the
working conditions (i.e. industrial democracy) and different aspects of managerial
processes, including deciding on employees’ rights, duties, and responsibilities (i.e.
human resource management). The content of the employment contract and the
spirit of its execution by managers are therefore under the influence of employees’
representatives. According to the constitutional principle of a state governed by the
rule of law, Slovenian legislation systematically and carefully regulates all the
important elements of the employment relations, including an employment contract
as a legal institution. Many constitutional principles arise from the general consti-
tutional approach in protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
139. This general approach must be fully implemented also with regard to the
protection of the position of the employees. In this is the main constitutional pro-
vision which is directly connected with the phenomenon of the employment con-
tract. It is the constitutional freedom of work (Article 49 of the Constitution). In
addition to the prohibition of forced labour, the provision determines the duty of the
employers to announce all vacancies and enable the job seekers to take part in the
concourse for the employment. The constitutional rule stresses the importance of
this possibility of the job seekers in the private sector and even more so in the public
sector.
B. Freedom of Contract
140. The constitutional freedom of work imposes on the employers the duty to
announce vacancies in such a manner that the information is accessible to job seek-
ers. On the other hand, employers also have the right to decide freely about making
contract with applicants after the announcement of vacancies. This entails that the
employers are relatively free to decide with which applicant who fulfils the condi-
tions for carrying out work they will conclude the employment contract.
141. In the public sector the employment relation must also be regulated by the
employment contract; however, the free will of contracting parties in stipulating an
employment contract in the public sector is much narrower than in the case of stipu-
lating an employment contract in the private sector. Not only is that free will of the
parties to employment contract limited to a greater extent by state regulations which
regulate the employment law institutions in more detail, the CSA even allows the
employer to intervene in the contractual relation by a unilateral authoritative deci-
sion. According to the CSA provisions, the contract must contain a statement that
the employer may unilaterally amend special provisions of the contract in confor-
mity with the law.1 Another special feature of this type of employment contract fol-
lows from the statutory provision that after the appointment to another title, upon
promotion to a higher salary bracket, and upon transfer to another work post, an act
must be issued on the affected rights and obligations. The act replaces the provi-
sions of the employment contract and preceding acts. The CSA also gives

ground to a special contractual clause between the contracting parties about the tem-
porary suspension of the employment contract of the civil servant. In such cases,
the rights and duties of the parties may not be executed and the civil servant may
stipulate another fixed-term employment contract with some other employer,
according to the agreement. During his or her work for the employer the officer’s
title is also suspended.
1. By its nature the provision mentioned above has only an informative function and does not necessarily
express the real will of the contracting parties.
C. Transfer of Civil Servants
142. Transfers of employees in the private sector may be ordered unilaterally by

the employer in the case of exceptional situations defined by the statute for a lim-
ited period of time. The possibilities for the use of this institution are much wider
in the public sector. The CSA provides for the conditions for the transfer, the limi-
tations of its use, and the legal procedure regarding this. The transfer of the civil
servant may be carried out with his or her consent or even on his or her request;
therefore, a decision about this transfer is followed by the modification of the
employment contract. The transfer, however, may also be carried out without the
civil servant’s consent. This is possible in case of the work requirements. Transfers
may be permanent or temporary.1 Temporary transfers may last no less than a month
and no more than a year.
1. The maximum duration is two years.
143. Civil servants may be transferred to suitable jobs, for which they satisfy
the prescribed conditions and which they are competent to perform.1 Officials may
be permanently transferred only to official jobs that can be held in the title of the
official, unless the official is transferred due to incompetence for the official job or
for the reasons of service. The officer may be temporarily transferred to the more
demanding job which may be executed in a higher title. In such a case the trans-
feree has to fulfil the conditions of the education level. The official performing such
a job may not be necessarily appointed to the higher title, but he or she is entitled
to enjoy the rights pertaining to the higher title.
1. With their consent, officials may be exceptionally transferred to a professional-technical job for
a period no longer than two years. Officials keep their title and the period of working on the
professional-technical job to which they were transferred is included in the promotion period.
144. Transfers due to work requirements may not be allowed during temporary
inability for work due to illness, pregnancy, or during parental leave. Civil ser-
vants may, due to work requirements, be transferred to available jobs or to
professional-technical jobs within the same or to another body for the reasons of ser-
vice, if a civil servant is found to be incompetent to do his or her job, if the prin-
cipal believes that a more effective and expedient performance of the body can be
ensured therewith, if there is a permanent change in the workload or the working
procedures are being rationalized and the civil servant no longer bears the full work

burden, and in other cases provided by law. A further condition prescribed by the
statute is related to the place of work. Transfers due to work requirements are only
allowed if the location of work in the case of transfer is no more than 70 km away
from the current location or no more than one hour’s travel away by public
transport.
D. Procedure in the Case of Transfers due to Work Requirements
145. If civil servants do not give their consent to the transfer, transfers due to
work requirements are carried out by a unilaterally issued decision. The decision of
transfer due to work requirements within the same body may be issued by the prin-
cipal, whereas in the case of transfer to another body the order may be issued by the
common consent of the body’s principals. The order of transfer due to work require-
ments contains the location, the date of the commencement of work on another job,
and the rights and obligations related to the new job.1
1. The decision on transfer due to work requirements within public administration bodies may also
be issued by the government on proposal of the principal of the body to which a civil servant
is to be transferred; account should be taken of the requirements of the service of the body in
which the civil servant that is to be transferred works and a suitable suspensive period for transfer
should be set.
146. Transfers at the request of or with the consent of civil servants may be car-
ried out by an annex to the employment contract. In the case of transfers to another
body, the annex on the part of the employer may be concluded by the principals of
both bodies. In the case of another employer in the public administration or local
community, transfers may be carried out by an agreed termination of the employ-
ment contract and a conclusion of a new employment contract.
The government may decide on the transfer to another body within public admin-
istration bodies, at the request of a civil servant, without the consent of the body
where the civil servant requesting the transfer works. In this case, the annex to the
employment contract on the part of the employer may be concluded by the princi-
pal of the body to which the civil servant is to be transferred.
E. Concluding Employment Contracts and Freedom of Work
147. According to the constitutional requirements regarding freedom of work

(Article 49 of the Constitution) the employer who recruits workers with the inten-
tion to conclude an employment contract for the particular job has to advertise the
vacancies in public. Public advertisement of a vacancy must contain the conditions
for carrying out work and the deadline for submitting applications, which may not
be shorter than eight days. A public advertisement can be published in the mass
media but it must also be published in the public areas of the Employment Service
of the Republic of Slovenia.
If the employer publishes a vacancy in different mass media, the deadline for sub-
mitting an application starts running on the day of the last advertisement. The

employer employing workers for a definite period of time or part-time and who is
recruiting workers for an indefinite period of time or full-time, must inform work-
ers in due time of the vacant positions or of the public advertisement of vacancies
on the notice board at the employer’s registered office.
148. An employment contract can exceptionally be concluded without public

advertisement in cases determined by the statute. These cases refer to some special
circumstances which justify the employer directly employing workers. The law per-
mits such conduct if the employment contract is stipulated between parties which
have previously been engaged in some relation connected with the job. This is if
the parties want to conclude a new employment contract due to changed circum-
stances, and the employer on this basis offers to the employee a new employment
contract for work on the new job. The same applies if the employer has a contrac-
tual obligation to employ someone to whom a scholarship has been granted. No
advertisement is needed in the case of employment of a disabled person pursuant to
the statute regulating employment of disabled persons. This statutory regulation has
a great importance in efforts to accelerate the inclusion of disabled persons in work-
ing life. The exception of the duty to advertise the vacancy is permitted in the case
of employment for a definite period of time which, due to its nature, does not last
more than three months in a calendar year. The exception also exists if someone is
concluding an employment contract for an indefinite period of time, if he or she has
previously served a traineeship at the employer or was employed with the employer
on the basis of a fixed-term employment contract. Moreover, there is no obligation
to advertise the vacancy either in the case of employment for a definite period of
time due to the performance of work activities during the accommodation period on
the basis of the final decision and certificate issued by the competent body. Such a
decision can be made in procedure of recognition of qualifications pursuant to a spe-
cial statute. The same applies in case of full-time employment of a person who was
employed part-time with the employer, the employment of partners in a legal entity,
the employment of family members of an employer who is a natural person, the
employment of elected and appointed officials and/or other workers bound by the
term of office of a body or officials in local communities, political parties, trade
unions, chambers, associations and their federations, in case of managers, procura-
tors, and in other cases determined by law. When changing certain types of atypical
employment contracts in to typical ones with already employed persons, employers
must, however, inform their employees of such planned action in due time
(ERA 2007).
149. Upon recruiting personnel the employer has a duty to take into the account
also other constitutional values, protecting the employees. The most important
value, which must be fully respected is the right to equal treatment of persons
(Article 14 of the Constitution). From this point of view, the statute devotes special
attention to equal treatment of men and women. According to this principle, the
employer may not publicly advertise a vacancy only for men or only for women,
unless one of the sexes is the essential condition for carrying out work. Even more,
an advertisement of a vacancy may not indicate that in recruiting one of the sexes
would be given priority by the employer.

F. Duties of the Employer and the Applicant in the Hiring Procedure
150. In the hiring procedure employers must pay attention to the inviolable con-
stitutional value of respecting persons’ dignity in all circumstances. When using the
appropriate human resource management tools in the hiring procedure they may
only require from an applicant the submission of documents proving the fulfilment
of conditions for carrying out work. Upon concluding the employment contract,
employers may not require from the applicant to provide information on family and/
or marital status, pregnancy, family planning, or other similar information of a pri-
vate character, unless they are directly related to the employment relation.
Employers may not subject the conclusion of an employment contract to the con-
dition of providing information mentioned above. Employers can also not impose
on the employee additional conditions related to the prohibition of pregnancy, post-
ponement of maternity, or the signing of a notice of termination of contract in
advance.
151. Job requirements are an essential element of the public announcement of

a vacant job or working area at the employer. The employer must also define a dead-
line for the employee’s submission of the application, which may not exceed five
days (ERA 2007). Upon concluding the employment contract, the employer may
test the knowledge and/or abilities of applicants to carry out work. In order to estab-
lish the applicant’s health capacity for carrying out work, the employer is allowed
to refer the applicant to the preliminary medical examination in accordance with the
regulations on safety and health at work on employer’s own cost. The test of knowl-
edge and/or abilities of the applicant or examination of his or her health capacities
should not be related to circumstances which are not of direct relevance for a cer-
tain work. Before concluding an employment contract for a definite or indefinite
period of time, the employer must inform the applicant of the working conditions
and the worker’s and employer’s rights and obligations related to carrying out the
work. The employer must offer the worker a written proposal of the contract,
according to the statute and EU Directive 91/533/EEC.
152. In the public sector, the hiring of employees is allowed in cases of perma-
nent or temporary increase in workload that cannot be handled with the existening
number of civil servants, or where there is a vacancy without a change in the work-
load; the CSA also explicitly states the additional condition that the body has
secured funding for the new employment and that new employment is in accor-
dance with the existing personnel plan. A decision to hire new staff is made by the
principal, who must take into account some special procedural regulations. He or
she must verify whether it is possible to fill the vacancy by transferring civil
servants from within the same body or by transferring civil servants from another
body; an announcement of internal competition may be held for this purpose. It
may be held so as to include other state bodies and local community administra-
tions as well.1 The proceedings for new employment of an official must be
conducted as an open competition, whereas the proceedings for new employment
for a professional-technical job must be conducted in conformity with the regula-
tions governing employment and in conformity with the collective labour

agreement. Open competitions must be published in the Official Gazette of the

Republic of Slovenia or in daily newspapers, and with the Employment Service of
the Republic of Slovenia.
1. Internal competitions may also be held in other state bodies and local community administrations
so as to include several bodies and local community administrations. Provisions on the procedure
for the implementation of the internal competition are determined for all bodies by government
regulation.
153. The selection procedure1 may be carried out by the competition commis-
sion or in some cases the principal himself or herself. The procedure, which follows
the open competition announcement or internal competition announcement of jobs
of certain high categories of officials, must be conducted by a so-called special com-
petition commission. This commission makes a selection of candidates for posi-
tions of directors-general, secretaries-general, the principals of bodies within
ministries, the principals of government offices, and the principals of administrative
units. The members of the commission are appointed by the Officials Council in
each particular instance. The CSA emphasizes that only the candidate who was
demonstrated in the selection procedure to be the most professionally qualified for
the job, may be selected. The procedure ends with issuing of an administrative deci-
sion act on the selection of an official. It must be served on the selected candidate,
whereas other candidates must be served with an act informing them that they were
not selected. After the act which contains a decision on selection is issued, the can-
didates participating in the selection procedure may, under the supervision of a pub-
lic officer of the body, inspect all the data of the selection procedure. After the
selection procedure, a civil servant is offered an employment contract proposal.
Whenever the civil servant has the position of the officer he or she must be previ-
ously appointed in the adequate title by the authoritative decision of the competent
body. If the employment contract is not concluded within 30 days after the appoint-
ment to title for reasons on the part of the official, the person or the body that issued
the decision on the appointment to title must annul such a decision.
1. In the selection procedure the qualifications of the candidates for the performance of tasks on
official jobs are tested. The procedure may be conducted in several phases so that the candidates
are gradually eliminated. It may be conducted in the form of testing professional qualifications
on the basis of the documentation submitted by the candidate, written tests of qualifications,
oral discussions, and other forms.
154. It is not only the employer who has the statutorily defined duties with
regard to hiring procedure. The applicant also has certain obligations. These obli-
gations are related to providing the employer with the possibility to verify that the
applicant fulfils the statutory requirements.
In accordance with this principle the statute requires from the applicant certain
activities. He or she must submit to the employer the documents proving the ful-
filment of conditions for carrying out work and inform the employer of all personal
circumstances relevant for the employment relation that he or she is familiar with.
The applicant also has a duty to inform the employer of the circumstances known
to him or her, which prevent or substantially prohibit him or her from executing the
obligations arising from the contract. He or she also has the duty to inform him or

her about threats to life or health of persons he or she is in contact with in executing
the obligations. In the selection procedure, the applicant is not obliged to answer
questions which are not directly related to the employment relation.
155. If the applicant is not selected in the hiring procedure, he or she still has
certain rights. Within eight days after concluding the employment contract with the
selected applicant, the employer must notify in writing the applicant who was not
selected of the fact that he or she was not selected. At his or her request the
employer has to return to the applicant all the documents submitted as proof of ful-
filment of the required conditions for carrying out the work of the particular job.
G. Changing the Employment Relation due to Changed Circumstances
156. During the job performance of the employee circumstances may change in
such a manner that one of the contracting parties no longer has any interest in
executing his or her obligations arising from the employment contract. In such a
case the contracting party may propose that the employment contract be changed or
that a new employment contract be concluded.
A new employment contract is concluded in case of changed circumstances
which lead to the need to change the essential elements of the employment contract
(e.g. the job, the duration of working time, period for which the employment con-
tract must be concluded). The new employment contract can also be concluded if
the employer gives notice of dismissal to the employee with the offer of a new job
at the same time. In the cases mentioned above the consent of both parties is needed.
H. Change of the Contract in Case of Termination of Employment

by the Employer
157. If the employer terminates the employment contract on the grounds of dis-
missal because of business reasons or reasons related to the incapacity and the
worker could continue working under changed conditions or at another job, a new
employment contract can be concluded if the employee accepts the proposal for a
new employment contract, which follows the previous dismissal.
I. Relationship between Changes of Existing Law and the Provisions

of the Employment Contract
158. The purpose of the employment contract is to determine the rights and
duties of the parties and make them independent from external influences, even
from subsequent changes of law. However, the position of the employee as the con-
tracting party is privileged. According to this legal principle, the worker will retain
all the rights which are determined in the employment contract even if later changes

in the legal sources regulate his or her rights less favourably. The legal sources
mentioned above are statutory provisions, collective agreements, and employers’
general enactments (i.e. work rules). Changes in the opposite way do not have such
an effect. If the legal source changes in a manner such to be more favourable for the
employee, securing him or her better working conditions as determined in the
employment contract, the legal sources must be applied directly.
J. Suspension of the Contract
159. In cases in which the worker temporarily stops working because of the rea-
sons determined by the statute, the employment contract does not cease to have
effect and the employer may not terminate it (i.e. suspension of the employment
contract), except in cases which give the employer the right to dismiss the employee
on the basis of the extraordinary termination of the employment contract or if the
procedure for the termination of the employer’s works unit has started (ERA 2007).
160. The reasons which allow the suspension of the employment contract are as
follows: employee’s absence because of a prison sentence or due to an imposed edu-
cational, safety, or protective measure which prevents him or her from working for
six months or more, the absence due to conscription or substitute civil serving of
conscription and/or training for performing tasks in the reserve police component,
due to detention, and in other cases determined by the statute. During suspension of
the employment contract, contractual and other rights and obligations arising from
the employment relation which are directly related to work are suspended. The
worker has the right and obligation to return to work at the latest within five days
after the grounds for suspension of the contract ceased. If the worker does not return
to work within the prescribed period of time, without a justified reason, he or she
could be given an extraordinary notice of dismissal. In such a case the suspension
of the contract may last until the extraordinary notice starts to have effect.
II. Ability to Conclude an Employment Contract
A. Contracting Parties
161. An employer and an employee are the parties to the employment contract.
The employer can be a natural person or a legal entity. A legal entity can be rep-
resented by a representative determined by law or a founding act or by a person
authorized in writing by the representative. If the employer is a state body, it is rep-
resented by its superior or by a person authorized by the superior. When concluding
the employment contract with the management, the employer is represented by a
body determined by law, a founding act, or a statute, and in the absence of such
body by the owner himself. When concluding the employment contract with
managers during the period of founding of the employer’s organization, the latter is
represented by the founder.

B. Capacity to Conclude an Employment Contract
162. An employment contract may be concluded by persons who have reached

the age of 15. An employee who concludes an employment contract must meet the
prescribed conditions for carrying out work determined in the collective agreement
or employer’s general enactment or which are required by the employer. The
employer must determine conditions for carrying out the job in the general enact-
ment. Smaller employers are not subject to this obligation. A disabled person trained
to carry out certain work is regarded as a person who has the health capacity to con-
clude an employment contract for such work. An alien or a person without citizen-
ship may conclude an employment contract, if he or she fulfils the conditions
determined in the ERA and the conditions determined by special act regulating
employment of aliens.
III. Types of Employment Contract
A. Typical and Atypical Employment Contracts
163. An employment contract is normally concluded for undetermined period

of time as full-time job (i.e. typical employment contract). In addition, there are
many other types of employment contract which can be used as a tool of managers
in order to effectively manage human resources. Some of these contracts are tradi-
tional forms of employment contract, whereas some of them are modern models
designed only recently in order to support the need of employers to act more eco-
nomically in times of challenging globalization of economies.1 Employers have a
growing interest in using non-standard forms of work. More and more people prac-
tising professions have to accept precarious work. Therefore, legal frameworks for
carrying out such work should be formed. Essential standards should be formed in
this area as well as appropriate rights arising from the employment relation and in
the area of the social security. The Small Works Act (2010) determines the condi-
tions for the execution of mini-jobs, the mode of interposing of these jobs, mode
and conditions for acquiring a concession for interposing these jobs, the regulation
of wages, the duties of the employers, and the regulation of taxation, evidence, sur-
veillance, and control.
1. The types of employment that are known in modern societies are normally described as employment
relation, mini-jobs and different forms of self-employment (Schulze Buschoff in Protsch, 2008).
New flexible forms of employment provide labour market with different levels of the job security
and social security. For the introduction of new solutions on the labour market in Slovenia the
coalition agreement of political parties for the period 2008–2012 is of great importance. According
to this agreement the governing politicians should make efforts for new services on the labour
market, which would enable better professional training of persons who are entering the labour
market. Increased flexibility of employment supports the interests of the employers; however,
the losses of employees must be compensated by introducing new social rights, therefore, by a
flexible approach in building the social security system (Strban 2008).
164. Employment contracts are normally concluded for an indefinite period of

time. This is a basic rule with regard to the employment contract. The employment

contract strengthens the position of the employees as weaker parties to the employ-
ment contract. It provides the employee with relative stability of the employment
which is important from his or her economic and social perspective and his or her
professional development. From this point of view, the employment contract stipu-
lated for indefinite period of time for full-time work is considered the typical
employment contract. Other kinds of employment contract, however, are less
favourable for the employees’ basic position but they give more room for efficient
human resource activities to management. They are considered the main tool for the
regulation of flexible employment relations. Typical and atypical employment con-
tracts are regulated by the provisions of the ERA. Normally they are not regulated
by special statutes. However, the provisions of civil contract law can additionally
be applied in case of absence of adequate regulation in the ERA. On the other hand,
civil-law contracts may normally not be used between the contracting parties if the
essential elements of a labour relation are fulfilled. Mistakes made by the parties to
the employment contract in the process of concluding such can cause its invalidity.
If a provision of the employment contract is contrary to the general provisions on
minimum rights or obligations of contracting parties determined by law, collective
agreement, and/or employer’s general enactments, the provisions of law, collective
agreements, and/or employer’s general enactments in question are used as the con-
stituent part of the employment contract.
B. Historical Overview of the Employment Contract
165. In the former socialist state of SFRY the federal legal system strictly
restricted the possibility of employers hiring employees in the employment relation
for a definite period of time. In the decades after the World War II, labour relations
were not based on the contract principle. They were considered relations between
employees in works units, which were regarded as legal entities combining social
resources of means of production and workers. Works units were thus considered
the associations of workers themselves, who had the right to manage the social
resources of production, which were located in works units. The majority of the
national means of production had the character of so-called social property, which
functioned within the framework of the self-management system. Only small parts
of the means of production in agriculture and craft were in the ownership of private
subjects. Only in this area did an employment relation have the character of a con-
tractual employment relation and only in this part of the economy were collective
contracts were considered as legal sources which regulated the working conditions
of employees. Through this concept, labour relations in the social, that is the quasi-
public sector, were considered a mutual relationship between employees them-
selves. Managers were therefore seen as the executive staff of the employees’
legally formed bodies, called councils of workers, which were entirely different
institutions from works councils in companies in modern European states. Employ-
ment relations in the quasi-public sector were based on the act of the employment
relation which was adopted for an undetermined period of time. The law, however,
also permitted the establishment of the employment relation for a determined period
of time, but as an exception allowed in cases similar to those which are known today

in modern legislation, as a reflection of comparative labour law standards. In 1989,

the SFRY Parliament passed a federal law on the basic rights of the employees with
regard to the employment relation. It introduced a new, contractual basis for the
employment relation. Henceforth, employees have been entering into employment
relations on the basis of employment contracts, regulating their rights, duties, and
responsibilities. At the same time employees acquired the right to participate in the
process of regulating working conditions by collective contracts. This principle
decisively strengthened after the changes of the political and social order in 1991,
when the new Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia was adopted.
C. Unlawfulness of the Employment Contract or its Clauses
166. There is a possibility that contracting parties conclude an employment con-

tract which does not comply with the law. The fault of the contract or its clauses
can have different degrees; therefore, legal consequences may vary according to the
level of the fault. The contract can be declared null or void by the labour court or
the respective arbitration body. A contractual regulation that is against the legal
order causes nullity of the contract or its clause. In the case of an eventual labour
dispute, the court must ex offıcio observe the nullity of an employment contract,
which can be referred to by any person demonstrating a legal interest. The right to
assert the nullity of an employment contract does not expire. The degree of the fault
of the whole contract or of its clause may be lower, namely not violating the basic
legal values of the society. Usually the fault is related to a defect of the real will of
the parties to the contract. The right to require annulment of a void contract expires
30 days after the day the eligible person learned of the reason for declaring the con-
tract void or after the cessation of the duress. In any case, the right to require the
contract to be declared void expires one year after the day of signing the contract.
167. The CSA regulates the rules on the consequences of an unlawful employ-
ment contract stipulated in the public sector. According to the statute, an employ-
ment contract or an administrative act of the appointment to title must be annulled
where a civil servant failed to satisfy the conditions for the job performance for
which the contract was concluded, or in cases in which prior to the conclusion of
the contract contrary to regulations no open competition procedure was carried out.
The contract must be annulled by issuing a formal act by the principal. An annex to
the employment contract or a formal act on transfer must be annulled if a person
failed to satisfy the conditions for the job performance or the position to which the
person was transferred. The annex or the formal act must be annulled by issuing
another formal act. The employment contract may also be partially annulled where
individual provisions of the contract are contrary to public interest and are
inconsistent with the law, executive regulations, and collective labour agreements,
and may be directly replaced by provisions of these acts. The decision on the annul-
ment must be taken by an appellate commission on its own initiative or on the
initiative of the civil servant himself or herself, the Officials Council, the principal,
the Court of Audit, or the inspector. The initiative for the annulment may

also be given by the representative trade union in the body. Appeal to the appellate
commission is allowed against the decision on annulment.
IV. Atypical Employment Contracts
A. Duration of the Employment Contract – Historical View
168. In the former socialist state of SFRY, the federal legal system strictly
restricted the possibility of the contracting parties concluding an employment con-
tract for definite period of time. As mentioned above, employment relations in the
quasi-public sector in the late era of the socialist state were already based on the
employment contract, which was concluded for an undetermined period of time.
According to the employment legislation of the independent state of Slovenia from
1991 this principle remained in force. Following sweeping reforms of the employ-
ment legislation in 2002, the possibilities of concluding fixed-term employment
contracts were changed. According to the principles of the new legislation, a fixed-
term employment contract was defined as a special tool of managers and employers
to gain more power in the processes of managing the staff and at the same time the
statute also imposed limitations on managers and employers using this tool. In this
way the balance between the need for flexibility and security of job was secured
with regard to this type of employment contract. Unlike in some other countries,
employees who work on the basis of a fixed-term contract enjoy the same indi-
vidual rights as employees who work under the typical employment contract con-
cluded for undetermined period of time. Thus, the regulations of the fixed-term
employment contract fully take into account EU Directive 91/383/EEC supplement-
ing the measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of
workers with a fixed- duration employment relationship or a temporary employ-
ment relationship and EU Directive 1999/70/EC concerning the framework agree-
ment on fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP.
B. Fixed-term Employment Contract and its Limitations
169. The main characteristic of a fixed-term employment contract according to

the ERA of 2002 is a triple limitation of the right of contracting parties to conclude
such a contract. First of all, there is a statutorily determined definition of cases in
which the use of this institution is allowed. This limitation is followed by the sec-
ond one, that is a time limitation, and even a third one, which consists of the sanc-
tion imposed on the parties if the concluded contract has some defect of essential
importance. The general intention of the fixed-term contract regulations, which have
to be taken into consideration in practice, is the legitimate origin of the institution. The
general intention for the use of the fixed-term contract is to facilitate the position of
the employer in cases in which he or she does not have the need for the employee’s per-
manent work because the realization of the particular work has temporary nature.
According to this general principle the need for seasonal work is also regarded as
the legitimate case which justifies the conclusion of the fixed-term contract.

1. First Limitation – Defined Cases
170. A fixed-term employment contract can be concluded in cases determined

by the statute or a particular type of the collective agreement. First, general regu-
lation of the cases is provided by the ERA 2002. Secondly, the legislature may also
determine other cases with other statutes. According to the ERA, there is one excep-
tion from the general rule that only a statute can determine the cases justifying the
conclusion of fixed-term contracts. Social partners are authorized to define cases in
which fixed-term contracts are permitted, however, not at all levels. It is not pos-
sible to add cases on the company level or local level. The statute allows the social
partners to enact additional cases only with the branch collective contract.
171. All employers are obliged to respect these limitations related to the hiring
process. The statute, however, determines one exception. It allows the social part-
ners to exclude the obligation of small employers in a single branch of the economy
to pay attention to those cases. It means that they can conclude fixed-term employ-
ment contracts for definite period of time regardless of the restrictions determined
by the statute; however, they have to follow the regulations which impose other
restrictions on the employer.
172. The cases, determined by the ERA as those justifying the stipulation of the
fixed-term employment contract, are as follows:
(1) for the execution of the work which is by its nature of limited duration;
(2) when there is a need for replacing a temporarily absent worker;
(3) when a temporariy increased volume of work arises;
(4) in case of the employment of an alien or person without citizenship who was
granted work permit for a definite period of time;
(5) when employing top managers who represent works units in accordance with
the statute and other managers, who are leading a particular business area or
organizational unit at the employer if they have the authorization to conclude
contracts or if they have the authorization to decide about human resources
and other managerial issues independently (ERA 2007);
(6) if the employee is engaged in seasonal work;
(7) for the reason of preparation for work, vocational training, or advanced study
for work and/or education;
(8) employment due to work during the accommodation period on the basis of the
final decision and certificate issued by the competent body in the procedure of
recognition of qualifications pursuant to a special law;
(9) due to performance of public works and/or inclusion in the measures of active
employment policy pursuant to law;
(10) due to preparation or realization of work organized as a project;
(11) in case of work during the period of introduction of new programmes, new
technology, and other technical and technological improvements of the working
process or for training workers;

(12) in case of work of the elected and appointed officials and/or other workers
related to the term of office of a body or official in local communities, political
parties, trade unions, chambers, associations and their federations.
From the comparative point of view, it must be mentioned that some cases men-
tioned above have such nature that they could be a basis for the regulation of the
special, additional type of the employment contract; however, this is not the case in
Slovenian labour law.
173. In the public sector, contracting parties may stipulate a fixed-term employ-
ment contract in some cases distinct for the public sector, determined by the CSA,
namely:
– in cases of work posts where personal trust of functionaries is required (work

posts in the Cabinet);1
– in order to substitute for temporarily absent civil servants;
– for the positions of director-general, secretary-general, the principal of a body
within ministry, the principal of government office, the principal of administrative
unit, and the director of municipal administration (municipal secretary).
Fixed-term employment contracts may not be concluded in any other cases,

regardless of the provisions of the law governing employment.
1. For the bodies, the number and types of jobs in the cabinet for a fixed term is determined by the
government in the personnel plan, whereas for other state bodies and local community bodies,
the number and types of jobs in the cabinet for a fixed term is determined by state bodies and
representative bodies of local communities respectively.
The ERA provisions governing employment have to be applied regarding the

restrictions on consecutive conclusions of fixed-term employment contracts, and to
consequences for violating the statutory provisions in this regard. Provisions on jobs
in the Cabinet reasonably apply to jobs in the Office of the Prime Minister, includ-
ing the director of the Office, and for jobs in the National Assembly and the National
Council, where work for parliamentary groups and the groups of councillors is per-
formed. Fixed-term employment contracts may be concluded only if funding has
been secured.
2. Time Limits
174. In addition to the limitations made by regulating the cases which are a
legitimate ground of a fixed-term employment contract and which can be deter-
mined by the statute or branch collective contract, the statute also imposes on the
contracting parties time limitations. According to the ERA provisions, an employer
may not conclude one or more successive fixed-term employment contracts with the
same worker and for the same job, for the uninterrupted period longer than two
years. An interruption of three months or less does not mean an interruption of the
two-year period, which is mentioned as the limitation for the employment relation

duration. Until 2007, the ERA provisions allowed longer uninterrupted periods,
namely three years. The two-year time limit may also be extended in case of the
project work if the project lasts more than two years. The branch collective contract
must define what kind of working activities can be considered as the project work
(ERA 2007).
175. In the public sector the time limitations are similar to those regulated by
the ERA. The CSA, however, emphasizes that no permanent contract of employ-
ment may be concluded without open competition with civil servants that entered
into fixed-term employment relation, with some exemptions, determined by the stat-
ute. Officials who have entered into fixed-term employment may not be appointed
to title and the contract of employment itself must determine the official title rel-
evant for determining the rights and obligations of the official.
C. The Consequence of the Violation of the Regulations
176. If the parties conclude a fixed-term contract contrary to the regulations

regarding cases and time limits of the fixed-term employment contract, the contract
will be considered unlawful. The degree of the violation is not regulated by the stat-
ute, as is the case in some other countries, therefore the degree of the violation must
be ascertained by labour courts which set juridical standards in this area. If the
fixed-term employment contract is found to be unlawful because it was concluded
contrary to law or branch collective contract, or if the worker continues to work
even after the period for which he had concluded the employment contract, it is con-
sidered that the employment contract was made for indefinite period of time.
D. Calculation of Working Hours
177. During the period of employment for definite period of time, the contract-
ing parties have the same rights and obligations as in the case of employment for
indefinite period of time with possible exceptions determined by the statute. One
such special right is secured to seasonal workers. According to the ERA, if a worker
carries out seasonal work and/or works under irregular distribution of working time
on the basis of the fixed-term employment contract without interruptions for at least
three months in a year and accumulates more working hours than it is determined
for full time work, the working hours are calculated into working days with full
working hours, on his or her request. Working days are included in the calculation
of the worker’s period of service as if he or she had spent them at work. In such a
calculation, the total period of service may not exceed 12 months in a calendar year.

E. A Contract for Temporary Work
1. Authorization and Different Types of Limitation
178. The employer who, in accordance with the statutory regulations concern-
ing employment services, may be engaged in the activity of providing workers to
another employers (i.e. users) on the basis of a concession contract, concluded
between the employer and the competent governmental body, e.g. the ministry
responsible for labour may employ persons on the basis of the contract for the tem-
porary work (i.e. CTW).1
The employer may be an agency or some other kind of organization including the
Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia (Zavod Republike Slovenije za
zaposlovanje). The statute or a collective contract can impose certain limitations on
the activities of these organizations. An authorized organization may not send work-
ers to a workplace of another user in the following cases:
– in cases in which such action would cause the replacement of workers on strike,
employed by the user;
– in cases in which the user has dismissed on the ground of economic reasons a
large number of workers employed with him, during the period of the past 12
months;
– in cases of dangers and risks which would threat the employees sent to the user.
The possibility of adding certain particular limitations to the list above is given
to social partners. According to the statute such can be done by the branch collec-
tive contract. The regulation gives additional protection to the interests of job seek-
ers and employees, so there is always the possibility of imposing additional
limitations on the employee with other types of collective agreements.
Before concluding an agreement a user must inform an employer of the circum-
stances which could be important in order to establish whether providing workers
to the user can be considered legal or not. An employment contract between the
agency and the worker can be concluded for a definite or indefinite period of time.
A lack of the user’s need for further work of the worker in individual cases of pro-
viding a worker to the user may not be considered a legal reason for the eventual
attempt to terminate an employment contract. The employer may not provide work-
ers to the user continuously or with interruptions of up to one month, for more than
one year in case of performing the same work by the same worker.
1. The jobs to the job seekers are provided pay free according to the international regulation by the
Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) and also by other organizations if they are provided by
the state concession (Brezovar, 2006). The concessions may be general giving the right to the
specific agency to provide work to all job seekers or employers, or they may be specialized to
provide work of special categories of persons, such as students (the regulation about the conditions
for the activities of agencies for employment, 2000). This activity is also supported by the Directive
2008/104/EC on Temporary Agency Work. Its goal is to provide agency workers more protection,
to enhance better performance of the agencies and to enhance the equal treatment of the employees
employed in agencies and other employees. These goals are emphasized also in the ILO Private
Employment Agencies Convention, C181 and in ILO Recommendation R 188.

2. Special Features of the Employment Contract
179. In the employment contract, a worker and an employer agree that the
worker will perform the work with other users, at the location and in the period
stipulated by the worker’s note to work with the user. The regulation is also based
on EU Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of
the provision of services.
In the employment contract, the employer and the worker stipulate that the level
of the wage and of the compensation depend on the actually performed work with
users, taking into account collective agreements and general acts that bind indi-
vidual users. In the employment contract, the employer and the worker also agree
on the level of the wage compensation for the period of a previous cessation of work
with the user, and/or for the period in which the employer fails to ensure work with
the user. The wage compensation in such a case may not be lower than 70 per cent
of the minimum wage.
3. Relations between the Worker, the Employer and the User
180. Before the worker starts working, the user must inform the employer
(agency) about all the conditions which must be fulfilled by the worker. He or she
must also submit to the employer the assessment of risk of injuries and health dam-
ages with regard to the particular job. Before the worker starts working with the
user, the employer and the user must conclude an agreement in writing about mutual
rights and obligations as well as the rights and obligations of the worker and of the
user. When sent to work with the user, the worker must be informed in writing about
the conditions of work with the user.
The worker must carry out the work following the user’s instructions with regard
to work performance. In the period of the worker’s work with the user, the user and
the worker must take into account labour law regulations which are binding on the
employer and his or her staff with regard to work. If the user violates his or her obli-
gations the worker is entitled to refuse to carry out the work. However, if the worker
violates his or her obligations this fact could be considered a possible reason for dis-
ciplinary procedure, started to assess the eventual responsibility of the employee or
even for his or her dismissal. The worker has the right to annual leave in accor-
dance with the agreement reached between the employer and the user.
F. A Part-time Employment Contract
1. A Part-time Employment Contract and the Different Nature

of Employees’ Rights
181. An employment contract may be concluded for working time that is shorter
than the full working hours in force with the employer within the framework of the
conditions determined by the statute. A part-time employment contract is considered
a special employment contract and is regulated by a very few statutory regulations.1

There are a few restrictions concerning the part-time employment contract in statutory
law. This type of contract is regarded as the main tool for the employers and managers
in their efforts to develop a flexible approach to human resource management in their
organizations. In addition, trade unions are not strictly opposed to the introduction of
such work. A part-time employment contract is not considered a threat against the
position and perspectives of the full-time employed workers and job seekers. From
the comparative point of view, it should be mentioned that the law favours the use of
this contract and does not impose significant limitations on the employers regarding
its use. There are no restrictions on the use of the part-time employment contract in the
public sector. A minimum number of working hours is not prescribed. The statute does
not set the limitations of the mode, how the working hours should be defined in the
contract, whether the number of weekly working hours should be stipulated in the
contract, whether the exact days when the worker will be performing his or her work-
ing tasks should be determined, and similar. The statute does not require any approval
of the contract from the work inspector or that the he or she must be notified of the
contract.
1. The flexible approach to human resources management in works units in practice may be implemented
in different ways. In the first place there is a possibility for so called working time flexibility,
which can be achieved by appropriate planning of working hours (Lipičnik 2000, Felstead, Jewson,
1999). From the international point of view, certain ILO Conventions, e.g. C 175 Part-Time
Work Convention (1994), are of significance.
The legal regulation of this type of the employment contract is the same for the private and
the public sector.
182. A worker who concludes a part-time employment contract must have the
same statutorily defined rights and obligations arising from employment relation as
a worker who works full time. In the private sector his or her rights can be extended
by collective agreements or an employment contract; however, in the public sector
the employment contract cannot secure a part-time worker with more rights than
prescribed in the regulations or a collective agreement. The part-time worker exer-
cises property rights arising from the employment relation in proportion to the time
for which the employment was concluded.
183. There may be some exceptions determined by the law or arising from the
nature of rights and duties themselves. Such rights are for example those related to
human rights and fundamental freedoms, the right to free association of workers, or
workers’ participation in decision-making. If the employer has a vacancy for more
work or full-time employment according to changed organizational rules of the
employer, the part-time worker has priority for the employment on the job in the
changed organizational structure of the organization according to the regulations of
job protection in the case of dismissal on the basis of economic reasons.
184. The worker is entitled to annual leave in the minimum duration of four
weeks, which is the same as it is determined for the workers who perform full-time
jobs. Unless otherwise stipulated in the employment contract, the employer may not
unilaterally impose on the part-time worker the work exceeding the agreed working
hours, except in the case of the natural disaster or any other real danger to the

employer’s business. The above-mentioned regulation is based on EU Directive

97/81/EC.
2. A Part-time Employment Contract with Several Employers
185. A worker may conclude a part-time employment contract with several

employers and thus achieve the full working hours determined by law. In this case
the worker has the right to require the conclusion of the agreement with the employ-
ers regarding working time, the manner of taking annual leave, and other absences
from work. An employer employing the part-time worker is obliged to ensure for
the worker the simultaneous taking of annual leave and other absences from work,
unless this would cause damage to the employer.
A worker who is entitled to work part-time in accordance with regulations on
pension and disability insurance, regulations on health insurance, or regulations on
parental leave has the same rights arising from social insurance as if working full-
time. Such a part-time worker is entitled to remuneration according to the actual
working obligation and has the same rights and obligations arising from employ-
ment relation as the full-time worker, unless otherwise determined by the law.
G. Home Work
1. Employment Contract on Home Work
186. This contract is considered a special type of the employment contract, pro-
moted to facilitate a flexible work organization of the employer’s business. Like
other flexible contracts, the employment contract on home work has some limita-
tions in order to secure the position of the worker and to protect the public interest.
The work at home can be performed by people who execute autonomous work on
the basis of the commercial contract for the employer (i.e. outsourcing). In such
cases there is no need of using the statutory provisions regarding home work. How-
ever, if the person enters the employment relation according to the legal definition
of home work, this person concludes the contract with the employer following the
provisions of the statute regulating the conditions for the execution of this type of
work. The statute does not impose substantial limitations for the use of this kind of
contract, as for example enacting the condition that the employer may employ
people on the basis of such contract only if he or she has not previously dismissed
redundant workers.
Home work is considered work carried out by the worker at his or her home or
on the premises, which are outside the employer’s premises, selected by the worker.
A special type of the home work is telework which is carried out with the use of the
informational technologies (ERA 2007). In the employment contract, the employer
and the worker may agree that at home the worker carries out work which falls
within the employer’s activity or which is necessary for the performance of the
employer’s activity. Before the worker starts work, the employer must inform the
labour inspection about the intended organization of home work.

2. Rights and Duties of Contracting Parties
187. Rights, obligations, and conditions which depend on the nature of home
work are regulated by the employment contract between the employer and the
worker. The worker is entitled to the reimbursement of expenses for the use of his
or her own resources used in-home work. The level of the reimbursement is stipu-
lated by the employment contract between the worker and the employer. Apart from
this statutory guarantee, there are no special regulations about the wage determina-
tion, thus the general wage system regulations must be followed. The statute under-
lines that the employer must ensure safe working conditions for home work.
The labour inspector prohibits the organization or performance of home work if
home work is harmful and/or if the danger exists for it to become harmful to the
people or to the living or working environment. The prohibition also applies in case
of certain special activities, which are listed by regulations as dangerous.
H. Public Works
188. In the Slovenian legal system, regulations regulating public works are the
object of the so-called active employment policy regulations. These regulations are
an important part of the legislation about employment policy and insurance against
unemployment. Public works are one of the measures which are foreseen to relieve
the actual position of unemployed persons. The use of this measure has two essen-
tial goals: first, temporary improvement of economic and social position of the
unemployed person, and secondly, to give the person included in public works the
possibility to gain new knowledge and experiences to secure himself or herself a
better position on the labour market. The organization of public works is to the
greatest extent a burden of the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia,
which organizes programmes of activities directed towards the realization of the
public works. More detailed regulations about the measure as a part of the active
employment policy are determined by the statute regulating the labour market and
the employment and insurance against the unemployment.1 However, the ERA con-
tains certain regulations about a special contract for public works. This contract is
concluded between an unemployed person who is included in public works by the
decision of the competent body of the Employment Service of the Republic of Slo-
venia and an employer – the provider of public works.
The main particularity of the contract is the contractual clause, which on the basis
of the statutory requirement gives the employee the right to use one part of the
working time for education and training according to the employment plan pre-
pared for the person by the employment service.
1. A public works programme can be applied for unemployed persons, who have the most difficulty
in find employment, e.g. older unemployed persons, persons with relatively low education degree,
long-term unemployed persons, unemployed disabled persons, and persons with so called employment
disability. In the public works programme can be included an unemployed person on the basis
of the consent with the employment councillor on the basis of the employment plan drafted for
the person in question. If an unemployed person has been receiving the compensation or financial
support, such a right would not be executed during the person’s activity in the frameworks of
the public works programme, however, the right would be resumed after the termination of the

public works. The salaries of the participants in public works are secured on the basis of the
national programme of public works. The Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) normally guarantees
75 per cent of the salary, whereas the commissioners or executants of the programmed activities
normally guarantee 25 per cent of the salary.
I. Management
1. Legal Position of Different Types of Manager
189. Managers of a single work unit may make decisions about the necessary
activities of the staff. With regard to the type of the organization concerned there
may be many levels of managers in an individual organization. From the legal point
of view, there are two important areas of regulation concerning managers: first, the
legal regulation of their own legal position, and secondly, the regulation of their
competences1 and the execution of their rights and duties in the process of the
execution of their functions, taking into account the level of managers (i.e. top man-
agers or lower-level managers). With regard to top managers, the first area is usu-
ally connected with two main types of regulations, namely company law or other
law which regulates the status of an individual organization, and employment law.
The first area normally regulates the manner in which top managers gain and lose
their positions; however, employment law regulates their personal rights, duties, and
responsibilities in the employment relation.2 This only applies if top managers and
their employers decide to conclude an employment contract.3 The parties also have
another option. They can decide to conclude a civil-law contract so that the top man-
ager keeps his or her independent and autonomous position in relation to the
founders of the organization. At other levels of the management such a possibility
does not exist. Managers of lower levels are regarded as employed persons. They
may not make decisions independently and they can execute their working tasks just
as employed staff. Similar is the position of clerks, who are authorized to represent
the employer in individual business activities. The nature of their activity is tem-
porary with short limited interventions in business according to their authorization
(ERA 2007).
1. Managerial competences may be evaluated on the basis of their capability to introduce creative
dialogue with all types of the employees’ representatives (Franca, 2008).
2. If the top manager of the company signed the employment contract, he or she will be entitled
to a salary according to the legal regulation of salaries and the employment contract. In Slovenian
legal order the part of the salary for work efficiency is regulated by the provisions of the Companies
Act (2006) and its amendments adopted in 2009. In literature criticism about the regulation of
the salaries of top management can be found. According to these opinions the data about the
salaries should be more transparent and the legal regulation should have the role to enhance the
companies to provide for the adequate structure of the salaries (Samec, 2009).
3. In addition to the special regulation of the employment contract of top managers the legal position
of this category of professionals has some special characteristics which arise from the legal nature
of the position of these persons. A top manager is always an essential part of the special form
of works unit, therefore, this figure may not have the characteristic of the redundant worker
even if he or she stipulated the employment contract (Senčur-Peček, 2008, Vodovnik 2006). The
decision of the High Labour and Social Court, Pdp 195/2001, dated 10 October 2002, emphasized
that every company needs a legal representative who is a top manager in accordance with the
statutory regulation.

190. The provisions of the CSA have a special approach to the regulation of the
managerial staff in public administration. On the one hand, there is the principal of
an individual body, and on the other hand, there are also other levels of manage-
ment. Persons who hold a special position in public administration may be consid-
ered managers. According to the CSA, the position is considered an official job,
which secures the officer managerial authority, along with the coordination and
organization of the working process within the body.1 Position holders have to meet
the criteria and conditions determined by the statute. In this respect, the CSA deter-
mines that for the acquisition of official job, which has the character of the position,
functional knowledge of administrative management and of personnel resources
management, and other special skills may be required. An applicant may gain a
position in the regular hiring process, but some positions may be accessed by
appointment2 after being selected in the internal or open competition procedure. If
they previously did not have the position of the official, the possibility of stipulating
the employment contract is limited to a term of five years. Their employment con-
tract may terminate in accordance with regular rules and special rules determined
by the statute (see, termination of the employment contract). They may be dis-
missed from the position in cases determined by the statute, which does not nec-
essarily entail the termination of the employment contract. The cases are as follows:
upon their own request, if no employment contract or annex to the employment con-
tract is concluded within one month after the appointment; if it is ascertained in the
prescribed procedure that the official is not competent to perform tasks in the posi-
tion; pursuant to an order determining the responsibility for a disciplinary violation;
in the case of termination of employment relation. The statute also determines some
other cases of an organizational nature and one related to trust. A functionary of the
body, competent to appoint an official, may namely dismiss the official from
the position even regardless of the statutorily determined reasons, therefore, on the
basis of lack of trust, in a short time limit of three months after the functionary
assumed the office. The statute also regulates the possibility of transfer, termination
of the employment relation, and the dismissal compensation of the officials in
question.
1. The list of positions according to the CSA is as follows:
– in ministries: director-general, secretary-general, and the heads of organizational units;
– in the bodies within ministries: the director and the heads of organizational units;
– in administrative units: the principal of administrative unit and the heads of organizational
units;
– in government offices: the director and the heads of organizational units;
– in local community administrations: the director and the heads of organizational units.In
addition, the positions may also be considered the jobs of officials related to the substitution
of certain high officials or to their support. They may be defined by the statute or the general
act of a body.
2. The director of local community administration is appointed by the person to whom the director
is directly held responsible. The principal of administrative unit is appointed by the minister
responsible for administration. Secretaries-general and directors-general in ministries, the directors
of the bodies within ministries and government offices are appointed by the government on proposal
of the minister or the functionary to whom the director of government office is held responsible.
They may be appointed for the term of five years.

2. An Employment Contract with a Top Manager or Authorized Clerk
191. If the contracting parties choose an employment contract to be the basis

for their mutual relations, they conclude a special kind of the employment contract
according to the ERA.1 The statute gives them the possibility to adopt certain con-
tractual clauses relating to the special nature of the managerial work performance.
The nature of the professional activities of the top managers and authorized clerks
is such that, according to their relative independence, they do not need the strict
statutory protection which is necessary for other dependent employees. Therefore,
the statute allows them to exclude the validity of certain statutorily determined
minimum guarantees for the employees by contractual clauses. The statute offers the
list of provisions about minimum working conditions which can be abrogated by the
contractual clauses. They are the following:
– There is a possibility not to refer to conditions and limitations of a fixed-term

employment contract. The relation between an employer and a top manager is
considered confidential, thus there is a need to extend the possibility to make
such contract with top managers without strict statutory limitations.
– The organization of working time is normally regulated by the works rules in
accordance with collective agreements and statutory provisions. The regulation
of working time is a managerial tool. Its aim is to regulate the organized working
process in the part where the work of an employee depends on the work of others.
The nature of work of top mangers does not have the characteristics of such
dependency; therefore, it is obvious that the exclusion of these regulations is
well founded.
– For the reasons mentioned above the contractual clauses can also exclude the
protective regulations of the minimum protection of top managers in the area of
ensuring breaks and rests.
– The relatively stronger position of top managers as employed persons gives grounds
for the possible exclusion of the protection of the minimum wage and other statutory
guarantees regarding remuneration.
– A contractual clause may exclude the possibility of stating disciplinary responsibility
of the top managers or change some elements of the system. The accomplishment
of top managers’ duties is under surveillance, and the law offers different legal
institutions with the purpose of stating their responsibility in the interest of founders
of the Organization and society as a whole. Therefore, there is no need to use
the system of determining disciplinary responsibility which is designed as a managerial
tool to manage the performance of staff in the organization.
– Finally, the statute also allows the parties the possibility to exclude the use of a
part or entire system of the termination of the employment contract of employees.
The purpose of the statutory regulation in this area is to strengthen the position
of the employee against unfair dismissal by misuse of the directive rights that
managers have over the employees. Such guarantees are not needed for top managers
because they act independently. On the other hand, the founders of the organization
can have a legitimate interest not to be restricted by the statute to dismiss the
top manager. The nature of the contract between the parties is confidential and
any loss of confidence creates a legitimate need of founders to terminate the

employment contract without any restrictions created to protect the weaker party
of the employment contract.
1. The independence and impartiality of top managers opens the question whether they may enter
into the employment relation with reference to their managerial activities. The question is whether
it is considered an appropriate solution that they enter into an employment contract or is it more
appropriate that they exclusively enter into a civil-law contract because of the nature of their
position (Senčur Peček 2010, Raspor 2007).
V. The Form and Content of the Employment Contract
1. The Form
192. An employment contract must be in writing. A written form is not the con-
dition for the validity of the contract; however, the purpose of the written form is to
facilitate the assessment of the elements of the contract. The rights and obligations
related to the performance of work within the framework of the employment rela-
tion and the effect of the due registration of the employee to social insurance
schemes begin to be exercised on the day of the commencement of work. In accor-
dance with regulations concerning social insurance schemes, the employer is
obliged to register the worker with the obligatory pension, disability, health, and
unemployment insurance. He or she must deliver him or her photocopy of a regis-
tration form. If the date of the commencement of work is not determined in the writ-
ten contract, the date of signing the employment contract is considered the date of
the commencement of work. The rights and obligations related to carrying out work
in an employment relation and the registration to social insurance schemes comes
into effect on the date of the commencement of work. The employer must provide
the worker with a written proposal for the employment contract three days prior to
the envisaged signing of the contract. If the written employment contract was not
handed over to the worker, he or she may request its delivery by the employer as
well as judicial protection any time during employment relation. In the case of dis-
pute on the existence of the employment relation between the worker and the
employer, it is assumed that an employment relation exists if the essential elements
of an employment relation exist.
2. Content
193. An employment contract contains different provisions which may have

their statutory basis in the ERA or in civil law. The ERA requires that the employ-
ment contract contains data on the contracting parties including their residence or
registered office, the date of commencement of work, the title of the position or data
on the type of work (job) for which the worker is to conclude the employment con-
tract, including a brief description of the work he should carry out pursuant to the
employment contract. These provisions are the main essential elements of the con-
tract. Furthermore, an employment contract should contain the notion of the place
where the work is to be carried out. If the exact place is not stated, it is presumed
that the worker is to carry out the work at the employer’s registered office. The

essential element of the contract is also the duration of employment relation and the
manner of taking annual leave, if a fixed-term employment contract is concluded.
The notion whether the employment is to be part-time or full-time job, about work-
ing time, and the organization of working time should also be stated in the contract.
The amount of the basic wage and eventual other remunerations must also be deter-
mined as essential elements of the contract. Annual leave and/or the manner of
determining the annual leave must be determined and the length of periods of notice
with regard to the termination of the employment contract.
The ERA imposes on the employer the duty to also determine in the contract the
information about collective contracts which bind the employer and/or employer’s
general enactments (i.e. internal rules) which determine the worker’s conditions of
work. However, the parties may also refer to special regulations which they want to
incorporate into the employment contract with the aim to determine their content as
permanent clauses.

194–196
Chapter 2. Rights and Duties of the Parties during Employment

194. Parties to the employment contract are an employee and an employer. The
nature of their rights arising from the employment relation is mutual in the sense
that the rights of one party are related to the duties of the other. However, the par-
ties to the employment contract also have certain statutorily determined duties
which have to be respected or exercised in the interest of some other subjects. The
duties of the employment contract parties can be divided in two groups. The first
group contains the duties which arise from legal sources and the second group the
duties which have their basis in the free agreement between the parties. Between
the two, there are also the duties of the employee which arise from the employer’s
authority to lead and give orders to the employee. This right has two main aspects.
On the one hand, the employer can decide about modes of carrying out the employ-
ee’s working tasks, and on the other hand, the employer also has the right to decide
about the mode of exercising of the employee’s duties arising from legal sources,
but he or she may not establish new duties of the employee unilaterally. This
employer’s power has its legitimate basis in the fact that the employer is the party
which organizes a particular activity by investing capital and resources; therefore,
the employer must have the right and real possibility of protecting itself inside and
outside the organization. In the structure of the legal regulation of a legal relation,
which contains a certain duty, there is normally also the provision about the sanc-
tion which must be applied, if the duty had not been fulfilled. The implementation
of the legal provisions and clauses arising from employment law and an employ-
ment contract are sanctioned by different legal sanctions which have their domicile
either in the area of employment law or in other legal areas. A typical area of
responsibility of the parties, regulated within the framework of employment law, is
the disciplinary responsibility of the employees.
195. When establishing the duties of the parties to the employment contract by
legal sources, the parties to the employment contract have the possibility of influ-
encing the formation of the law regulating employment relations. The most specific
opportunity for this is the possibility to take part in bilateral negotiations on collec-
tive agreements. The contracting parties can take part in the process of the creation
of legal enactments, such as collective contracts and other types of collective agree-
ments, either directly or through representatives. The employers have the right to
enact working rules in an organization in order to protect their vital interests in the
protection of their resources and the commercial or other activities.
196. The parties to the employment contract have many rights and duties which
are either regulated in different legal sources or are agreed between them. Certain
duties of the parties to the employment contract are considered to be of such great
importance that they have to be regulated in the public interest, namely by state
regulations. Some of them arise directly from the Constitution and international law
and have to be considered a legal basis for the regulation of minimum working
conditions. From this point of view, they are considered a part of the minimum
working conditions.

Part I, Ch. 2, Rights and Duties of the Parties 197–197
197. The health and safety of citizens are central values in modern societies.
These values are present in all types of social relations including employment rela-
tions. In the area of relations between employers and employees the value is even
more emphasized. Security and health conditions at the workplace are the issues
which are of a basic importance for the general protection of employees; therefore
they are the essence of employment law. It must be pointed out that employment
law is separated from civil law because of the strengthening of this value through
legislation. Safety and health conditions of work can be secured only if the employ-
ers as well as employees fully comply with the rules in this area. In accordance with
these principles, the Slovenian legislature adopted the Health and Safety at Work
Act of 1999 in accordance with the existing international rules. The Act provides
the rights and duties of employers and employees with respect to healthy and safe
working practice, and measures to ensure health and safety at work. The Act deter-
mines competent bodies in the field of health and safety at work. Regulations con-
cerning health and safety at work are enacted by the minister responsible for labour.
More special safety measures must be defined by an employer in accordance with
the statute and other regulations. The provisions of the statute must be implied in
all spheres of economic and other activities and to all persons insured against work-
place injury or occupational illness under the regulations regulating pension and dis-
ability insurance, and health insurance, as well as to all other persons who are
involved in work processes. The statute regulates the duties of the employment par-
ties on the basis of the fundamental principles arising from the constitutional values
of safety and health. Employers have a duty to ensure health and safety of their
employees in every aspect related to the work. They must take the measures nec-
essary for the safety and health protection of the employees. Such measures are
related to the prevention of occupational risks and the provision of information and
training, as well as the provision of appropriate organization and necessary means.
If necessary, the employers must engage competent external services or persons to
execute expert tasks concerning health and safety at work; however, this will not
discharge the employers from their responsibilities in this area.
The employer has to follow certain principles of prevention at workplace through
assessing the risks which cannot be avoided, adapting the work to the individual,1
implementing measures necessary for the maintenance and strengthening of health,
adapting to technical progress which brings more safety and health protection and
replacing dangerous means by means non-dangerous or less dangerous, developing
of a coherent overall prevention policy, giving appropriate instructions and notices
to the employees, and other matters. Insurance for health and safety at work may
not place an employee under any financial obligation. Work-related health impair-
ment may not affect an employee’s pay or encroach upon his or her economic and
social status acquired through work. The measures taken by an employer to ensure
health and safety at work may not place an employee under any financial obligation.
On the other hand, the employee also has important duties determined by the stat-
ute. He or she must take care of his or her own safety and health and that of other
persons affected by his or her acts at work. An employee must make correct use of
safety devices and personal protective equipment, handle them with care and
maintain them correctly.

198–199 Part I, Ch. 2, Rights and Duties of the Parties
1. The work process must be adapted to the employee’s physical and mental capabilities, while the
working environment and means of work must, taking the account the nature of work, be safe
and without risk to health.
198. Both employers and employees or their representatives must keep each
other informed of, consult on, and take part in decisions on all issues pertaining to
safety and health at work in compliance with the statute and regulations governing
workers’ participation in management. The values of health and safety at the work-
place must also be supported by other subjects. Therefore, employers, employers’
associations, insurance companies, as well as institutions in the field of health insur-
ance, and pension and disability insurance, must all take part in the planning of col-
lective activities with a view to achieving a higher level of health and safety at work
as well as a general development of safety oriented practice; they also have a duty
to ensure the provision of the necessary funds for this purpose in accordance with
the law.
Employees who perform work which is particularly hard and damaging to health
and employees performing work tasks which cannot be performed as a profession
after a certain age, have to be additionally insured by their employer. Education and
training concerning health and safety at work form an integral part of the general
and vocational education received in schools of all types and levels, as well as an
integral part of the induction and ongoing training of an employee at work.
§1. DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYEE
I. A Duty to Work to His or Her Best Ability and the Right to Recognition
of Work Results
199. The employment law principle of the subordination of the employee in the
employment relation is based on the legitimate basis concerning the legal position
of the employer, who by investing in some legally recognized activity, creates the
conditions which enable employment in its work unit. The legal order, by protect-
ing the employer’s legitimate right to manage its activity, secures to the employer
certain special powers in relation to the employee. By using such powers the
employer has special general rights in relation to the employee that correspond to
the duties of the employee. Among such duties the most important is the duty of the
employee to work to his or her best ability. This duty is inseparably related to the
rights, which must be acknowledged to the employee if he or she performs his or
her job well, or to the responsibilities which may be assessed in case of breach of
the duty. This duty of the employee is on the other hand inseparably connected with
the employee’s right to benefit from different types of awards, gained by good job
performance. The acknowledgement of all these relations as the basic rights and
duties of the employment contract parties lead to the conclusion that the legal order
has to provide certain guarantees, which would lead to the statutorily determined
duty of the employer to assess the quality of the employee’s job performance and,
in consequence, to make appropriate decisions about the employee’s rights or
responsibilities.

200. According to the ERA, the employee must carry out work within the
framework of his or her job as described in the relevant regulations (i.e. internal or
external) and/or in the employment contract. He or she must also follow managerial
instructions and orders. He or she may refuse the instructions or orders in cases
where these would lead to unlawful actions. This right of the employee is explicitly
emphasized in the CSA by describing the duties of civil servants; however, it must
be respected as a general employment standard.1 In cases in which the employer’s
undertaking is endangered, the employer has the right to impose on the employee
necessary working tasks for the limited period of time. These cases must be pro-
vided for by the statute or the collective agreement. The ERA also provides for a
direct legal ground to the employer’s decision about the employee’s duty to execute
working tasks outside the frame work of the job or area of the professional activity
of the employee, determined by the employment contract. Such work can be ordered
in cases of natural or other disasters, or when such an accident is expected, or in
other exceptional circumstances, when human life and health as well as the employ-
er’s assets are at risk, the type or place of carrying out the work, defined in the
employment contract, may temporarily be changed even without the worker’s con-
sent. However, such a situation can last only while such circumstances are present.
Pursuant to the CSA provisions, however, civil servants have a duty to perform
work outside the job frame work. According to the statute, they have to perform
work not included in the job description even if the work does not suit their pro-
fessional qualifications in the case of a temporary increase in workload, or due to
substituting for a temporary absent civil servant.
The order of a competent superior imposing the duty mentioned above must con-
tain the notion of the type and the scope of extraordinary work, and the duration of
the work. The extraordinary work may be ordered also inside the framework of the
particular job. In this sense the principal may, on the basis of an agreement between
the civil servant and the superior, issue a written decision on the increase in work-
load or on the above-average burden of individual civil servants, and on the pay-
ment for the increased workload or for the above-average burden. Such an act may
be issued if it is possible to ensure the performance of body’s tasks by means of
increased workload or by placing additional burden on individual civil servants
within the framework of full working hours and within the framework of permitted
increase of workload in excess of full working hours.
A similar legal institution that can be found in the CSA regulating the civil ser-
vant’s duties with regard to work performance is the regulation of the duty to addi-
tional work. The statute provides for a decision of the principal imposing on civil
servants a duty to accept the performance of additional work in the interest of the
employer that suits their professional qualifications; however, they might not be
mentioned in the job description. The scope of the additional work mainly includes
the participation in supervisory bodies with the intention of exercising the rights of
the employer, and the participation in appellate commissions. Another special legal
institution related to the civil servant job performance duty is team-work on
projects. Civil servants must perform work in project groups within the body for
which they work upon appointment by the principal. Civil servants may perform
work in project groups even within other bodies upon their request and with the
approval of the principal. Such work must suit the professional qualifications of the

civil servants. The order on the establishment of a project group must include data
on the scope of work and data on disburdening of the work performed by civil ser-
vants at their jobs in cases in which work in a project group exceeds the framework
of the tasks of the work post. The approval of the principal is not required where
civil servants employed in public administration bodies participate in the project
group and the project group is appointed by the government.
1. Civil servants may request written directions or written instructions, if they hold the contents of
oral directions or instructions to be unclear or if they consider the order or instruction to be
unlawful or that its execution could cause damage. The statute explicitly allows a civil servant
to refuse a direction or instruction if the execution would lead to an unlawful conduct or criminal
offence. Civil servants must perform the requested work, or perform the work in the requested
manner, according to written directions and instructions.
201. Civil servants normally execute working tasks for which they are quali-
fied. However, the statute contains one exception. A civil servant must temporarily,
but for no longer than three months, perform even less demanding work, if so
directed by the superior in the event of force majeure, natural or other disasters,
exceptional increase in workload, and in cases of other unforeseeable circum-
stances. In the case of performance of less demanding work, civil servants receive
a salary equal to the salary received at their jobs.
202. The duty of the employee in such a case is based on his or her general duty
to be loyal to the undertaking whose success is of common interest to both parties
of the employment relation. In principle, the employee has to exercise his or her job
during working time at the location defined for carrying out work in accordance
with the organization of work and business operations of the employer. Also regard-
ing this the statute can determine certain exceptions on the legal basis mentioned
above. If the employee fails to fulfil these duties he or she can be charged with mis-
conduct and can suffer consequences of different kinds within the framework of
determined responsibilities.
203. The job performance of the employee must be carried out in accordance
with the law and the employee’s knowledge and skills within the framework of the
existing professional standards. The CSA also emphasizes the duty of the civil ser-
vants to perform the work in conformity with the code of ethics. Their work is only
partly independent because civil servants have to follow the requirements and
instructions of the employer in relation to the fulfilment of contractual and other
obligations arising from the employment relation. These requirements or instruc-
tions may be delivered by the employer itself or by its management. The employee
has to follow, respect, and implement the regulations on safety and health at work
and perform his or her work carefully in order to protect his or her life and health,
and health and life of others.
II. Assessment of the Job Performance and Employee’s Promotion

and Acknowledgements
204. As already mentioned above, the duty of the employee to perform his or her
work in the employment relation to his or her best ability is inseparably connected

with his or her rights which must be acknowledged to the employee after the assess-
ment of his or her job performance, therefore the assessment itself is an important
legal issue. Nonetheless, the ERA does not contain an explicit regulation on this
issue. Some labour law (individual, collective) institutions, however, contain regu-
lations on special rights whose legal nature implicitly requires the assessment of job
performance. The assessment methods are left to be determined by the contractual
regulation and to good human resource practices. On the other hand the issue of the
assessment of the job performance is much more explicitly regulated for the public
sector. The main reason for the regulation is in securing the statutory guarantees
which may enable a safe managerial approach to the processes of decision-making
about the legal position of the employees, excluding or minimizing the possibilities
of their unequal treatment or discrimination. The first legal institution which deci-
sively depends on the assessment of job performance is promotion, which is a spe-
cial acknowledged right of the civil servants. According to the CSA, officials may
be promoted to a higher title.1 Officials and other civil servants may be promoted to
a higher salary bracket in conformity with the statute governing the system of sala-
ries in the public sector. The statute also regulates the promotion period and stan-
dards of evaluation prescribed for promotion.
A consequence and a type of positive sanction with regard to the employee’s job
performance quality is the formal acknowledgement of the successful work of the
employee. This human resource management tool is not at all regulated in the gen-
eral employment relations’ regulation of the private sector. Again the issue is regu-
lated by the CSA for the public sector. The CSA regulates the conditions for
awarding the civil servants who perform their job well. According to the CSA, the
acknowledgement may be awarded to civil servants for outstanding achievements
contributing to the success and efficiency of service and to the reputation of the
body, to reducing the costs of service, and to reducing the length of working
procedures.
1. An official may be promoted to a higher title if he or she satisfies the conditions for appointment
to a higher title; the job, where an official works, may also be performed holding a higher title;
an official fulfils all the obligations of training according to the programme; his or her evaluation
meets the standards prescribed for promotion;
III. The Obligation to Inform and the Prohibition of Harmful Actions or

Activities
205. A worker must inform an employer of relevant circumstances which affect

or might affect the fulfilment of his or her contractual obligations. He or she must
inform the employer of any threatening danger to life or health or of the occurrence
of any material damage he or she notices at work.
206. The worker is obliged to refrain from all actions which in view of the
nature of work which he or she carries out at the employer could cause material or
moral damage or might harm the business interests of the employer. A special type
of this duty is the obligation to protect the business secrets of the employer. Accord-
ing to the statute, the employee may not exploit for his or her private use or

disclose to a third person employer’s business secrets. Information can be consid-

ered a business secret if defined as such by the employer. It entails the information
which is entrusted to the worker or of which he or she learnt in any other way. Only
data which would obviously cause substantial damage if disclosed to an unautho-
rized person can be considered a business secret. The worker could be liable for the
violation of his or her duties, if he or she knew or should have known the nature of
the data.
207. The prohibition of harmful actions or activities in the public sector, espe-
cially with regard to officers, is wider still. According to the CSA, they may not per-
form certain activities:
(1) if the activity violates the prohibition of competition or the competition clause
pursuant to the law governing employment;
(2) if the performance of the activity might affect the impartiality of the performance
of work;
(3) if the performance of the activity might result in the abuse of data accessible
at the performance of the tasks at work that are not accessible to the public; or
(4) if the performance of the activity is harmful to the reputation of the body.
If an officer assumes that such consequences may arise from his or her conduct
executed outside the employment, he or she is obliged to notify the principal about
it. In such a case the principal may make a necessary judgement of the relevant cir-
cumstances and may eventually issue an order prohibiting the official from per-
forming activities in question. The duties of notification and the restrictions
mentioned above do not apply to activities relating to scientific and educational
work, work in associations and organizations in the field of culture, art, sport,
humanitarian activities and other similar associations and organizations, work in the
area of journalism, and to membership and activities in political parties. Certain cat-
egories of officials are still less free in their activities outside the job. Officials hold-
ing the highest positions such as director-general, secretary-general, the principal of
body within the ministry, the principal of a government office, the principal of
administrative unit, and the director of municipal administration (i.e. municipal sec-
retary), as well as their close relatives, may not perform any profitable activities
with the exception of activities in the field of science, research, education, art, jour-
nalism, and culture.
§2. DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER
I. General
208. According to the principle of the balance of the positions of the contract-
ing parties, the statute also regulates main duties of the employer. The starting point
in determining those duties is the basic need for employment legislation to support
employees as weaker and subordinate parties in the relation. According to this prin-
ciple, the employer has to secure the enforcement of the employee’s need to gain

his or her living while working in a continuous work process in the secure working
surroundings and convenient working conditions. When the employer exercises its
directive and disciplinary powers it has to respect the employee’s human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The violations of this duty can cause different kinds of legal
responsibilities but they usually also cause other unfavourable consequences. The
motivation of the employees can drop and the perspectives for the employer’s suc-
cess can be diminished. As the employee, the employer will in practice also accept
certain particular duties through contractual clauses.
II. The Obligation to Provide Work and to Ensure Remuneration
209. The employer must provide the employee the work agreed upon in the
employment contract. Unless agreed otherwise, the employer must provide the
worker with all the necessary means and material for work and ensure him or her
access to business premises. The employer must ensure the worker appropriate
remuneration for his or her work.
III. The Obligation to Provide Safe Working Conditions
210. The employer must provide conditions for the safety and health of work-
ers in accordance with special regulations on safety and health at work.1 The ERA
provisions emphasize the duty of the employer to provide regular communication
with expert or specialized services dealing with safety in works units. An additional
statutory requirement regarding such is the statutory rule which oblige the employer
to inform the expert or specialized service of the conclusion of any fixed-term con-
tracts or contracts for temporary work arrangements (ERA 2007).
1. The employer must provide the employees with the medical exam depending on the risk factors
of the individual employee according to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1999). Some
workers, however, do not respond to the requirement of the employer to attend periodic medical
examinations (Belopavlovič, 2007). By doing so they are violating a fundamental statutorily
determined duty, therefore, the employer has a duty to warn them about the possibility of a
relevant sanction.
IV. The Obligation to Respect and Protect the Employee’s Human Rights
211. The employer must protect and respect the worker’s person and take into
account and safeguard worker’s privacy. The employer is obliged to provide a work-
ing environment in which a worker is not subject to any harassment, mobbing, and
similar attacks on his or her human rights or fundamental freedoms. In accordance
with this principle, the employer’s, superiors’, or co-worker’s undesired treatment
of sexual nature, including undesired physical, verbal, or non-verbal treatment, is
not allowed. From this point of view, the ERA especially prohibits sexually based
behaviour which creates intimidating, hostile, or humiliating relationships and

environment at work and offends the dignity of men and women at work. In case of
dispute the worker may state facts and offer evidence which justify the assumption
that the employer violated these legal provisions or that it did not provide the nec-
essary protection of the employee against such attacks. In such cases, the employer
has to provide the decisive proof on the contrary. Personal data of job applicants
and workers can be gathered, processed, used, and provided to third persons only if
this is permitted by the law. In this case such employer’s activities are legitimate
only if they are necessary in order to exercise the rights and obligations arising from
employment relation or related to employment relation. The personal data of
workers can only be gathered, processed, used, and provided to third persons by the
employer or the worker who is specially authorized to do so by the employer. If the
legal basis for gathering personal data of workers no longer exists, the data must
be deleted immediately and no longer used.

212–213
Chapter 3. Working Conditions

212. According to the ERA, the statute or branch collective agreement may pro-
vide that a person who for the first time starts to carry out work appropriate to the
type and level of his or her professional qualification, concludes an employment
contract as a trainee in order to gain the ability to carry out his or her job indepen-
dently. A trainee who successfully completes the programme of vocational training
is considered qualified to work independently in the employment relation at the
position appropriate to the type and level of his or her vocational education. A train-
eeship may not last longer than one year unless the statute determines otherwise. A
traineeship may be extended proportionally, if the trainee works part time, but not
for more than six months. The duration of the traineeship may be extended for the
period of justifiable absence from work. However, the duration of the traineeship
may be reduced on the proposal of the mentor but only up to one half of the ini-
tially determined period. While serving a traineeship, the employer must ensure for
the trainee a programme-based training for independent work. The duration and
course of the traineeship as well as the programme, the mentorship and the method
of monitoring, surveying and evaluating the traineeship may be determined by the
statute, other regulation, or branch collective agreement.
At the end of the traineeship, the trainee must pass an exam. This is a constituent
and concluding part of traineeship. It must be organized before the conclusion of
the traineeship period. During the traineeship, the employer may not terminate the
trainee’s employment contract, except if there are reasons for the irregular termi-
nation of the employment contract or in case of introduction of proceedings for the
termination of the employer as well as in case of compulsory composition.
If, pursuant to special regulations, a traineeship is served without concluding an
employment contract between the worker and the employer, i.e. a voluntary train-
eeship, the ERA provisions in regard to the duration and realization of the trainee-
ship, limitation of working time, breaks and rests, liability for damages and safety
and health at work apply. The contract for a voluntary traineeship must be con-
cluded in writing.
213. The ERA provisions allow that a limited period of time may be agreed
between an employer and employee as a period which enables them to dissolve the
employment contract if the execution of the contract does not meet the legitimate
expectations of the contracting parties. This entails that, on the one hand, the ter-
mination of the contract is made easier and, on the other hand, the employee is still
protected against the possible discriminatory behaviour of the employer or his or her
manager.
The worker and the employer may agree on the probation period in the employ-
ment contract. The probation may not last longer than six months. It may be
extended in case of a temporary absence from work. During the probation, the
worker may give notice with a notice period of seven days. On the basis of
the assessment of unsuccessfully performed probation, the employer may decide to
irregularly terminate the employment contract upon the expiry of the probation
period. During the probation, the employer may not terminate the worker’s employ-
ment contract, unless there are reasons for an irregular termination of the contract

214–215 Part I, Ch. 3, Working Conditions
or in case of introduction of the proceedings for the termination of the employer or

compulsory composition.
§1. WORKING TIME
I. Definition of Working Time
214. The Slovenian legal system has a special approach to defining working
time. Contrary to most other legal systems, in the Slovenian legal system time for
a break is considered an element of the working time. This causes problems in com-
paring data in regard to certain macro-economic categories such as the productivity
of the workforce. In order to compare the productivity of the workforce, the work-
ing time must be measured in the same manner in the counties compared. In order
to enable such, Slovenian law introduced a special category of comparable working
time, namely effective working time. The ERA defines working time as effective
working time and rest break time. Effective working time is any time, during which
a worker carries out his or her work, which entails that he or she is at the employ-
er’s disposal and fulfils his or her work obligations arising from the employment
contract.1
Apart from the working time, also periods of justified absences from work in
accordance with the law and a collective agreement and/or a general act are
included in the period of employment of the employee.
1. The main objective of the management and the distribution of working time, which is taken into
account in Slovenian legal regulation, is the appropriate harmonization of professional and family
duties and free time of the employed person on the one hand, and the appropriate organization
of the working process, on the other hand (Belopavnovič, 2010, Kresal-Šoltes, 2009).
II. Full-time Work
215. The legal system limits full-time work and thereby draws a demarcation
line between employees’ working time and free time. The limitation of full-time
work thus protects employees and secures for them a decent standard of living. Full-
time work is also an important standard for determining certain employees’ rights.
It is related to insurance periods in the system of social insurance and therefore
directly connected with the ascertaining of the conditions for the use of benefits in
this area. In the area of the employment relations, however, full-time work enables
the ascertaining of the employees’ fulfilment of their standard duties with regard to
job performance and serves as a criterion for stating overtime work that is con-
nected with statutory limitations and additional rights of the employees.
According to the ERA, full-time work under Slovenian legislation may not
exceed 40 hours a week. The statute and/or a collective agreement may stipulate a
working time shorter than 40 hours a week; however, full working hours may not
be shorter than 36 hours a week. The law or other regulation in accordance with the
law or collective agreement may provide for full working hours of less than 36
hours per week for jobs where there is a greater risk of injury or damage to health.

Part I, Ch. 3, Working Conditions 216–216
If full working hours are not stipulated by the law or a collective agreement, a work-
ing time of 40 hours a week must be considered as full working hours.1
1. A goal of the Partially Subsidizing of Full-Time Work Act (2009) is to smooth the negative
consequences of the economic recession (Vodovnik, 2009). The Act secured financial help to an
employer and an employee for their joint decision to shorten the working time of the employee.
The Act made it possible to acquire a subvention paid on the burden of the state budget if the
company had reduced the working time of the employee to less than 36 hours a week or even
more. The Act limited the rights of the employer to dismiss the employees, to introduce overtime
work, and to make additional payments of bonuses to managers, during the time of receiving
the subvention. However, the support to the enterprises in the reconstruction is not limited to
the period of the financial crises. It is secured as the permanent activity of the transition country.
The state policy in this area has been realized on the basis of the Act Governing the Rescue and
Reconstruction Aid for Companies in Difficulty (2002).
III. Overtime Work
216. Upon the employer’s request, a worker is obliged to perform work exceed-
ing full working hours. Such work is considered overtime work. Overtime work is
only allowed in cases determined by statute. Different kinds of statutory limitation
are imposed with the aim to protect the employees and to make an incentive for a
wider regular hiring of workforce by the employer. In the first place, the statute
defines cases in which overtime work is permitted. It is justified in cases of an
exceptionally increased amount of work. It is also justified if the continuation of
work and production process is required in order to prevent material damage or
threat to the life and health of people. Overtime work is justified if it is necessary
to avert damage to work equipment that would otherwise result in the suspension of
work. It is also considered justified if such work is necessary in order to ensure the
safety of people and property and the safety of traffic, as well as in other excep-
tional, urgent, and unforeseen cases provided by the law or by the branch collective
agreement. The second limitation regarding overtime work is the statutorily deter-
mined prohibition of such work for protected categories of the employees (e.g.
minors, old workers, persons who are protected by social security measures in the
workplace) and employees who could suffer health damage if such is stated by
the competent medical authority. The third limitation is of a procedural nature. The
employer may order overtime work to an employee by a written document which
should be handed to the employee prior to the commencement of the work. If this
is not possible because of urgency or the nature of working tasks, overtime work
may exceptionally be ordered orally. In such a case, a written order must be handed
to the worker subsequently, but no later than by the end of the working week after
the completion of the overtime work. Overtime work may not exceed the quantity
of working hours, determined by the statute, namely 8 hours a week, 20 hours a
month, and 170 hours a year (ERA 2007). A working day may not exceed ten hours.
Daily, weekly, and monthly time limitation may be regarded as an average limita-
tion over the period determined by the statute or a collective agreement and may
not exceed six months.
The limitations determined by the statute for unilateral introduction of overtime
work by the employer may be exceeded by a written consent of the employee,

however, the entire amount of overtime work may not exceed 230 working hours in
one year. After reaching the amount of 170 hours of overtime work of an employee
in a single year, the employer must provide the employee’s consent for every order
of further overtime work. If the employee does not accept the additional working
burden, the employer may not expose him or her to the harmful consequences.
IV. Additional Employment
217. A person can stipulate one or more employment contracts to reach full-
time employment, which is a key criterion for determining the legal position of con-
tracting parties. Full-time employment is connected with the position of the
employee in the system of social security and gives the employee access to full
rights in this area. Full-time employment is, on the other hand, a demarcation line
between the employee’s working life and private life and the same time a social
standard regarding to the employment. Access to full-time jobs should be secured
to as large number of persons as possible. These are some implicit factors which
influenced the legislature to impose the limitations in order to allow a wider range
of employment possibilities. On the other hand, the statute also regulates certain
explicitly determined reasons. The legislature considered the prohibition of the
competition to be such a reason and therefore additional employment is not allowed
without the employer’s consent. In modern times when the flexibility of employ-
ment relations is much greater, these principles are less convincing also in regard to
the taxation, however, for the time being the limitation is still in force. There are,
however, some exceptions to this principle. The statute allows the employee to be
employed over full-time employment in cases determined by the statute. According
to the ERA, a worker who works full time may exceptionally conclude a part-time
employment contract with another employer, but for not more than eight hours a
week. There are certain conditions for such additional employment. With the aim of
protecting the employer, the statute determines that prior consent from the employer
or employers by whom the worker is employed full time is required. Additional
work is permitted in occupations that according to the data of the Employment Ser-
vice of the Republic of Slovenia suffer from the deficiency of workers or in edu-
cational, cultural, artistic, and research works. Determining the mode of exercising
the rights and obligations arising from such employment relation with regard to the
rights and obligations of the worker with the employers, where he or she is
employed full time, is an obligatory component of the employment contract. A
worker’s employment contract concluded for additional employment terminates
upon the expiry of the agreed time or upon the withdrawal of consent of the employ-
ers where the worker is employed full time.
V. Working Time Management
218. Working time management plays an important role in planning of the

employers’ activities in works units and employees’ planning of their professional
activities and private life. Not only the amount of working time but also the distribution

of working hours is important from this point of view, therefore, the statute must
regulate the basic elements of the working time management. Apart from even dis-
tribution of working time, the statute also regulates temporary redistribution and
uneven distribution of working time. In both cases work must be performed for a
determined period of time that is longer than full time (i.e. weekly) and thereafter,
in the next period, less than full time; however, the average should be full-time
employment, calculated weekly. The ERA provisions regulate that distribution and
conditions for temporary redistribution of working time must be defined in the
employment contract in accordance with the statute and the collective agreement.
The conditions for the redistribution of working time can be certain exceptional cir-
cumstances in the work process which require an increased or decreased amount of
work for a certain determined limited period. Before the beginning of a calendar
and/or business year, employers must fix a yearly distribution of working time and
notify their workers and trade unions at the employer thereof. The employee, how-
ever, may propose a different distribution of the working time on the basis of his or
her attempts to harmonize his or her working and private life. Employers must fol-
low such a proposal to the greatest extent possible; however, if this is not possible
because of the work organizational reasons, they are obliged to explain their deci-
sion to the employees in writing (ERA 2007).
The employer must also notify the workers in writing of the temporary redistri-
bution of working time not later than one day before the redistribution of working
time of an individual worker and three days before the redistribution of working
time of more than ten workers. It is possible that because of the nature of the work-
ing process or special circumstances about the changing need for human labour in
the works unit, the employer must use a special legal possibility regarding the man-
agement of working time, namely uneven distribution of working time. In such a
case, full working hours may not be distributed to less than four days in a week. In
case of such a distribution or temporary redistribution of full working hours, work-
ing time may not exceed 56 hours a week. In the case of uneven distribution or tem-
porary redistribution of working time, full working hours as an average work
obligation during the balancing-out time period that does not exceed six months
must be taken into account.
The prohibition of overtime work is also applied in the case of uneven distribu-
tion or redistribution of working time. The regulation is also based on EU Directive
2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time.
VI. Working Time Recalculation in Case of its Irregular Distribution
219. Uneven distribution of working time and the temporary redistribution of

working time as well as seasonal work can be considered irregular distribution of
working time. If working time is distributed in such manner, the employee can
achieve a relatively higher number of working hours compared to the normal num-
ber of working hours per day. Without the corrections provided by a special correc-
tive rule, employees with relatively greater amount of working hours but the same
number of working days compared to employees whose working time is regularly
distributed would be discriminated against regarding the rights which depend on the

length of the employment measured in days, months, or years. In order to eliminate

such discrimination, the statute contains a special regulation on the recalculation of
working hours in working days. According to the ERA, an employee who during a
calendar year accumulates more working hours than are provided for full working
hours, may, upon his or her request, have his or her surplus hours converted into
full-time working days. The working days converted in such manner are included
in the worker’s days and years of service as if he or she had spent them at work.
However, the total period of service in a calendar year may not exceed 12 months.
VII. Night Work
220. In employment law, the period of executing working tasks is an important

factor from the viewpoint of the legal position of the employee and employer. To
work in the standard working time is beneficial to employees and can be considered
good working conditions. On the other hand, certain periods in which the employee
has to perform his or her job can be organized by the employer in the time which
is not convenient and require the employee to give up certain benefits related to his
or her free time or some additional physical or psychological efforts.1 According to
scientific findings it is possible to state that night work has a negative influence on
employees. This is true especially in the case of long periods of such work. In the
history of employment law, the limitations of night work together with the limita-
tions of the duration of daily work and conditions regarding safety were a starting
point of employees’ requirements in their fight for better working conditions. As the
working process sometimes requires employees to work at night for a short time and
sometimes for longer periods, international as well as national regulations take into
account this difference by providing employees who work at night for longer peri-
ods special rights or a special status. In the Slovenian legal system, night work
entails work between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. of the following day. If a distribution of
working time provides for a night shift, the night work entails eight uninterrupted
hours between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. of the following day. A worker who works at night
at least three hours of his or her daily working time and/or a worker, who works at
night at least one-third of full annual working time, has the right to special protec-
tion and a special status as a night worker. If in the opinion of health authorities such
work could damage the worker’s health, the employer is obliged to transfer him or
her to a suitable day work.
The employer must ensure night workers the following:
– longer annual leave;
– suitable food during work; and
– professional conduct of the working and/or the production process.
If the work, organized in shifts, includes a night shift, the employer is obliged to
ensure a periodical rotation of the shifts. A worker in one shift may not work at night
longer than one week. Within the framework of such organization of work, the
worker may work at night for a longer period of time only if he or she explicitly
agrees with such work in writing. An employer may not assign a worker to night
work if transport to and from the work is not secured or available to the worker.

1. Night work significantly influences an employee’s life quality and the balance between family
and professional life of human beings. This is the reason why the night work has to be appropriately
regulated and limited (Kaltnekar, 2000). In this area Slovenian legal regulation follows international
regulation, especially the regulation provided by the ILO conventions, e.g. ILO Convention C 171
about the night work (1990) and legal acts of the European Union, e.g. Directive 2003/88/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 concerning certain aspects of
the organization of working time.
VIII. Restrictions on Night Work
221. As already mentioned above, night work is by its nature an unfavourable

working condition. According to the general principle of employment law that the
statute regulates the minimum working standards, the statute determines the condi-
tions under which the employer has a unilateral right to decide on the employee’s
duty to work at night. This decision is limited by statutory regulations. The ERA
provides that in a period of four months, the working time of a night worker may
not exceed an average of eight hours a day. The working time of a night worker may
not exceed eight hours a day in cases in which a higher risk of injury or damage to
health exists according to the risk assessment.
In cases in which night work is introduced in special areas of the economy where
it could be considered an extremely heavy burden for the employees, stricter pro-
tective measures should be taken into account. Special restrictions of night work are
introduced for women working in industry and construction. Employers in the area
of industry or construction may assign female workers to night work only in the fol-
lowing cases:
– if they are members of their family;

– if they carry out work of a managerial character or conduct works units or carry
out work related to the provision of safety, health, or social protection of workers;
– if such work is necessary due to force majeure or in order to prevent damage to
raw material or other quickly perishable material; employers must notify the competent
labour inspector of such work within 24 hours after its introduction; or
– if such work has previously been assessed as being in the national interest and
the work is approved by the minister responsible for labour.
222. Night work of female workers is as a general rule prohibited. It may, how-
ever, be introduced in the area of industry and construction with the approval of the
minister responsible for labour due to a better exploitation of work equipment,
the expansion of employment possibilities, and similar economic or social reasons.
The statute lists the cases in which such permission can be given to employers:
– night work of female workers can be approved in a particular activity or occupation

on the condition that this was agreed or approved by social partners, namely a
representative trade union and employers associations;

– to one or several employers not included in the decision mentioned above if a

special agreement has been concluded between the trade unions at the employer’s
works unit and management according to the statute.
223. A third possibility to introduce night work of women in these branches

exists if the opinion about introducing such work is provided by the trade unions at
the employer, a representative trade union, and an employers’ association and a
labour inspector has previously verified the fulfilment of the conditions for the intro-
duction of night work.
The minister responsible for labour approves night work of female workers for a
period of not more than one calendar year. The minister responsible for labour with-
draws the approval concerning the night work of female workers when the condi-
tions, on the basis of which the approval was issued, no longer exist.
IX. Consultation with Trade Unions and Supervision of Night Work by the
Labour Inspector
224. Individual elements of working conditions which are considered to be

especially important for the employees should be discussed with the workers’ rep-
resentatives. In regard to most delicate areas of employment relations, such as the
introduction of night work, the legislature determines that the consultation should
be held with trade unions, which have the power to neutralize possible unfair solu-
tions in regard to night work. According to this principle, the statute determines that
prior to the introduction of night work or if night work is carried out regularly by
night workers at least once a year, the employer must consult with trade unions at
the employer on the determination of the time considered as night work, on the
forms of the organization of night work, on the measures of safety and health at
work, and on social measures.
225. A labour inspector may require that the employer present data about night
work at the employer. The most relevant data concerning night work which must be
supervised is information about the number of the employees who work at night
more than one-third of their entire working time, the number of employees who
work at night on jobs which are particularly dangerous, the number of women who
work at night, and the extent of night shifts.
§2. BREAKS AND RESTS
I. Breaks during Working Time
226. Working time and its distribution may differ according to the nature of the
working process at the employer. The organization of work may have a character
that puts a lot of pressure on the employees and requires their full concentration
and their whole physical and/or mental engagement. Even a limited duration
of working time cannot prevent the danger of damaging consequences in cases
of tiredness of the employees in the working place. It would also be inhuman

to restrain employees from meeting their personal needs for longer time. In
order to prevent damaging consequences of the long lasting uninterrupted working
processes, the statute guarantees to working staff breaks and rests. The ERA
therefore determines that a worker, who works full-time, has the right to a break of
30 minutes during daily work. A worker who works part-time but at least for four
hours a day has the right to a break during daily working time in proportion to the
time spent at work. In case of irregular distribution or temporary redistribution of
working time, the break time is determined in proportion to the length of daily
working time. A break may be determined not earlier than after one hour of work
and not later than one hour prior to the end of the working time. A break during
daily work is included in the working time. The break in the daily working time is
the right of the employees, which has the clear objective of protecting the employ-
ees’ health and well-being. The same applies to the right to daily rest and weekly
rest. With reference to the daily rest the ERA provides that the worker has the right
to a rest of at least 12 uninterrupted hours within a period of 24 hours. If a worker
works in irregular distribution or in circumstances of temporarily redistributed
working time, he or she has the right to a daily rest of at least 11 hours within a
period of 24 hours. In addition to the daily rest a worker has the right to a rest of
at least 24 uninterrupted hours within a period of seven successive days. Should a
worker have to work on the day of a weekly rest for objective, technical, or orga-
nizational reasons, he or she must be ensured a weekly rest some other day in a
week. The minimum duration of a weekly rest must be regarded as an average in
the period of 14 successive days.
§3. THE PARTICULARITIES OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF WORKING TIME

AND BREAKS AND RESTS FOR NIGHT WORKERS
I. Exemptions for Certain Categories of Employees
227. Certain categories of employees perform their working tasks in such par-
ticular circumstances that general regulations about breaks and rests are not appro-
priate for them. The legislature has tried to resolve this problem by regulating the
possible use of exemptions from the general regulations mentioned above. There-
fore, an employer is not obliged to strictly follow the provisions concerning the
limitations of working time, night work, daily and weekly rests in cases of an
employment contract with:
– top managerial staff or authorized clerks with business authorization;

– managers who conduct works units and are authorized to make autonomous decisions;
– home workers in case that distribution of their working time cannot be planned
in advance and/or if the worker can plan the distribution of his or her working
time independently and it is obvious that he or she is ensured health and safety
at work.

II. Exemptions Related to the Nature of the Working Process

and the Employer’s Activity
228. The characteristics of working processes in different types of works units

have a special position in the organization of work in works units of different com-
mercial or non-commercial activities. This is the reason why the burden of uninter-
rupted work, permitted by general regulations, imposed on the employees is
unequal. The uniformity of the statutory rules about the distribution of working
time, breaks, and rests would therefore lead to great differences between the levels
of real protection of the employees, on the one hand, and could impede the business
objectives of the employees, on the other. The statute or branch collective agree-
ments may determine exemptions. According to the ERA, the time limitation per-
taining to daily work obligation of a night worker determined in the statute is to be
regarded as an average limitation within the period that is longer than four but not
longer than six months. The statute or branch collective agreements may determine
that the average minimum of daily and weekly rests as determined by the statute
must in cases of shift work be ensured within a longer time period, which should,
however, not exceed six months.
In the activities and/or for the positions or occupations in cases mentioned above,
the statute or branch collective agreements may determine that the average mini-
mum daily and weekly rests as determined by law must be ensured within a longer
time period, which should, however, not exceed six months. The right to daily or
weekly rest may be provided in such manner in the activities and/or with regard to
the positions or occupations in the following cases:
– when the nature of work requires permanent presence;

– when the nature of activity requires continuous provision of work or services; or
– when irregular or increased workload is expected.
229. A branch collective agreement may determine that in cases in which this is
required by objective or technical reasons or reasons related to the organization of
work , full working hours must be taken into account as an average work obligation
within a period, which should not exceed twelve months.
§4. ANNUAL LEAVE
I. The Nature of the Right to Annual Leave and the Extent of the Right
230. Annual leave is the employees’ right which was first regulated by interna-
tional regulations long time ago. The most important in this area is ILO Convention
No. 132 concerning Annual Holidays with Pay (Revised), 1970, which is fully
implemented in Slovenian legislation. Paid holiday leave has, similarly to rest, the
nature of a right with the aim of protecting employees’ integrity and securing
employees’ decent working and living conditions. From the legal point ofview, it is
important which elements of this right can be characterized as minimum work
standards. In the first place, the statute regulates the question of the duration of

minimum period of annual leave. Secondly, by taking into account the nature and
the objectives of this right, the statute regulates the right of certain categories of the
employees who are entitled to the prolonged duration of annual leave. The statute
also regulates the acquisition of the right, the exercising of the right, and its exten-
sion in case of relatively short employment of the employee with the employer, and
the question of exercising the right on the burden of the new employer.
231. According to the ERA, a worker has the right to annual leave in the cal-
endar year. Annual leave may not be shorter than four weeks. An employee has this
right regardless of whether he or she works full-time or part-time. The minimum
number of days of a worker’s annual leave depends on the distribution of working
days within a week with respect to an individual worker. Annual leave should be
prolonged due to special reasons, connected with social welfare reasons or the low
age of the employee: an older worker, a disabled person, a worker with at least 60
per cent physical impairment, and a worker, who takes care of a physically or men-
tally handicapped child, have the right to at least three additional days of annual
leave. A worker has the right to one additional day of annual leave for every child
under the age of 15. Prolonged duration of annual leave is determined by a collec-
tive agreement or an employment contract. Non-working days of the employed
worker cannot be counted as days of annual leave. Thus, holidays and work-free
days, absence from work due to illness or injury, and other cases of justified
absences from work may not be counted in the days of annual leave. Therefore,
annual leave must be determined and used in working days planned for the work
performance of the employee.
232. A worker acquires the right to the entire annual leave after an uninter-
rupted period of service, which may not exceed six months. The entire right must
be granted to the employee regardless of whether he or she works full-time or part-
time. A worker is entitled to 1/12 of annual leave for every month of service in an
individual calendar year if he or she has not acquired the entitlement to the entire
annual leave in the calendar year in which he or she entered the employment rela-
tion. The same rule is applied if his or her employment relation has terminated prior
to the qualifying period, upon which he or she would acquire the entitlement to
entire annual leave. When calculating a proportionate part of annual leave, at least
half of the day must be rounded up to a full day of annual leave.
II. Exercising the Right
233. An employer is obliged to decide about the use of the annual leave of the
employee in accordance with the needs of the employee and his or her family as
well as taking into account the needs of the working process at the employer. The
employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing about the use of annual leave
for the calendar year until 31 March of the single calendar year (ERA 2007).
234. An employee must have the possibility to enjoy annual leave in several parts,
whereby one part must last at least two weeks. An employer is obliged to ensure that

the worker uses his or her annual leave by the end of the current calendar year, and the
worker is obliged to take at least two weeks of his or her annual leave by the end of
the current calendar year and the remaining part by 30 June of the following year upon
the agreement with the employer. A worker has the right to take the remainder of
annual leave, which has not been taken in the current calendar year owing to absence
due to illness or injury, maternity leave, or child-care leave, by 30 June of the follow-
ing year provided that he or she has worked at least six months in the calendar year, in
which his or her annual leave was determined. If the worker’s length of a period of
service is less than six months in the calendar year, in which his or her annual leave
was determined, he or she has the right to use his or her annual leave in accordance
with the principle of proportionality, mentioned above.
235. A worker working abroad may use his or her entire annual leave by the end
of the following calendar year if so provided by the employer’s collective agree-
ment. A worker may use his or her annual leave with the employer, where he
acquired the right to its use, unless otherwise agreed with the employer. At the ter-
mination of the employment relation, the employer is obliged to provide a worker
with a certificate on the use of annual leave.
236. The annual leave must be secured to the employee in such a manner that
it takes into account work requirements, the worker’s opportunities for rest and rec-
reation, and the worker’s family needs. A worker has the right to use one day of his
or her annual leave on the day of his of her own choice. However, he or she must
notify the employer thereof not later than three days prior to its planned use. The
employer may not refuse to the worker this right unless it would seriously harm the
working process.
237. The employee cannot relinquish his or her right to annual leave. An agree-
ment concluded between a worker and an employer relating to compensation for
unused annual leave is invalid unless concluded upon the termination of the
employment relation.
§5. PAID ABSENCES FROM WORK
I. Holiday Leave and Other Paid Absences from Work
238. Paid annual leave is a typical right of the employees which is the achieve-
ment of the labour movement activities in the past. The right is based on the idea
that the employees do not only have the right to regular pay but also other rights
which enable them to perform their work continuously and successfully. Medical
science results clearly show that workers after certain period of continuous work
need a longer rest to regain their work capacities. These findings were also the basis
for the international legal regulation of the subject in the documents of the ILO and
the Council of Europe. In addition to the right to paid holiday leave, Slovenian
legislation secures to employees certain additional paid absences on the burden of
the employer. These absences are related to certain events in the employee’s

personal life. The employer must carry the financial and/or organizational burden of
the employee’s absence because of illness and other social protection reasons, as
well as other absences defined as such by the statute.
II. Cases in which Employees have the Right to Paid Absences
239. According to the statute, workers have the statutory right to paid absence
from work of up to seven working days in an individual calendar year due to per-
sonal circumstances. For each individual case determined by the statute, the
employee has the right to paid absence from work of at least one working day. These
cases are: his or her own wedding, death of a spouse or a person who spent the last
two years in cohabitation with a worker, death of a child, adopted child or a step-
child, death of parents, i.e. father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, and adoptive par-
ents. In addition, the employee who suffers a serious accident also has this right.
A worker also has the right to absence from work due to celebrations on public
holidays of the Republic of Slovenia, determined as work-free days, and on other
work-free days defined as such by the law. The worker’s right referred to above may
be restricted only in cases in which work and/or a production process has to be car-
ried out uninterruptedly or in which the nature of work requires the performance of
work also on public holidays.
240. A worker is entitled to absence from work due to certain health reasons. This
right is secured to the employee in cases of a temporary incapacity for work due to an
illness or injury and in other cases in accordance with the regulations on health insur-
ance. A worker has the right to absence from work due to blood donation on the day
when he or she voluntarily donates blood. In such a case, the employer must pay
the worker wage or salary compensation to the debit of health insurance.
241. The right to absence from work may be enjoyed by a worker due to per-
formance of a non-professional office to which he or she was elected at direct
national elections. The same right has an employee who is elected to the National
Council of the Republic of Slovenia and also an employee with an office and/or
obligation, to which he or she was appointed by the court, furthermore, a worker
participating in the Economic and Social Council or in the bodies, which are pur-
suant to the statute composed of the representatives of social partners. Also a
worker, who has been called to carry out the duty of national servicemen and to per-
form the duties of defence and the duties of protection and rescue.
§6. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
I. Scholarships
242. The ERA does not regulate the issues of the scholarships in the private sec-
tor. The subject is considered a special area of free contractual regulation between
the employees and employers. The subject, however, may be an important part of

collective bargaining between the employers and workers’ representatives. Schol-

arships are also an important subject of a national employment policy and as such
an important issue of the national employment strategy under the custody of the
Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Labour, Social
Affairs and Family. The main subject of this policy is to provide national scholar-
ships for pupils and students, who prove their learning or studying excellence or
who are living in unfavourable social conditions such that their social situation does
not enable them to learn or study without the state support.1
1. The statutory regulation of the education of the employees has its legitimate grounds in the Life
Long Learning paradigm. The education in practice straightens job security and supports the
career development of the employees (Kinsey, 1992). In the times of economic stagnation the
state has made an additional step in direction of supporting the education of the unemployed
persons. In 2009 the Partial Reimbursement of Payment Compensation Act was adopted with
the goal to contribute to the preservation of existing jobs. On this legal basis the employers may
gain partial reimbursement of the employees’ salaries if the employees are temporarily redundant
(i.e. up to six months) and the employees have the right to take part in education processes in
the meantime. The legislation also systematically enhances education of the unemployed persons
within the framework of the execution of the measures of so called active employment policy.
Among those measures there are also the measures, which are supporting the education of the
unemployed persons. The execution of some of these measures is also financed by the European
Social Fund.
243. The approach to scholarships in the public sector has a different starting
point. The public sector entities have a legitimate goal of providing the financial
support to pupils and students with the aim to plan an employment policy. On this
basis the CSA determines frameworks for scholarship relations with pupils and stu-
dents. The statute provides for scholarship-holders to be selected on the basis of
open competition. The selection must be made by an administrative decision served
on all those participating in the competition. An appeal is allowed against the deci-
sion and is decided by an appellate commission. Upon the finality of the decision
on selection, a contract regulating mutual rights and duties must be concluded with
the scholarship-holder.
II. The Role of Training for the Parties to the Employment Contract
244. In the era of rapid changes in modern states in direction of developments

of the information society and growing competition among enterprises on global
markets, human knowledge and knowledge and skills of the employees play a vital
role in the business success and perspectives of works units. The paradigm of life-
long learning has become an important value. This paradigm has its regulatory basis
in the Constitution, relevant international regulations, i.e. ILO conventions and oth-
ers.1 Slovenian legislation has included some regulations about the education and
training of the employees amongst the minimum working conditions. Educated and
skilled employees are essential for employers in order to be competitive on the mar-
ket. At the same time, the employees have a vital interest to gain additional knowl-
edge and skills during employment relation in order to stay in touch with technical
and technological development and to improve their professional skills.

According to the statute, a worker has the right and obligation to education,
advanced training, and retraining in accordance with the requirements of the working
process with the purpose of maintaining and/or improving capability to be able to
keep the job. An employer is obliged to provide education, advanced training, and
retraining of workers if so required by the needs of the working process, or if the
education, advanced training, or training may prevent the termination of the employ-
ment contract due to incapacity of the employee or business reasons. In accordance
with the needs of education, advanced training, and training of workers, the employer
has the right to refer the worker to education, training, and advanced training, whereas
the worker has the right to apply for this himself or herself. The duration and the
course of education and the rights of the contracting parties during and after the educa-
tion are determined by the contract on education and/or a collective agreement.
1. For some time in the past Slovenia was not completely fulfilling the duties from the ratified ILO
C140 Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974, because statutory provisions did not provide
for more than one day of unpaid absence from work to the employee on the day of an exam.
The duties arising from the Convention were, however, implemented through collective contracts.
This situation changed in 2010 by the adoption of the Labour Market Act, which introduced the
right to paid absences of the employees for the education through the execution of the job rotation
measure of the active employment policy.
245. In the public sector the importance of permanent education and training is
emphasized even more. First of all, civil servants must prepare themselves for pass-
ing the prescribed exams to be permanently permitted to perform their jobs. Such
exams are of two kinds, firstly, the state exam regarding the public administration,
and secondly, the expert administration exam. The first one is imposed as the con-
dition for the access to titles which may be reached by the persons with a higher
education degree, whereas the second must be passed by officers with other titles.1
The exams are without charge to apprentices and to officials who have the duty to
pass the exam in a deadline determined in the employer’s decision of appointment
in the title. The statute defines the content of the exams and regulates the recogni-
tion of content if a civil servant has already passed a similar exam.
The CSA namely regulates that officials have the right to apply to be referred to
receive additional education provided in the interest of the employer. Referrals to
further education are carried out on the basis of internal competition published by
the principal provided that funding has been secured.2 The employer bears the costs
of the further education of officials. The rights and obligations of officials referred
to further education are determined in a contract concluded by the principal and the
official. Officials referred to further education must, after the completion of educa-
tion, remain employed with the same employer at least for a further period of the
duration of such education. Otherwise the employer is entitled to receive reimburse-
ment of the proportionate share of the paid costs of education.3 Civil servants also
have the right and duty of further training in respect to their jobs. Officials also have
the duty to develop their expert knowledge according to the special programme and
upon referral by their superior. The programmes of education, training, and addi-
tional qualifications determine the contents of education, training, and additional
qualifications, and also the funds earmarked for further education and for the
implementation of training and additional qualifications. The general programme of

education, training, and additional qualifications determining the contents that apply
to all bodies is adopted by the government. The proposal of the programme is
drafted by the body competent for personnel issues on the basis of expert analyses;
the body also manages the implementation of the programme and makes a plan for
its funding. The other plans mentioned above are determined by principles of the
bodies in the determined deadline after the state budget or local budgets come into
force. A report on the implementation and effectiveness of the programme adopted
for the previous period must also be prepared by the principles within determined
deadlines. The content of the programmes and the evaluation of their success
depend on the modern human resource management principles. The competent
authority has to monitor the careers and the expertise of the civil servants, espe-
cially officials. Such entails that the superior must monitor the work and the careers
of officials, and at least once a year conduct an interview with each official. Along
with this the superior has to monitor the professional qualifications of officials and
provide for occasional testing of their theoretical and practical knowledge.
1. The CSA provisions regulate the composition of the exam commission; however, the procedure
and other issues regarding the exams fall within the regulatory competence of the minister responsible
for administration.
2. Officials with higher average annual assessment over the last three years have priority with respect
to referrals to further education.
3. This obligation expires in case that the employer within six months fails to appoint an official
to title, or to transfer him or her to the work post for which education received by the official is
prescribed.
III. The Right to Absence from Work due to Education
246. A worker, who follows education, advanced training, or retraining in the

interest of the employer, as well as a worker, who follows education, advanced train-
ing, or retraining in his or her own interest, has the right to absence from work due to
preparation for and/or taking the examinations. Should a collective agreement, an
employment contract, or a special contract on education not determine in detail the
right mentioned above, the worker has the right to absence from work on the days,
when he or she takes the examinations for the first time. If a worker follows education,
training, or advanced training, he or she has the right to paid absence from work if so
provided by the employment contract or collective agreement.1
1. A high degree of the dynamics of the restructuring today emphasizes the importance of the education
of the employees, whereas at the same time it claims permanent and systematic education of the
trade union representatives (Franca, 2010).
§7. LIABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
I. Legally Envisaged Consequences of the Breaches of

the Employees’ Duties
247. The parties to the employment contract must follow the statutory provi-
sions regulating employment relation, the provisions of other state regulations, the

provisions of the autonomous regulations, and the clauses of the employment con-
tract or other employment-law contracts concluded between them. If a breach of
duty, arising from the legal sources and contracts mentioned above occurs, the law
offers to the parties different types of defence. In addition to these legal tools which
have the function to constrain the breaching party to fulfil his or her duties, the law
also regulates sanctions which can be imposed on the offender. These sanctions can
be regulated in regulations of the public nature, such as penal-law provisions, and/
or of the civil nature, such as agreed contractual fines for non-discharging his or her
duties. Employment law, which is partly covered by private law and partly by pub-
lic law, also has some special provisions which have the nature of sanctions for
breaching the legal or contractual duties of the parties.
II. The Sanctioning of Breaches of the Employer’s Duties
248. If the employer or his or her management breaches the duties arising from
regulations of the employment contract or other employment-law contract, the
employer or his or her management suffers sanctions determined by civil law, such
as civil liability for causing damage to the employee. The civil liability of the
employer or his or her management is regulated partly in the area of employment
law (i.e. special regulations) and partly in the area of civil law (i.e. general regu-
lations). In addition, the employer or his or her management suffers sanctions regu-
lated in penal-law provisions if his or her inadmissible behaviour has elements of a
criminal offence or minor offence. Particular sanctions are regulated for managers
in the area of company law and in the area of law, which regulates legal entities of
the public sector, i.e. responsibility for grave misuse of the regulations regulating
their managerial competences. The consequence of such behaviour can be the loss
of his or her managerial position or status.
III. Employees’ Responsibilities or Liabilities
249. Employee as parties to the employment contract and subjects of the exten-
sive protection of the employment-law protective statutory regulations bear certain
responsibilities and liabilities if they do not fulfil their duties. A special position of
the employees, compared with persons who perform working task on the basis of a
civil-law contract, is their subordination to the employer. The principle of subordi-
nation contains the right of the employer to give orders to the employees in the
working process or in relation to work. Employees have the duty to follow these
orders. In order to protect the legitimate interests of the employers, their real and
intellectual property in cases in which employees do not fulfil their duties, the stat-
ute provides the employers with the right to ascertain the employees’ disciplinary
responsibility and to impose discipline sanctions on them. During their work the
employees can also cause damage to the employer. Also in such cases the protec-
tion of the employer is needed. Civil-law regulations regulating liability for dam-
ages can be partly applied. Employment legislation provides special regulations
about the degree of guilt, which is a condition for ascertaining the employee’s

liability. For breaches of the employees’ duties, if they also affect public interest,
the employees are also responsible within the framework of statutorily regulated
systems of penal law and civil law.
IV. Disciplinary Responsibility
250. A worker is obliged to fulfil contractual and other obligations arising from
the employment relation. A worker is responsible for the violation of these obliga-
tions to the employer. An employer may impose on a responsible worker an admo-
nition, that is, a disciplinary sanction determined by the statute. However, additional
sanctions can be applied against the employee if they are determined in the branch
collective agreement. Such sanctions are a fine, deprivation of advantages, the pro-
hibition of promotion, etc. The statute determines a special rule imposing special
restriction in regard to such additional sanctions. A disciplinary sanction may not
permanently change a labour-law legal status of a worker. The statute determines
certain important regulations about the assessment of the disciplinary responsibility
of the employees. Disciplinary responsibility of a worker is assessed by an
employer – a natural person, or, in cases in which an employer is a legal entity by
the top management or a person authorized by the internal regulations or by the
managerial act of the authorization. The principal right of the employee in the pro-
cess of the assessment of the responsibility of the employee is his or her right to
defence. In the disciplinary procedure, the employer must serve the worker with a
written charge and determine the time and place, where the worker may present his
or her defence. In the disciplinary procedure, the employer must give the worker
the possibility to defend himself or herself unless the worker explicitly refuses it or
unjustifiably does not respond to the invitation to the audience he or she was invited
to within this scope.
After the hearing of the employee and presentation of evidence, the employer or the
competent manager may decide about the employee’s guilt and responsibility and
may pronounce a disciplinary sanction to the employee. When imposing a disciplin-
ary sanction, the employer must take into account the degree of guilt, important
subjective and objective circumstances, under which the violation has been commit-
ted, and individual characteristics of the worker. In the disciplinary procedure trade
unions have an important role to control the fairness of the employer’s or manager’s
decisions. They are given the possibility of evaluating the employee’s behaviour
which is declared inadmissible and can influence the final employer’s or manager’s
decision on the matter. In order to secure this option, the statute determines the duty of
the employer or manager to communicate with the trade union about their intentions
to impose a disciplinary sanction on the employee. More precisely, the statute regu-
lates that if required by the worker, the employer must notify in writing the trade
union of which the worker is a member at the time of the introduction of a disci-
plinary procedure, about the introduction of this procedure and about the presumed
wrongdoing of the employee. The trade union may deliver its opinion within eight
days and must also state the grounds for it. The employer must consider a written
opinion of the trade union within eight days and must take his or her standpoint
regarding the statements. A decision on disciplinary responsibility must contain a

statement about guilt and sanction, the grounds, and a legal caution. A decision on
disciplinary responsibility must be served with the worker by the employer directly.
As a rule serving should be secured to the employee on the employer’s premises and/
or at the address of the residence, from which the worker comes to work on daily basis.
A decision on disciplinary responsibility must be delivered to the worker by the
employer in accordance with the rules on civil procedure unless the worker does not
have a permanent or temporary residence in the Republic of Slovenia. In such a case, a
decision on disciplinary responsibility must be fixed on the notice board at the
employer’s headquarters. The delivery is deemed to have been carried out upon the
expiry of eight days. The decision on disciplinary responsibility must also be sent to
the trade union, of which the worker was a member at the time of introduction of the
procedure.
V. Time Limitations on the Use of a Disciplinary Power
251. The use of the employer’s disciplinary power is by its nature a legal restric-
tion of the individual’s human rights, therefore, it must be limited. The limitations
are of procedural nature, as described above, as well as of substantive nature. In the
area of the substantive limitations, time limits for the use of the disciplinary power
against the employee are regulated by the statute. According to this principle, the
introduction of the procedure is not allowed after one month from the day when the
violation and the offender were identified (i.e. subjective limitation period) and/or
after three months from the day when the violation was committed (i.e. objective
limitation period). The conduct of a disciplinary procedure also has its limitation
period. It lapses after three months from the introduction of the procedure, i.e. from
the day a charge was served on the worker. However, the period of limitation may
not run during the procedure before the labour court. The execution of a disciplin-
ary sanction is also possible for a limited time only. It lapses after 30 days from the
day the decision about the disciplinary responsibility was served on the worker.
VI. General Remarks on the Employer’s and Employee’s

Liability for Damage
252. Liability for damages in the employment relation is a mutual obligation of

the employer and the employee. The employer must organize a working process in
such a way that the danger of injuries or even death to employees is excluded. In
order to define this duty of the employer, international and national legislation pre-
cisely defines the rules regulating safety in the workplace. Any disrespect or vio-
lation of these rules, which leads to injuries or death of the employees, is considered
unlawful conduct of the employer or his or her staff that the employer is responsible
for. In such a case the employer has to bear the consequences of civil liability for
damages caused to the employee according to general civil-law regulations.
Employment law does not provide for special regulations about the liability of the
employers to the employees for damages. Within the framework of the civil regu-
lations of the liability for damages caused to the employees the employers are

held responsible for their damaging conduct. The same applies for their liability for
the damaging conduct of their management or staff. The necessary condition for the
liability is that in the specific case all the essential elements of the liability, deter-
mined by the statute, can be identified. One of the essential elements which are a
basis for the statement of the liability for damages is proven guilt of the person who
caused damage. The degrees of guilt are important because the amount of the
indemnity can depend on it. In the case of intentionally caused damage, the amount
of the indemnity can be much larger than in the case of negligence. Sometimes dam-
age can be caused even without any guilt-related conduct, but the employer will still
be held liable for this. This situation is envisaged for the occasions when the
employer conducts very dangerous productive or business activities or if the
employer possesses or handles a working tool which can be declared as an
extremely dangerous object or substance. In such cases the employer will be held
liable for damages arising from dangerous processes, tools, or substances even in
cases in which he or she or his or her staff could not be held responsible for vio-
lating the safety rules on the basis of the guilt-related conduct.
VII. Workers’ Liability for Damage
253. The majority of the regulations about the liability for damages of employ-
ees if they cause damage to the employer are regulated by civil-law statutory pro-
visions, whereas certain important special regulations concerning civil liability can
be found in the employment relations legislation. These regulations are determined
in the statute with the aim to protect either the employee or the employer in par-
ticular circumstances when damage was caused by certain conduct of the contract-
ing party.
The ERA determines that a worker who at work or in relation to work causes
damage to the employer on purpose or with gross negligence is obliged to compen-
sate for the damage. If the damage was caused by several workers every one of them
is liable for the part of the damage caused by him or her. However, if it is not pos-
sible to asses the part of the damage caused by an individual worker, every one of
them is equally liable; therefore, they will have to pay the equal part of the indem-
nity. Should the damage be caused by several workers through an intentionally com-
mitted criminal offence, the workers are jointly liable in such a manner that every
worker can be charged by the employer for the entire damage or for any part of the
damage. Such a solution protects the employer, who could be very vulnerable in
case of the criminal activities committed by the groups of the employees acting in
his or her working unit. The statute, on the other hand, provides special protection
to certain employees who caused the damage and are subjected to paying indem-
nity. The statute contains the provision which mitigates the position of these
employees. In the private sector of the economy this rule has only a symbolic mean-
ing; however, in the public sector it is a specific legal ground to relieve the
employee of the heavy burden of paying the indemnity. This regulation provides for
the reduction of compensation or exemption from payment of compensation. The
ERA determines that the compensation may be reduced or a worker may be exempt
from its payment when the reduction or exemption from payment is appropriate to

his or her efforts to pay the damage, his or her attitude to work, or his or her finan-
cial situation. According to the CSA, the regulation of civil liability of civil ser-
vants is similar. The statute also provides for some special regulations. One special
regulation concerns the issue of the employee’s civil liability if or she causes dam-
age to a third party. In such a case the third party may claim damages directly from
the civil servant, if the damages were caused by the civil servant’s intentional con-
duct. The civil servant who caused damage by intention or gross negligence to the
third person and damage was paid by the employer is obliged to repay the due
amount to the employer.
VIII. Lump-sum Compensation
254. Should the assessment of the damage cause disproportionate costs, the
damage may be assessed in a lump-sum amount. This entails that the cases of
damaging acts by the worker and/or the employer and the amount of the lump-sum
compensation are determined in the collective agreement.

255–256
Chapter 4. Remuneration and Benefits

§1. WAGES, SALARIES, REMUNERATION AND COMPENSATION
I. Minimum Wage or Salary
255. Slovenian law contains the regulation of the minimum wage or salary in
accordance with the principles of international labour law. The minimum wage or
salary is considered the minimum amount which must be secured to any employee
in the state for the full-time job. The legislation on minimum wages or salaries
changes periodically. The statute regulates the method of the adjustment of the mini-
mum wage to which an employee in full-time employment is entitled and
the amount of the minimum wage for the work carried out in a certain period
of time.
The minimum wage or salary is determined on a monthly basis; a lower amount
may only be paid for part-time employment and proportionally to the time worked.
The minimum wage or salary must be increased every year on 1 August corre-
sponding to the expected yearly rise in consumer prices, adopted by the govern-
ment as a basis for drafting the national budget. The minimum wage or salary also
depends on the percentage of rise of wages or salaries agreed upon in collective
agreements concluded in the public and private sectors. The amount of the mini-
mum wage or salary must be established on the basis of the above estimate and after
consulting with social partners by the minister responsible for labour and published
in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.
II. Types of Remuneration
256. Remuneration is a generic term for the claim of the person who performs
work on the basis of a contract whose subject is work. In accordance with the con-
tract, the claim can be directed towards the money payment and/or other benefits.
There are different types of contract that stipulate human work, on the one hand,
and remuneration, on the other. Such contracts are systematically classified mostly
in legal subsystems of civil law and employment law and can also be found in other
legal subsystems. The most important contract that refers to human labour is cer-
tainly an employment contract having its central position in the area of employment
law. The employment contract has, according to the statute, certain essential ele-
ments. One of them is remuneration in form of a wage or salary. Wages and salaries
have a particular structure, determined by the statute. Apart from the legal regula-
tion of the elements of the wages and salaries there is still a lot of ground for their
contractual regulation, namely with collective agreements and by expressing free
will of the contracting parties.1 Remuneration for work carried out on the basis of
the employment contract is composed of a wage or salary, which must always be
paid in cash, and eventual other elements of remuneration, if they are determined in
the statute or collective agreement or employment contract. In regard to the wage or
salary, the employer must take account of its minimum, determined by the statute
and/or collective agreement, which bind the employer directly.

Part I, Ch. 4, Remuneration and Benefits 257–259
1. In the regulation of salaries in the private sector the contractual freedom of parties to the employment
contract is emphasized. In addition the legal sources which regulate the minimal extent of the
single elements of the salary, the possibility to stipulate a higher amount of the salary in the
employment contract exists under the condition that such arrangement does not cause discrimination
of other employees (Korpič-Horvat, 2008, Kresal B., 2002).
257. A wage or salary contains elements that are determined by the statute. It
must always be composed of the basic wage or salary, a part of the wage or salary
for efficiency of job performance, and supplements. An additional and optional ele-
ment of the wage or salary can also be remuneration for successful business per-
formance of the work team, if only determined by the collective agreement or
employment contract. The employee is entitled to wage or salary according to the
working time. He or she is also entitled to the wage or salary for the period of break
during daily working hours. For this period, which is calculated as non-effective
working time, the worker receives compensation as if he or she was working.
II. National and International Approach to the Regulation of Wages and

Salaries
258. The structure of wages and salaries reflects national values in the relation
between labour and capital. The elements of wages and salaries are not subjects of
wide and detailed international regulations. Apart from the ILO Convention which
regulates the minimum wage this area of employment relations is strictly reserved
for national statutory and also soft law regulation. For the time being, we cannot
thus find such regulation at regional international level, like the EU level. The main
reason for the lack of international regulations is the existence of cultural and his-
torical particularities of states, members of different international organizations.
future developments following globalization and other changes in modern societies
directed towards harmonization of this area.
III. Salaries in the Public Sector
259. Remuneration of civil servants and functionaries is regulated by special

statutory provisions of the Salary System in the Public Sector Act of 2007.
The principal characteristic of this regulation is a mixture of the authoritative
state regulatory approach to the regulation and free contractual regulation. The Act
sets out a common basis for the salary system in the public sector 1 in order to apply
the principle of equal pay for work in comparable positions, titles, and offices and
to ensure the transparency of the salary system and salary incentives (Virant, 2009).
Wages or salaries of the employees in the public sector, i.e. civil servants, may be
determined by an employment contract or a formal decision of the competent
authoritative body. Such regulation is limited by existing law (i.e. state law and
autonomous law). An employment contract or a proposal of the employer to the
employee must be accompanied by a written document, explaining the basis for
the proposed wage or salary and its elements. The wage or salary amount may not

260–260 Part I, Ch. 4, Remuneration and Benefits
be different from the existing salary regulations of public or private law. The
outcome of the contract or decision depends on the already mentioned regulations,
namely the employer may unilaterally intervene in the existing contractual or
authoritative regulation of the wage or salary by a notification of the regulatory
changes accompanied by a written proposal of the annex to the contract or authori-
tative decision. If such modification of the employment relation is not done, a new
law should be applied by the force of the statute (ex lege). If a civil servant or func-
tionary earned a lower wage or salary, they would be entitled to the difference
together with legally determined interest. In a reciprocal situation, if they gained a
higher wage or salary, they must repay the surplus. Modalities of the repayment
must be agreed between the employer and civil servant or functionary, or if such
agreement cannot be reached, by the court decision. The employer has to require
the surplus gained by the civil servant or the functionary also on the basis of the
competent state supervision body. If he or she fails to do so, the competent body
may initiate the court procedure claiming the restitution of the surplus by itself.
1. As the statute covers the wide area of the public sector the term wages is used as a common
term for remuneration in the state administration, administration of local communities in public
services, and other areas of the public sector. The remuneration of civil servants in administrations
may be called salaries.
260. The basic wage or salary of the civil servant or functionary may be deter-
mined by a salary bracket in which the wage or salary or the title or the function is
being placed by the decision of the competent body. The competent state body may
be the government, a minister, or a competent body of the local community with
the consent of the minister. The basic wage or salary or title or function must be
placed in a special salary bracket according to the valuation on the basis of the cri-
teria determined by the statute, namely job requirements, the responsibility, efforts,
and other matters.1 In order to facilitate the placement of the jobs and titles in sal-
ary brackets the core jobs and titles, namely the orientation jobs and titles which
have been previously successfully evaluated, are being placed in salary brackets by
the collective agreement concluded for the public sector. The amount of the basic
wage or salary may also vary according to the statutory provisions. On the one hand,
a basic wage or salary may be reduced if a civil servant performs a less demanding
job or a job with the reduced extent of particular activities according to the statu-
tory provisions. On the other hand, a basic wage or salary may be increased for the
determined period of time in cases determined by the statute.2
1. The method of the evaluation is determined by the collective agreement concluded between the
government and the public sector unions.
2. Due to efforts of the legislature to adopt a comprehensive regulation of the system of salaries in
the public sector, such regulation may be considered modern. Despite this fact recent changes of
the system have been met with serious resistance in some branches and professions. In 2010
extreme tensions appeared in relation between trade unions and employers of the public sector.
Employees of some professional groups have even demanded separated collective bargaining
with the employers (Vitez, Tičar, 2009).

IV. A Basic Wage or Salary, Job Performance, and Supplements
261. A basic wage or salary is one of three essential parts of the wage or salary.
It depends on the requirements of the conditions of work. This part of the wage or
salary is strongly influenced by the situation on the labour market where continuous
changes in the demand for particular job performances take place. In the process of
the appearing and disappearing of single professions the value of professional job
performance also vary. This can be clearly seen in changes of basic wages or sala-
ries determined in the collective contracts.
According to the ERA, a basic wage or salary is determined by the employment
contract in accordance with autonomous legal sources, according to the level of dif-
ficulty and complexity of working tasks which are the content of the particular job
or work area for which the worker has concluded the employment contract. The sec-
ond essential element of the wage or salary is the part of the wage or salary for the
efficiency of the employee’s job performance. The worker’s performance is deter-
mined according to the economy, quality, and quantity of the performed work for
which he or she has concluded the employment contract. The third essential ele-
ment of the wage or salary are the supplements (i.e. extras). They are determined
for special working conditions which make employee’s work more difficult than
normal. The supplements are related to the distribution of working time, i.e. to night
work, overtime, Sunday work, and work on holidays and free days determined by
the statute. Supplements for special working conditions are related to special bur-
dens at work, unfavourable environmental influences, and danger at work which has
not been taken into consideration in the processes of the evaluation of difficulty of
the particular work. They are usually determined by a collective agreement con-
cluded at the branch level. According to the statute, the basis for the calculation of
extra payments of an employee is his or her basic wage or salary for full-time work
and/or appropriate labour hour rate. The wage or salary of the trainee is also related
to the basic wage or salary which is determined for the job the trainee is placed on.
The trainee is entitled to a wage or salary in the amount of 70 per cent of the basic
wage or salary for the job or type of work for which he or she has concluded the
employment contract as a trainee, as well as to other personal incomes. The train-
ee’s wage or salary may not be lower than the minimum wage or salary determined
by law.
V. The Amount of Extra Payments Related to Working Conditions
262. A worker is entitled to supplements for special working conditions related

to the distribution of working time for:
– night work;
– overtime work;
– Sunday work;
– work on statutory holidays and free days.

According to the ERA, the amount of supplements is determined by a branch col-

lective agreement and can be increased by other types of collective agreements as
well as the employment contract. Supplements are calculated only for the time dur-
ing which the worker performed work under the conditions because of which he or
she is entitled to extra payment.
263. Unfavourable working time is not the only factor that makes the working
conditions of the employees more difficult than normal. Other unfavourable work-
ing conditions arise from the circumstances which can significantly aggravate nec-
essary efforts in regard to the employee’s work performance, e.g. work under water,
underground work, and work with explosives or poisonous substances. All these cir-
cumstances are usually taken into account in collective bargaining and extra pay-
ments are usually secured to the employees who work in the conditions mentioned
above on the basis of collective agreements.
VII. A Supplement for Years of Service
264. A worker is entitled to a supplement for the years of service with the
employer. According to the ERA, the amount of the supplement for the years of ser-
vice is determined by the branch collective agreement; however, it can be increased
similarly as in case of the supplements related to special working conditions. The
statute determines cases in which a period, which is a basis for the calculation of
the supplement, should be composed by the periods of service in different legal enti-
ties. Such a case is when the worker changes the employer. Adding together such
periods is usual also in cases in which the employee works for more employers in
the public sector.
VIII. Supplements as Elements of the Wage or Salary System

in the Public Sector
265. Supplements in the public sector are more or less regulated on the basis of
the common starting point. The statute determines the basis for the recognition of
the supplements. The basis for such is as follows:
– a supplement on the basis of the managerial position of the officer;1

– a supplement on the basis of the period of employment;2
– a supplement for the mentorship to the applicants; 3
– a supplement for the reached specialization, master degree or doctoral degree if
this is not a precondition for a particular job;4
– a supplement for due bilingual service;5
– a supplement for unfavourable working conditions, which have not been taken
into account in the process of the evaluation of the job or title or office;6
– a supplement for work in less favourable working time.7

Functionaries are as a general rule not entitled to supplements with the exception
of the supplement for the employment period. The supplements are determined by
the statute, the government ordinance, or the collective contracts stipulated for the
public sector and are calculated on the basis of the basic wage or salary of the civil
servant. The supplements for judges and some functionaries are separately regu-
lated by the statute.
1. A supplement which is based on the managerial position of the officer or functionary is determined
by the statute or by the government ordinance.
2. A supplement which is based on the employment period of a person has its legitimate grounds
in the fact that the person has acquired additional working skills in his or her entire professional
career.
3. A supplement for the mentorship to the applicants may be determined by the collective contract
for the public sector.
4. A supplement may be determined by the collective contract for the public sector.
5. A supplement is acknowledged to civil servants and functionaries who work on the territory
with bilingual administration.
6. A supplement may be granted to persons who work in difficult working circumstances, whereas
this fact was not taken into account in the evaluation of their basic wage or salary. A special
type of this supplement is a supplement which is based on the fact that persons work in dangerous
circumstances and with increased workload. It is determined by the collective contract for the
public sector.
7. This supplement may be determined for the work in shifts, work in irregular distribution of the
working time, work at night, etc. The special supplement is secured to persons who have the
duty of permanent readiness for emergency interventions. It is determined by the collective contract
for the public sector.
§2. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES RELATED TO WORK
266. The main duty of employers in the employment relation is to secure for
employees necessary conditions for their job performance as stipulated in
the employment contract. The employee performs his or her job under the guidance
and surveillance of the employer, who has to entirely organize the working process.
A part of this duty is also the employer’s obligation to supply the employee with
the necessary means to enable his or her work performance. The employer must
provide the employee with necessary working tools, ensure him or her working
place, and secure him or her necessary financial means if needed. According to the
ERA, the employer must ensure the worker reimbursement of expenses for meals
during work and travel expenses to and from workplace. The employer must
reimburse his or her expenses which are incurred during the performance of certain
work or task on a business travel. The mode of stating of the amounts of
reimbursements for private employers must be stated in the collective agreement of
general validity. If this is not the case, they must be determined according to
the state executive regulation, which regulates this right of the employees in the
public sector.

§3. HOLIDAY ALLOWANCE
267. Paid holiday leave is one of the most important achievements of the labour
movement and labour law. The idea of paid holiday leave is based on the principle
of the strategic common interests of employers and employees in the success of
works units. A precondition for such success is the balance of benefits for both sides.
On the employees’ side the main interest is sustainable working conditions. Within
the framework of such conditions, paid holiday leave must be included because of
its great importance for employees’ health, good spirits, and quality of life. The ILO
has adopted a convention about the discussed subject on such basis. In accordance
with the ILO convention, the ERA has also determined the right of the employees
to paid holiday leave. The issue of paid holiday leave is also one of the main sub-
jects of the collective bargaining. Management successfully uses the institution of
paid holiday leave as a benefit that can be extended over guaranteed levels and suc-
cessfully used as an incentive to stimulate the employees to creative work.
In accordance with these principles, the ERA regulates that the employer is
obliged to pay a holiday allowance to the worker who is entitled to annual leave at
least in the amount of the minimum wage. A holiday allowance must be paid to the
worker at the latest until 1 July of the current calendar year. In case of insolvency
of the employer, the branch collective agreement may determine a subsequent term
for paying holiday allowance, but no later than 1 November of the current calendar
year. If the worker works on the basis of the part-time employment contract, he or
she has the right to a part of holiday allowance, proportional to the duration of the
working time, however, if he or she works part-time on the ground of social secu-
rity reasons, he or she is entitled to the full amount of the holiday allowance (ERA
2007).
§4. RETIREMENT SEVERANCE PAY
268. Retirement severance pay is also an important achievement of the labour

movement and labour law. The legitimate basis for this right is a need for just treat-
ment of the employees, who in the process of long lasting work for the employer
additionally contributed to the development of the works unit. Severance pay is in
its nature similar to severance pay to employees in case of redundancy. Taking into
account the nature of the right discussed, the statute guarantees the minimum
amount of the payment. According to the ERA, the employee is entitled to the right
to severance pay in case of retirement. The guaranteed amount of the severance pay
is determined in the amount of two average monthly wages or salaries in the
Republic of Slovenia for the past three months or two average monthly wages or
salaries of the worker for the past three months, whatever is more favourable to the
worker. A retirement severance pay may be paid to the employee also on the burden
of the special insurance, established for such and similar purposes. If the
employee decides to re-employ him or herself after the retirement, he or she is not
entitled to this type of severance pay after the termination of the new employ-
ment contract. It is possible that the employee who fulfils the conditions for the

retirement may decide to retire partially and to continue to work with the employer
on the basis of the new part-time contract. In such case, he or she is entitled to a
proportional amount of the retirement severance pay. By working part-time, after
the termination of the employment contract, the employee has the right to the retire-
ment severance pay proportionally to the extent of the part-time work; however, the
employee enjoys the whole amount of the severance pay if the employee is entitled
to work part-time on the basis of social insurance reasons (ERA 2007).
269. The employee is, however, not entitled to retirement severance pay if he or
she has the right to severance pay on an other legal basis or if the employer had
financed purchase of the years of service for the worker concerned to enable him or
her to retire. The worker is entitled to the payment of the difference, if the amount
of severance pay and/or the amount required for purchase of the years of service are
lower than the amount of severance pay in question.
§5. EQUAL REMUNERATION OF WOMEN AND MEN
270. The main reason to stipulate an employment contract on the employees’

side is to secure their economic and social security. From this point of view, wages
or salaries are the basic goal of the employees in the employment relation. Any
improper or unlawful treatment of employees by employers in this area is therefore
especially harmful. Employers with a poor organizational culture in the market
economy often have the inclination to discriminate against women by offering them
lower wages or salaries compared to men. Such an approach is based on their
attempts to calculate the increased risks related to the female’s wider social and
family functions in the price of their labour, which is unacceptable from the point
of view of equal treatment of persons. This thesis is a legitimate basis for a legis-
lative approach prohibiting discrimination for men and women in the area of wages
or salaries. The legislative approach which prohibits this kind of discrimination is a
special approach in relation to the general constitutional prohibition of discrimina-
tion on the ground of personal characteristics and circumstances, as well as the gen-
eral employment law principle of the prohibition of discrimination of job applicants
and employees in the entire area of employment relations. In the Slovenian
economy and legislation, sex discrimination was not considered a relevant problem
in the past due to particular historical reasons. Socialist ideology did not tolerate
such behaviour and profit greed was not as intense as in the developed market
economies. After introducing a new political and economic system in the 1990s, the
need to confront the appearing tendencies towards discrimination of the employees
increased. Under the influence of international labour law, labour standards with
regard to the equality of sexes were introduced in the Slovenian legal system. In
accordance with these developments, the ERA introduced an explicit rule in order
to confront the phenomenon of sex discrimination in the area of wages or salaries.
According to this rule, the employer must pay equal remuneration for equal work
and for work of equal value to workers regardless to their sex. The provisions of an
employment contract, collective agreement, and/or employer’s general enactment
which are contrary to this principle are therefore regarded as invalid. The

regulation is also based on EU Directive 75/117/EEC on the approximation of the

laws of the Member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay
for men and women.
§6. MODALITIES OF PROVIDING REMUNERATION
271. A wage or salary is a key resource for the livelihood of employees and
their families, thus the law must secure its regular and foreseen flow. In this respect,
the statute precisely determines the modalities for securing wages or salaries to
the employees. The statute determines that a wage or salary must be paid to the
employee at payment intervals which may not be longer than one month. A wage or
salary must be paid at the latest 18 days after the end of the payment interval. If the
day of the payment is a holiday, the wage or salary must be paid at the latest on the
first following working day. The employer must inform the workers of the day of
the payment and of each change of the day of the payment with a previous written
notice. Eventual payments in goods must be provided in a manner determined in the
employment contract with regard to the nature of work and existing practice. If the
employment contract determines the worker’s right to accommodation as the form
of the remuneration, the employee retains this right during the entire period of
employment relation and also during the period when he or she does not work and
is entitled to wage compensation.
272. The employer is obliged to pay a wage or salary to the worker by the end
of the day of the payment at the usual place of the payment. If the wage or salary
is paid to the worker’s bank account or in another transaction manner, it should be
ensured that the worker has disposes of his or her wage or salary a available on the
determined day of the payment unless agreed otherwise by the parties. Upon each
payment of the wage or salary and until 31 January of the new calendar year, the
employer is obliged to issue the worker with a written wage slip and wage com-
pensation statement for the payment interval and/or the past calendar year whereby
also the calculation and payment of taxes and contributions is evident. The
employer bears the costs related to the payment of wage or salary.
273. The economic and social function of wages and salaries requires that legal
and contractual regulations about the remunerations of the employees be respected.
With reference to these, certain civil-law institutions about obligations and the ter-
mination of the obligations are excluded. This rule is thus contrary to the general
principle emphasized in the statute, that civil-law regulations on contracts may also
be applied for employment contracts, although in the subsidiary manner. The with-
holding and settlement of duties are the institutions of civil law, which are explic-
itly excluded by a statutory provision of employment law. In this sense the ERA
determines that the employer can withhold the payment of the wage or salary to the
worker only in cases determined by law. All provisions of the employment contract
providing for other manners of withholding the payment are regarded null and void.
The employer may not set off his or her claim towards the worker with his or her
obligation for payment without the worker’s written consent. In addition,

the worker may not give his or her consent in advance, namely before the employ-
er’s claim has arisen.
§7. WAGE COMPENSATION
274. Employees are entitled to remuneration only for their work carried out
within the framework of their working time. However, employees are sometimes in
a position in which they cannot carry out their working activities within the planned
working time period. There are many reasons and circumstances which allow that
employees do not execute the work without violating their contractual obligations.
Cases in which the employees are allowed not to work are determined by the law or
the employment contract. These cases can have their basis in certain unexpected or
unfortunate events, i.e. an illness, or can be a result of the achievements of the
labour movement in the past, i.e. paid holiday leave, or can be agreed between the
parties to the employment contract. In cases related to certain social risks, deter-
mined by the statute, the employee is entitled to wage compensation on the burden
of the social funds. In cases which are determined by the statute as special rights of
the employees not to work, but having the right to wage compensation, the burden
to pay the compensation to the employees is on the employer. The employer can
also accept the duty to pay to the employees wage compensation in cases which are
agreed upon in the collective agreements or in the employment contracts.
275. The ERA provisions regulate the right to wage compensation in the fol-
lowing manner. The worker is entitled to wage compensation for the period of
absence in the cases and in the duration determined by law and in cases of absence
when the worker does not perform his or her work due to reasons on the side of the
employer. The employer is obliged to pay wage compensation in cases of absence
from work due to the use of annual leave, paid absence due to personal circum-
stances, education, statutory holidays, and free days and when the worker does not
perform his or her work due to reasons on the side of the employer. The employer
must pay wage compensation from his or her own funds in cases of the worker’s
incapacity to work due to an illness or injury which is not related to work for the
period up to 30 working days for individual absence from work but not more than
for 120 working days in a calendar year. In cases of the worker’s incapacity to work
due to an occupational illness or injury at work, the employer must pay the worker
wage compensation from his or her own funds for the period up to 30 working days
for each individual absence from work. In case of longer absence from work, the
employer must pay wage compensation to the debit of health insurance.
In case of two or more successive absences from work due to the same illness or
injury which is not related to work in the duration of up to 30 working days, when
the individual interruption between two absences lasts less than ten working days,
the employer must pay wage compensation for the period of subsequent absence
after the interruption to the debit of health insurance.
The employer must also pay wage compensation to the debit of another liable
institution in other cases, if determined by law or another regulation. If the

worker cannot work due to force majeure, he or she is entitled to half of the pay-
ment he or she would have received if he or she was working, but not less than 70
per cent of the minimum wage.
276. If the law does not determine otherwise, the worker is entitled to wage
compensation in the amount of his or her average monthly wage calculated on the
basis of his or her earnings in the past three months. If the employee was not work-
ing in this period and was entitled to wage compensation, the basis for the calcu-
lation is the same as for the compensation he or she was receiving for these months.
If during the entire period of the past three months the worker did not receive at
least one monthly wage, he or she is entitled to wage compensation in the amount
of the minimum wage. The amount of the compensation however may not exceed
the level of the minimum wage.
277. In case of the worker’s absence from work due to an illness or injury which
is not related to work, the wage compensation to be paid from the employer’s funds
amounts to at least 80 per cent of the worker’s wage in the previous month for full-
time work. The employer is obliged to pay the worker wage compensation for the
days and for the number of hours that correspond to the worker’s working hours
when he or she is not working for justified reasons.
§8. PROFIT-SHARING
278. Slovenian legislation contains regulations regarding profit-sharing with

employees. The idea of profit-sharing was present from the beginning of the period
after political and economic changes following the introduction of the new Consti-
tution; however, the National Assembly did not hurry with adoption of the legisla-
tion on the subject. Slovenian trade unions occasionally launched the requirement
addressed to the government to start the legislative procedure in this area, but the
resistance of the managers was decisive for many years in spite of fact that the ERA
(2002) has anticipated the statutory regulation of the profit-sharing of the employ-
ees. It has given the institution a legal ground by stating that a worker and an
employer may agree on the worker’s right to a share in profit. This regulation has
been added only with the technical regulation by stating that in such a case the share
is determined on the basis of profit in the fiscal year which is calculated pursuant to
the statute. The statute was adopted in the year 2008 bringing the profit sharing as
an option of employers and not as a right of the employees. The attempt to make
the profit sharing compulsory was made in the year 2010 on the bases of the trade
unions demands but the proposed solution was not accepted by the employers.
Along with the hesitation of the government the proposal is now waiting to be dis-
cussed again.

279–280
Chapter 5. Incapacity to Work

§1. TEMPORARY HEALTH INCAPACITY TO WORK
279. An employment relation may be considered a relation between an

employer and employee, based on a contract of a property nature; however, this
relation reaches far beyond contractual boundaries. The employment relation
touches much wider areas that are regulated by law in order to protect the employee
as the weaker contracting party. This goal of labour legislation is an emphasized
manifestation of the public interest over the employment relation, and there are also
many other social areas where the public interest requires legal intervention in
employment relation. One of such areas is the connection between the employment
relation and wider social relations such as social security, taxation, environment,
and other matters. By focusing on the relation between the employment and the
social security issues, the role of the employer appears to be an important topic. To
a certain extent all modern legislation has been gradually transferring the employ-
ees’ burden of certain social risks from employees to employes. The employer has
to bear the paid absences of the employees in cases of an employee’s misfortune.
One such misfortune is the temporary absence of the employee because of illness or
injury during medical treatment or medical rehabilitation. In Slovenian legislation,
the economic risks arising from such events are divided between the social security
system and the employer. The employer must allow the employee the absence and
the wage or salary compensation for a certain number of days and the health insur-
ance system bears the burden of the surplus of the wage or salary compensation.
§2. PERMANENT INCAPACITY TO WORK
I. Disabled Persons
280. Permanent incapacity to work is the characteristic of people who are not
employed, who would like to enter an employment relation, or persons who are
employed but have permanently lost their work capacity due to an illness or injury.
The absence of permanent work capacity of both categories may be complete or par-
tial. Social care for this group of persons with regard to providing them with work-
ing activity is very complex. In the case of complete and permanent incapacity to
work, persons are secured with rights with regard to the pension disability system
and other areas of social security. In this case their rights are not exercised as the
employer’s burden; however, in the case of partial permanent incapacity to work,
the employer remains one of the supporters of such persons’ legitimate rights
together with many other social or state subjects. The basis for the legal position of
disabled persons is regulated by the Constitution. According to this basic legal Act,
disabled persons are guaranteed protection and work training in accordance with the
law. Physically or mentally handicapped children and other severely disabled per-
sons have the right to education and training for an active life in society. The edu-
cation and training is financed from public funds (Article 52 of the Constitution,
Rights of Disabled Persons). For the position of permanently disabled persons and

281–283 Part I, Ch. 5, Incapacity to Work
their relations with the employers, the Pension and Disability Insurance Act of
20061 that came in to force on 1 January 2000 is of significant importance. Another
crucial statute is the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with
Disabilities Act of 2005.2
1. Pension and Disability Insurance Act (Zakon o pokojninskem in invalidskem zavarovanju), Official
Gazette RS, No. 109-4646/2006.
2. Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act (Zakon o zaposlitveni
rehabilitaciji in zaposlovanju invalidov), Official Gazette RS, No. 100-4341/2005.
281. The public institutions which carry out compulsory social insurance are the
Health Insurance Institute, the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute, and the
Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia. The first two carry out activities
in their respective fields, whereas the law has appointed the Employment Service to
carry out special assignments. The rights arising from parental protection are imple-
mented by centres of social work. Social assistance services are carried out by the
centres of social work and other public social institutions.
282. Incapacity to work according to the social insurance regulations is referred

to as the consequence of the event of illness (i.e. temporary incapacity for work) or
disability of the insured person (i.e. reduced capacity for work or loss of capacity
for work). The event can happen during the person’s insurance period. In this case,
its consequences are managed in the area of social security regulations. On the other
hand, such an event can happen outside the person’ insurance period and in that case
it can be managed on the basis of the social protection regulations.
283. The Health Care and Health Insurance Act regulates rights in case of ill-
ness, while the Pension and Disability Insurance Act, adopted in 1999, regulates
rights in the case of disability. The same Act governs disability and benefits related
to disability resulting from an illness or non-occupational injury and rights resulting
from occupational injury and occupational illness. Rights deriving from permanent
incapacity to work are governed by the disability insurance regulations. Disability
insurance is the most important characteristic of the protection of the disabled per-
sons, since it covers the majority of disabled population. It serves two purposes: on
the one hand, it prevents the loss of capacity for work (i.e. prevention), and on the
other hand, by using a variety of institutions, it ensures financial safety and secures
the workplace (activity) to those with already changed health status.
The Act defines disability as occupational disability. However, it tries to combine
both occupational and general disability in the definition itself. The assessment of
disability may be based on physical or mental disability due to changes in the health
status of the insured person, connected with the impairment to workplace, provision
of work, securing work, and professional promotion, while at the same time disabil-
ity is not assessed in terms of loss or reduction of the capacity to work only.
Pursuant to the Act, disability may be ascertained if due to changes in health sta-
tus that cannot be reversed by treatment or by medical rehabilitation and have been
assessed in accordance with the Act, and the capacity of an insured person to secure
or keep a job or to be promoted in career has been reduced.

Part I, Ch. 5, Incapacity to Work 284–286
284. The Act defines the following classifications of disability:
– category I may be ascertained on two grounds: the first is a loss of capacity of

the insured person to engage in organized gainful employment, and the second
is the occupational disability with a loss of the remaining capacity for work;
– category II may be ascertained when the insured person’s capacity for work in
the profession he or she was trained for is impaired by 50 per cent or more. The
profession he or she was trained for entails work at the workplace to which an
insured person has been reassigned as well as all jobs that correspond to his or
her physical or mental abilities and in respect to which he or she acquired relevant
qualifications, additional training, and work experience;
– category III may be ascertained if an insured person (occupational rehabilitation
included) has lost the some capacity for work on a full-time basis, but
– is able to perform certain work for at least half of the working time;
– his or her capacity for work in the profession he or she had been trained for is
reduced by less than 50 per cent; or
– is able to continue to work in his or her profession on a full-time basis, but has
lost the capacity for work at the job he or she has been reassigned to.
Rights, obligations, and legal benefits provided for in substantive law are claimed
and, likewise, protected by the procedural provisions. Unless otherwise provided by
the Act, the provisions of the General Administrative Procedure Act are applied
when deciding on compulsory insurance rights.
285. The rights deriving from disability or death due to occupational injury are
claimed at the Institute, provided that the person concerned held the insurance with
the Institute at the time of the injury; when rights arise from an occupational illness
they may be claimed only if the person concerned was insured with the Institute dur-
ing illness, or if his or her last insurance had been with the Institute, but he or she
was not insured during illness.
II. Employment of Disabled Persons
286. The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabili-

ties Act 1 deals with the right to the professional and employment rehabilitation of
disabled persons as well as with some other questions of the employment of the dis-
abled persons. The law also determines other forms, measures, and incentives for
their employment. It regulates the financing of the area as well. Furthermore, the
Act determines different manners of the supervision of the implementation of the
regulations in practice and supervising institutions. The intention of the Act is to
increase the employability of all disabled persons as well as persons with work-
related disabilities and to establish the conditions for their equal position on the
labour market.
1. Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act (Zakon o zaposlitveni
rehabilitaciji in zaposlovanju invalidov), Official Gazette RS, No. 100-4341/2005.

III. Employment Rehabilitation
287. Rehabilitation according to the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment

of Persons with Disabilities Act consists of special services, which are conducted
with the aim of ensuring disabled persons suitable work, to obtain a job or keep a
job, to gain access to promotion, or to change their professional career. Employ-
ment relation, rights, and duties of the disabled persons are regulated by the Voca-
tional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act, by general
statutory regulations concerning employment relations, pension and disability insur-
ance, safety and health at the workplace, employment and insurance against unem-
ployment, and by other regulations.
288. The Slovenian Institute for Rehabilitation (SIR) has an important role
regarding employment rehabilitation, especially in the area of the coordination of
professional development in regard to rehabilitation. Some of its tasks are con-
ducted on the basis of the public mandate as a public service. The activities secur-
ing the rehabilitation and the employment of the disabled persons and persons with
work-related disabilities are performed in different organizations, which have to
have qualified staff, i.e. the employees of these organizations have to be qualified
for their jobs in accordance with the statutory regulations.
289. The right to employment rehabilitation is secured by the Vocational Reha-

bilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act to persons, who have no
such right secured by the statutory provisions of the social security legislation regu-
lating social insurance. These persons may be recognized as having the legal posi-
tion of protected disabled persons if they are unemployed and registered as
unemployed persons at the Employment Service; however, this is not a necessary
condition. A person must not be less than 15 years old and must not exceed the age,
for access to the pension system protection. A person must meet additional special
conditions determined by the statute in order to be considered a disabled person. By
meeting these conditions, the rights of the disabled person to employment rehabili-
tation and to suitable employment according to the law should be secured for
employed persons. The conditions mentioned above are as follows:
– the person has to suffer permanent physical or psychological damage or illness

which causes the difficulties of the person in the job performance and obstacles
in the processes of his or her inclusion in work environment;
– more precise criteria about the conditions are determined by special ordinances,
enacted by the competent state bodies on the above-described statutory grounds.
IV. Securing the Right to Employment Rehabilitation
290. Employment rehabilitation is considered the right of disabled persons to

enjoy special services, such as training, according to the law. These services are
listed in a special rehabilitation plan. A disabled person can enforce the right to

employment rehabilitation on the basis of the Vocational Rehabilitation and

Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act only if he or she is not entitled to such
a right by other statutes. Individual services related to employment rehabilitation
may be secured to a person also on the basis of other regulations. Moreover, accord-
ing to other regulations, they may be secured to a person as supportive services in
the process of professional rehabilitation.
291. The services are normally provided by the executants of such special ser-
vices; however, the employer himself or herself can also provide some of these ser-
vices or only if he or she regulates his or her relations with disabled persons and the
formal executants of services by means of the appropriate contract. When choosing
adequate services for a disabled person the authorities have to take into consider-
ation certain criteria determined by the statute. these criteria are:
– the influence of physical and psychological damage or illness on the individual

person;
– the need of an individual in the area of the employment rehabilitation within the
framework of integral rehabilitation of the individual concerned;
– the possibilities of the employment with the use of modern technologies;
– the characteristics of social and working environment as well as other relevant
factors.
292. Taking into consideration these factors, the following services can be
secured to an individual:
– consultations with disabled persons encouraging them to take an active role in

the search for a job and developing their professional skills;
– formation of an opinion about the characteristics of the disabled person, being
relevant for his or her employment;
– help and efforts to accept the proper personal characteristics of the disabled person
and instruction concerning the possibilities about the process of learning and
entering in the world of labour,
– help in the process of choosing professional development targets for the individual;
– help in the process of developing social skills;
– help in the process of search for a suitable work or job;
– analyses of the specific job and working surroundings of the disabled person;
– elaboration of the plan of changes at the working place and the working environment;
– following up the disabled person’s working performance after getting the job;
– evaluation of the success of the rehabilitation process and the evaluation of the
work success of the individual and other services.
V. Rights and Duties of Disabled Persons
293. With regard to the right to employment rehabilitation, disabled persons

have some special rights and duties. It is their right and duty to follow the process

of employment rehabilitation determined in the rehabilitation plan. They are obliged

to be active in the process of rehabilitation and to collaborate with subjects who
offer them services. Furthermore, they have the right to certain special money allow-
ances or remuneration, as well as some other rights and duties which are connected
to employment rehabilitation. Financial allowances are secured to disabled persons
with the aim of covering some travelling expenses and accommodation expenses
where the rehabilitation process is taking place, if necessary. It is important that dis-
abled persons also have the right to a part of the wage or salary. However, this right
is secured to disabled employees only if they are not entitled to the allowances as
unemployed persons or in the area of disability insurance as disabled persons.
VI. Providing for Employment Rehabilitation
294. Employment rehabilitation is conducted as a public service by a network

of those who carry out employment rehabilitation. These are public institutions as
well as other legal entities and natural persons, who meet the conditions determined
by regulations. If the activities are conducted by private organizations, they have to
gain the permission of the state authority first. Activities related to employment
rehabilitation are financed by state budget resources. A concession may be granted
to an organization after a public competition on the basis of the public tender. The
concession is based on a contract which regulates relevant issues related to the
execution of employment rehabilitation, financing, and other important elements of
mutual relations.
295. The legal position of a disabled person and the right to employment reha-
bilitation may be secured to an individual in a procedure determined by statute. This
procedure could be conducted by competent bodies of the SIR. An applicant who
initiates the procedure, has to enclose to his or her application medical records as
well as other relevant documentation. If the applicant has the position of a disabled
person in accordance with another statutory regulation (i.e. statutory regulation
regulating disability insurance), he or she also has the duty to enclose the order stat-
ing this fact. The competent body examines the status of the disabled person and
decides on his or her right to employment rehabilitation and other rights related to
rehabilitation as well as about the employability of the disabled person.1
Before making its decision, the commission may obtain the information about the
existing level of the working capacity of the individual, his or her knowledge, work-
ing attitudes, and interests. This information is called a previous opinion and is cre-
ated by an executive of employment rehabilitation. After the opinion of the
commission is obtained, a rehabilitation counsellor has the duty to make a rehabili-
tation plan. This document is made in collaboration with a disabled person. It con-
sists of the plan of activities with all its particularities with regard to the execution
of employment rehabilitation.
After employment rehabilitation is completed, the SIR makes the evaluation of
the employability of a person. This evaluation is created on the ground of monthly

reports and the final findings of the executive of the employment rehabilitation. The
role of the evaluation is to state whether a person can be employed in his or her
regular working surroundings, on the basis of supportive or protective employment.
The evaluation must state which jobs the person is capable of performing, as well
as information about what supportive measures or adjustments of the working place
are needed. If all the efforts to meet the requirements of the evaluation do not give
a sufficient result and if the disabled person does not achieve sufficient working
results, the person is considered unemployable.
1. A competent body of the SIR is composed of four expert members. The members are: a doctor,
an expert for disability protection, an expert for employment, and an expert from particular areas
of work which important for the possible employment of an individual person. A person can
request to be supported in the procedure by his or her confident or representative of the special
organisation of persons with disabilities.
296. A criterion for this finding is the person’s work results compared to the
work result of other workers on the same or similar job. According to the statute,
the minimum result in this sense is the ability of a person to reach at least one -
third of the result reached by other regular employees. On the basis of such evalu-
ation of the employability, the SIR starts looking for a job for a disabled person in
regular working environment, in supportive surroundings, in undertakings that
employ disabled persons, and in the area of the execution of programmes of active
employment policies.
VII. Employability and Programmes for Social Inclusion
297. If the SIR establishes that a person is not employable or that a person can
be employed only in a protective or supportive employment, the institute’s compe-
tent body makes a decision about that in writing. This decision may be challenged
by the complaint of the person affected. The decision, which acknowledges the dis-
abled person the right to employment in the supportive or protective system of
employment, can be made not only on the basis of the regulations about employ-
ment rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, but also on the basis of
other regulations dealing with rights of disabled persons. It is important that the per-
son and the employer can always require a new evaluation of the employability of
the person if the need for this is based on the worker’s working results.
The position of disabled persons is strengthened by their inclusion in special pro-
grammes of social inclusion. These programmes are considered social programmes
which have the aim of support and preserving a person’s working capacities. They
are devoted to disabled persons who are not employable. These programmes are
conducted by the subjects, chosen on the basis of public tenders, who make a cor-
responding contract with the competent sate authority. Financial means are secured
in the state budget.

VIII. Legal Position of Persons Entitled to Employment Rehabilitation
298. Disabled persons and persons with work-related disabilities should be

employed in normal working surroundings as much as possible. They can also be
employed in undertakings for disabled persons and in other organizations in the sys-
tem of supportive and protective employment. If the health condition and working
capacity of a person deteriorates during such employment, it may lead to the pro-
cess of securing the disabled person the same rights as those, secured to insured per-
sons in the system of the pension and disability insurance.1 A disabled person who
is entitled to wage or salary compensation on the basis of disability insurance or on
the basis of insurance against unemployment keeps the right to a relative part of
such compensation. The employer may not regularly dismiss a disabled person who
has a legal position of a disabled worker (if disability arose during employment rela-
tion) on the ground of work incapacity if his or her incapacity is caused by disabil-
ity. The employer must offer to such an employee a new employment contract for
an undetermined period of time for the appropriate job taking into consideration the
employee’s level of education and work capacity. If this is not possible, the
employer may dismiss the employee on the ground of redundancy; however, this
decision must be approved by the special commission according to the regulations
of pension and disability insurance.
1. When planning employment with disabled persons, the employers have to take into account the
ILO Code of practice on managing disability in the workplace. Employers are obliged to secure
jobs for the disabled persons and persons with work-related disabilities and necessary measures
to make these jobs accessible to them.
299. The employer can also dismiss the employee if he or she secures the
employment of the disabled person with the other employer on the ground of the
agreement, reached with the other employer if the latter offers to the disabled per-
son an acceptable employment contract. A disabled person who rejects the offer for
the new employment contract, has no right to indemnity as a redundant employee,
or to allowances as an unemployed person. However, if he or she accepts the offer
but the new employer later dismisses him or her regularly, the notice period should
be calculated in such manner that a working period reached with the former
employer and working period reached with the last employer should be taken into
consideration as a basis for the calculation of the amount of the redundancy
payment.
IX. Protective and Supportive Employment
300. Protective employment of disabled persons or persons with work-related

disabilities is considered employment on the job and in the working surroundings
which has been properly adapted to the needs of such persons. It is secured to
persons who are not employable in a regular job. Such protected jobs are secured
by special centres of employment for the disabled persons. However, a person’s
work at home may also be organized as protected employment. A disabled person
concludes a contract of employment for the protected job so that the content of the

contract contains certain special elements, such as clauses on the expert support to
the disabled person and other services and supports to his or her job performance.
A disabled person has the right to a grant in aid according to the law. In order to
execute the activity of employment of disabled persons on the protective jobs,
employment centres are organized. The centres create the programmes for securing
disabled persons permanent and continuous work as well as the rights arising from
their employment relations.
301. Supportive employment is employment on the job in normal working sur-

roundings with expert and technical support to the disabled person and to the
employer as well as to the working environment. A person who works in such a job
may be supported by systematic information, consultation and training, personal
support and assistance, development of personal methods of work, and the evalu-
ation of his or her work efficiency and technical support in the sense of adaptation
of the working place and means of work. The employer and the working environ-
ment of the person can be supported by expert aid by providing the necessary infor-
mation and consultation.
The right of the person to be employed in the supportive employment is stated by
the SIR competent body. The preconditions for granting such a right are the per-
son’s proper competences for job performance and sufficient motivation for the
work on the supportive job. The decision is also based on a special plan of support
to the disabled person and to the employer. The person concludes a contract of
employment with the necessary content, which entails the description of the support
to the disabled person, to the employer, and to the working environment. The con-
tract also determines the right to aid to a disabled person in case of his or her lower
wage or salary, which may be a consequence of his or her lower work efficiency
caused by disability.
X. Undertakings Employing Persons with Disabilities
302. Undertakings employing persons with disabilities may have the form of a
company with some particular elements determined by the statute. The company
can act as an undertaking for the employment of disabled persons and persons with
work-related disabilities after obtaining a legal position of such an undertaking. The
legal position of the company mentioned above may be granted by the competent
minister with the consent of the government. The minister enacts a more detailed
regulation about the procedure in the process of granting the legal position of the
undertakings employing persons with disabilities to a company. These regulations
are a legal ground for surveying the company, its activity, and the use of financial
means granted to it on the basis of tax relieves.
XI. Duty to Employ Disabled Persons
303. Employers who employ at least 20 employees with the exception of dip-
lomatic and consular missions, undertakings employing persons with disabilities,

and employment centres have the duty to employ a certain number of disabled per-
sons or persons with work-related disabilities within the scope of the entire number
of the employees (i.e. a quota). The quota is defined yearly by the government on
the proposal of the Economic and Social Council of Slovenia. The number of dis-
abled persons in the quota may differ between different economic branches. If the
employer has a permanent contract with regard to collaboration with the employ-
ment centre or an undertaking employing persons with disabilities, this collabora-
tion may be to a certain extent considered one of the modes of discharging the duty
to employ disabled persons on a quota basis. Another way to discharge the duty
instead of employing disabled persons or persons with work-related disabilities is
the payment of a certain amount of money to the fund, established to collect the
money for financing the employment of the persons mentioned above. In such cases
the employer has to pay into the fund the contribution of 70 per cent of the mini-
mum wage for every person that he or she should employ according to quota.
XII. Financial Incentives for the Employment of Disabled Persons
304. In addition to the duties imposed on employers with regard to employing

disabled persons and persons with work-related disabilities, the statute also regu-
lates some important incentives to employers to stimulate them in this direction.
These incentives are as follows:
– subventions of wages or salaries to disabled persons. These can be approved

and determined in the employment contract in the amount from 5 per cent to 70
per cent of the minimum wage or salary, taking into account the degree of the
loss of the working capacity of a person;
– compensation for expenses for adapting the working surroundings and jobs;
– payment of the expenses in the supportive employment;
– exemption of payment contributions to pension and disability insurance funds
for the employed disabled persons over the quota;
– remuneration for exceeding the quota;
– annual awards to employers for introducing good practices in the area of the
employment of disabled persons;
– other incentives in the area of employment of disabled persons and maintaining
jobs for them as well as other incentives for the development.

305–306
Chapter 6. Job Security

§1. JOB SECURITY IN GENERAL
I. Job Security as a Value
305. Job security is one of the essential values in the area of economic and
social order of the contemporary societies. It is also an important characteristic of
labour law, and one of the differences between a civil-law contract and an employ-
ment contract. Employment has a great number of functions; however, the most
important function is to ensure for the employee and to his or her family a stable
economic and social position and his or her professional and personal development.
These universal objectives cannot be secured without guarantees of job security. Yet
job security cannot be understood as an absolute right of workers. It must be bal-
anced with the rights of other subjects engaged in the employment relation. The
most important issue from this point of view is the balance between the employer’s
rights and interests and the employee’s rights and interests. It is not only important
to evaluate this subject on the individual level but also on the collective level. Job
security is an important area of interest between the social partners in the processes
of collective bargaining.
II. Stability of Employment through Time
306. Before Slovenia became independent in 1991, the territory of today’s state
was a part of the socialist state of SFRY, which dealt with the principle of job secu-
rity within the frameworks of socialist legal order. As in other socialist states, job
security was proclaimed a fundamental right of the citizens. It was considered a part
of the ideologically constructed constitutional right of the right to work, which had
two main aspects. First, the right of citizens to be employed which was connected
with the corresponding duty of public authorities and employers to employ citizens
according to social plans. Secondly, the right of the employees to keep a job when
once employed inside an individual works unit. This right contradicted employers’
rights and prevented them from exercising their activities efficiently. The need to
introduce market principles in economic life led to the abolition of the right to work.
However, high standards regarding the respect of job security as the value stayed in
the memory of the nation. Legislative changes, which opened the door to the pos-
sibility of dismissing redundant employees, were slow and gradual. On the basis of
the legislation from 1991 to 1993, the possibility of dismissing redundant employ-
ees was very restricted and dismissed redundant employees were granted significant
severance payments after relatively long notice periods. In this period trade unions
were empowered by the statute to negotiate with the employers about the additional
indemnities for the redundant employees. The position of the employer in this pro-
cess was weak; if no agreement was reached the decision on the amount of the
indemnities was taken by the compulsory arbitration, which was established for this
purpose. In reality it was a rarely used possibility and it was abolished with the
changes of the legislation of individual employment relations in 1993.

307–307 Part I, Ch. 6, Job Security
Later the level of job security still remained higher than in other European coun-
tries. The ERA adopted in 2002 proclaimed among its goals support for the rise of
productivity, but it did not significantly reduce the stability of the employment,
observed from the legal point of view. This entailed that the employers could dis-
miss redundant employees but when doing so they had to follow strict procedural
rules which made it difficult for the employer to abuse this right. At present,
employers are trying to facilitate their position by proposing deregulation in the area
of the termination of the employment relation. They mostly refer to the processes of
globalization of the world economy and the need to increase competitiveness, which
dictate the need to reduce production costs and legal frameworks for quick and effi-
cient decision-making processes with regard to human resources management. The
trade unions, however, take the position that there is no proof that the employment
legislation is an obstacle for the employers; therefore, they are against changes
which could reduce job security.
III. Contractual Job Security Clauses
307. Regardless of being relatively strongly protected by statutory law, job

security can also be an accentuated requirement of a contracting party. Therefore,
the question arises whether this requirement can be legally built in to the employ-
ment contract. From the perspective of the employer, who could have a legitimate
interest in determining the duty of the employee, which is based on an employment
contract stipulated for an indefinite period of time, staying in the employment
relation for a certain period of time, it is not legal to stipulate such a clause in the
contract. Such a clause would be considered null and void, because it would be
against the fundamental principle of the employee’s freedom of work. This does not
mean that the parties could not make an agreement imposing certain civil sanctions
on the employee if he or she terminated the employment relation prior to the expi-
ration of the period, stipulated in the contract.
As from the employee’s perspective, the situation would be different. He or she
has a legitimate right to propose to the employer to make an agreement fixing his or
her employment relation for a certain period of time. This may be done in such a
manner that the employer accepts the obligation not to dismiss the employee in this
period as redundant. Even other valid reasons for the dismissal may be legally
excluded because they fully depend on the will of the employer whether to use them
as a ground for dismissal or not. In the private sector, the dismissal is not enacted
by statute as the duty of the employer to act against the employee; therefore, the
employer can abstain from using the possibilities secured by them to him or her. The
fact that they are not protected by imperative statutory regulations, there is no rea-
son to deny the possibility of such a clause. Such clause or similar clauses should
be considered clauses determined on the basis of civil law, which may be used as
secondary basis for the regulation of the employment contract. From this point of
view, all legal considerations about the change or cessation of the clause should be
examined (e.g. clausula rebus sic stantibus). The situation is different with regard
to the stipulation of the employment contract in the public sector, where the statu-
tory provisions about dismissal must be considered as the imperative for both

Part I, Ch. 6, Job Security 308–309
parties to the contract. Management in the public sector has to protect the interests
of the public budget and public service. The acceptance of the exclusion of the rules
on the possibility of the dismissal would therefore be against the public interests,
thus null and void.
IV. The Influence of a Change of Employer on Employment Relations
308. Parties to the employment relation as subjects of the employment relation

are determined and defined at the time of the beginning of the employment relation.
This means at the time of the stipulation of the employment contract, or in the case
of unlawful omission of putting the agreement in a legal form, from the time the
parties to the employment contract implement their agreement in practice. During
the employment relation, the parties normally cannot change. The employee has to
carry out the job personally. He or she cannot legally authorize an other person to
work instead of him or her for the employer. If he or she dies, the employment con-
tract terminates. However, the situation is different in the employer’s case. Statu-
tory law following international regulations protects both employees and employers,
in cases in which the legal form of the employer (i.e. transferor) is changed and the
existing employer ceases to exist as a legal subject. In such a situation, when
changes of the employer arise from legitimate business reasons of the employer,1
statutory law partly protects the employee who has the legitimate interest to keep
the employment contract unchanged, and the legitimate interest of the new
employer (i.e. transferee) to adapt the working conditions stipulated in the employ-
ment contract in such a way that they are sustainable in new economic circum-
stances of the new employer’s position. The transferee has to secure to the employee
the existing working conditions for some time; however, the statute (i.e. the ERA)
also allows him or her to offer the employee a new employment contract with the
changed provisions according to his or her economic abilities.
1. The works units which have to be restructured often change their legal form in order to improve
their flexibility and efficiency. Through these changes they become ‘new’ employers. If this happens
in the procedures after the proclamation of the insolvency this usually leads to deterioration of
the position of the employees, whose position may be weakened (Tičar L., 2006).
309. If due to the legal transfer of the undertaking or a part of the undertaking,
executed on the basis of a law, any other regulation, legal transaction, final court
decision, merger or division, the employer’s legal position is changed, the
contractual and other rights and obligations of the employer (i.e. transferor) are
transferred to the new employer (i.e. transferee). The rights and obligations under
the collective agreement which bound the transferor must be ensured by the trans-
feree to workers for at least one year, unless the collective agreement terminates
prior to the expiration of one year or unless prior to the expiration of one year a
new collective agreement is concluded. If with the transferee the rights under the
employment contract deteriorate for objective reasons and the worker therefore ter-
minates the employment contract, the worker has the same rights as if the
employment contract was terminated by the employer for business reasons regard-
less of the fact that his or her job security was ensured. When stipulating the

period of notice and the right to severance pay, the worker’s period of service with
both employers must be taken into account.
310. The transferor and the transferee are jointly liable for damages related to
the claims of workers which occurred prior to the date of the transfer. If the worker
refuses the transfer and the actual carrying out of work with the transferee, the trans-
feror may terminate the employment relation with him or her on the basis of irregu-
lar dismissal. If the transferor on the basis of a legal transaction provisionally
transfers the undertaking to the transferee, after the termination of the validity
of this legal transaction, the contractual and other rights and obligations arising from
the employment relation of workers are again transferred to the transferor or to the
new transferee.
311. According to the ERA, the transferor and the transferee must at least 30
days prior to the transfer inform the trade unions at the employer about important
data concerning the transfer (e.g. date of transfer, reasons, the implications, and
measures in regard to the employees). The transferor and the transferee must, with
the intention of achieving the agreement, at least 15 days prior to the transfer con-
sult with the trade unions about the legal, economic, and social implications of the
transfer and about the envisaged measures for workers. If there is no trade union at
the employer, the workers concerned by the transfer must be within the deadline
directly informed about the circumstances of the transfer. The consultations about
the operation have to be organized by the employer also with the workers’ elected
representatives according to the statute which regulates the employees’ direct par-
ticipation in governing the companies. The regulation is also based on EU Directive
2001/23/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the
safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, busi-
nesses or parts of undertakings or businesses.
§2. MANNER OF TERMINATING THE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
I. General
312. An employment contract can terminate only in accordance with the statute
which enumerates all the possible cases of the termination. This general principle is
envisaged to strengthen the principle of the job security. Individual regulations of
this subject in the ERA do not allow the use of civil-law regulations which regulate
the termination of contracts in general. The statute determinates the following rea-
sons for the termination of the employment contract:
– the expiration of the period for which the employment contract was concluded;
– death of the worker or the employer – natural person;
– mutual consent;
– regular or irregular dismissal;
– termination of the employment contract on the basis of a court decision; or
– in other cases determined by the statute.

313. The statute which determines additional reasons for the termination of the
employment contract is the CSA, which contains the following supplements to the
general regulation of the issue. According to the statute, the employment relation of
the civil servant may terminate by the force of law (ex lege) in the following cases:
if the official does not pass the professional exam which is the essential condition
for his or her job performance according to the employment contract. In such a case
the employment contract terminates next day after the expiration of the deadline
determined by the employment contract for the fulfilment of this duty. The second
case determined by the statute is related to the penal liability of the officer. An offic-
er’s employment contract terminates if he or she is convicted of a criminal offence,
which is prosecuted ex offıcio and sentenced to the imprisonment exceeding six
months. The employment relation of the civil servant terminates at the latest 15 days
after serving the judgement on the employer on the ground of the employer’s act
ascertaining the fact which causes the termination of the employment contract. The
CSA also envisages the possibility that an other statute regulating the legal position
of the civil servants regulates additional modes of the termination of their employ-
ment contracts. The termination of the employment contract has the effect on the
title and the position of the civil servant, namely they both terminate.
II. Duties of the Employer after the Termination of the Employment

Contract
314. Upon the termination of the employment contract, the employer must, on
the worker’s request, return him or her all his or her documents. On his or her
request he or she must also issue a certificate indicating the type of work he had
been carrying out. In the certificate nothing may be stated by the employer that
would aggravate the worker’ position in attempt to conclude a new employment
contract.
III. Termination of a Fixed-term Employment Contract
315. A fixed-term employment contract ends without notice upon the expiry of
the time for which it was concluded. It ends upon the completion of the agreed work
or upon the cessation of the reason for which the contract was concluded. A fixed-
term employment contract may terminate, even prior to the expiry of the period for
which it was concluded, if so agreed by the contracting parties or on the ground of
other reasons which are the basis for the termination of the employment contract in
accordance with the ERA.
IV. Termination of Employment Contract due to Death of a Worker or

Employer – Natural Person
316. An employment contract terminates upon death of the worker. An employ-

ment contract terminates upon death of the employer who is a natural person, except in

cases in which the decedent’s activity is uninterruptedly continued by his or her

successor.
V. Mutual Consent
317. An employment contract may terminate any time if the parties make such
a decision with a written agreement which expresses the mutual consent of the par-
ties to terminate the employment relation. An agreement which is not concluded in
writing is considered invalid.
VI. Termination of an Employment Contract on the Basis of a Court

Decision
318. In cases in which the court is about to determine that the employer’s ter-
mination of the employment contract is unlawful and that the worker does not wish
to continue the employment relation, the court rules that the employment relation
terminates on the day determined by the court decision. The labour court may make
such a decision upon the worker’s proposal. Together with this decision the court
states the existence of employment relation. The court also recognizes the worker’s
period of service and other rights arising from the employment relation, as well as
the worker’s right to indemnity. The indemnity is limited to 18 monthly wages, cal-
culated by taking into account the average of the last three-month wage. Apart from
the employee’s proposal mentioned above, the court may also make the same deci-
sions without any employee’s request, if, by taking into account the circumstances
and the interest of both contracting parties, decides that the continuation of the
employment relation would no longer be possible or it decides that the employment
contract is invalid.
VII. Termination of an Employment Contract pursuant to the Law
319. In some cases determined by the statute, the statute itself determines the
fact of the termination of the employment contract and states the time of the ter-
mination. The ERA regulates three such cases; however, other statutes can also
regulate additional cases. According to the ERA, the employment contract termi-
nates pursuant to the law itself when the decision about the established disability of
the competent body of the Institute of Pension and Disability Insurance of Slovenia
or the court decision about the subject becomes final and is served on the employee.
The employment contract concluded by an alien or a person without citizenship,
pursuant to the law itself ceases to be valid on the day of the expiry of the work
permit. The employment contract also terminates by the statute itself if the work
unit terminates after the bankruptcy procedure at the day of the registration of the
court decision about the termination of the work unit.

VIII. Exclusion of the Civil-Law Regulations
320. Civil-law regulations which regulate the possibility of the termination of

contracts in general cannot be applied in the area of the termination of the employ-
ment contract because of the employment-law principle of job security. Stipulating
such a clause in the employment contract should therefore be considered contrary
to public order. As an example of such regulations, the regulations about dissolving
conditions can be mentioned. Certain special employment-law legal institutions,
like work on probation, are successfully replacing dissolving conditions. The same
can be said for the application of the regulations about the occurrence of unex-
pected circumstances during the employment relation which were out of control of
the contracting party and are making the execution of the duties from the employ-
ment relation too difficult for the party (i.e. vis maior, force majeure).
§3. THE TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THE

UNILATERAL EXPRESSION OF THE WILL OF ONE OF THE PARTIES
I. The Party’s Will to End the Employment Relation
321. Relations, which have their legal basis in a contract, can regularly end in
accordance with the expressed free will of both parties. This is a general civil-law
principle, which is also explicitly determined in the ERA. The parties to the employ-
ment contract may be under pressure when they accept such a requirement of the
other party. The validity of the expressed will could be therefore examined by the
authorities who are competent to resolve individual labour disputes on the request
of the party affected, namely, arbitration bodies or labour courts. Employment law
does not contain special rules concerning this; thus arbitration bodies or labour
courts make their decisions about the subject discussed considering the civil-law
regulations regulating free will. The contract can also be terminated on the basis of
the unilaterally expressed will of one of the parties. Termination in such cases is
therefore irregularly imposed on the other party. In this situation the employee is
much more exposed to the danger of harmful consequences than the employer. In
accordance with the general principle of the job security, international law as well
as national law strengthen the position of the employee against the unilateral action
of the employer. The basis for the national statutory regulation of the employer’s
expression of will are the provisions of ILO Convention No. 158 concerning Ter-
mination of Employment at the Initiative of the Employer of 1982, which imposes
significant limitations on the employer.1 The main two solutions arising from the
convention provisions are, firstly, the obligation of the employer to found his or her
decision on the valid reason, and secondly, the burden of proof that such reason
really exists is on the employer. The implementation of the first requirement can be
different in various states; however, in Slovenia the statutory provisions (i.e. the
ERA) have supplemented this regulation so that the statute itself more precisely
defines the circumstances which could be considered valid reasons and provides for

additional rules about the conditions which must be fulfilled in order to enable the
employer to dismiss the employee by the unilateral expression of his or her will.
1. The notice of the termination of the employment contract is a mode of the termination of the
obligation, which is regulated by international and national employment law regulations. An
example of an important international act in this area is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union (2000/C 364/01). Article 30 of the Charter about the protection in the event
of unjustified dismissal determines that every worker has the right to protection against unjustified
dismissal, in accordance with Community law and national laws and practices. The regulations
about the termination of the employment contract in employment legislation are far more precise
than the regulation of the termination of the civil contract according to the civil-law legislation.
This is a consequence of the fact that loss of the job means a significant social distress for a
person which is especially dangerous in the era of the raising efforts for more flexibility of the
employment relations regulation.
II. Regular (Ordinary) Termination and Irregular (Extraordinary)

Termination of the Employment Contract
322. Contracting parties may terminate the employment contract with a period
of notice – regular (i.e. ordinary) termination. In the cases stipulated by law,
the contracting parties may terminate the employment contract without period of
notice – irregular (i.e. extraordinary) termination. Each party may only terminate
the employment contract in its entirety. The worker may ordinarily terminate the
employment contract without any explanation; however, the employer may dismiss
an employee only if a valid reason for such a decision exists. The worker or the
employer may also decide to terminate the employment contract irregularly. Again
the precondition for the legality of such a decision is the existence of circumstances
which are consistent with the description of one or more reasons determined by the
statute.1 Regular or irregular termination of the employment contract based on per-
sonal circumstances of the employee which are not a significant or decisive factor
of the employer’s business activity is considered discrimination and as such found
invalid. Regular and irregular termination of the employment contract by the worker
submitted due to a threat or fraud on the side of the employer or due to a mistake
by the worker is invalid. If the employer decides about regular termination of the
employment contract, the burden of proof about the existence of the justified reason
for the termination of the employment contract rests on the employer. When one of
the parties to the employment contract makes a decision about irregular termination
of the employment contract, the burden of proof about the existence of the justified
reason for the termination of the employment contract always rests on the party who
makes such a decision.
1. In addition to the wide statutory regulation of the termination of the employment contract, jurisprudence
also plays an important role, especially decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia.
The views of the Court expressed in the statements of reasons of sentences are important for the
interpretation of the legal provisions. After the adoption of the ERA in 2002 a large number of
juridical reasoning regarding special elements of the termination of the employment contract,
such as the definition of the business reason, the procedure of dismissal, and similar have been
registered (Kogej-Dmitrovič, 2009).

III. A Procedure Prior to Termination by the Employer and the Trade

Union’s Role
323. Prior to the regular termination of the employment contract because of a

fault reason, the employer must give the employee a warning about his or her ful-
filment of obligations and the possibility of termination in the case of repeating the
violation. The employer must do so by a warning in writing.1 Prior to regular ter-
mination because of the reason of incapacity or because of a fault reason and prior
to the irregular termination of the employment contract, the employer must provide
the worker with an opportunity to defend himself or herself. The opportunity to pre-
pare and present his or her defence must be secured to the employee in reasonable
time frames, but not less than three days. He or she must do so unless the circum-
stances exist by reason of which it would not be reasonable to expect the employer
to provide the worker with an opportunity to defend himself or herself in the case
of an extreme employee faults. The same applies if the worker explicitly rejects this
right or if he or she does not respond to the invitation to defence without a justified
reason. The employer must inform the worker about the intended regular termina-
tion because of the business reason in writing. If requested by the worker, the
employer must inform in writing the trade union, whose member is the worker at
the time of the commencement of the procedure, about the intended dismissal. The
trade union may deliver its opinion within eight days. If not, it is deemed that it does
not oppose the termination of the employment contract. The trade union may oppose
the termination of the employment contract if it considers that there are no substan-
tiated reasons or that the procedure was not carried out in accordance with the
employment contract.
1. A warning must be served on the employee within the deadline of 60 days from the finding of
the violation of the duty and within six months from the committing of the violation (ERA 2007).
IV. Legal Effects of the Trade Union Action against the Intended Dismissal
324. If the trade union is opposed to dismissal which could cause the regular
termination of the employee by reason of incapacity or because of a fault reason, or
if it opposes the dismissal which could cause the irregular termination of the
employment contract, and if the worker at the same time requests from the employer
the suspension of the effect of the dismissal, the notice of the employer about dis-
missal is not effective until the expiration of the term secured to the employee to
require arbitration and/or judicial protection. If the worker and the employer reach
the agreement to settle the dispute by arbitration, the suspension of the effect of the
given notice is prolonged until the executable arbitrary award is reached.
325. If, in the court proceedings, the worker enforces the unlawfulness of the
termination of the employment contract and if, at the latest upon filing the com-
plaint, the worker proposes to the court to issue a temporary injunction, the suspen-
sion of the effect of the termination of the employment contract due to the given

notice is prolonged until the decision of the court about the proposal for the issue of
a temporary injunction is reached. In the period of the suspension of the effect of
the termination of the employment contract the employer may, however, prohibit the
worker from carrying out work. In such a case he or she is obliged to ensure to the
employee wage compensation amounting to half of the average worker’s wage
received in the last three months before the termination.
V. Form, Content and Serving the Notice of Termination
326. The notice of termination in the case of the regular or irregular termination
of the employment contract must be in writing. The employer must state the reason
for the dismissal and explain it in writing. He or she is also obliged to call the work-
er’s attention to legal remedies and his or her rights arising from the unemployment
insurance. Even in the case of a written agreement between the employment parties
on the termination of the employment contract, the document must contain infor-
mation about the legal consequences of the termination of the contract regarding
insurance against unemployment. The notice must be served on the employee
according to the regulations which regulate the serving of documents of the labour
and social courts. This procedure is regulated by statute regulating the organization
and the special procedure of these courts as well as by civil procedure legislation.
The notice of the termination of the employment contract of civil servants may be
served according to the statute regulating the general administrative procedure.
VI. Severance Pay
327. The employer who terminates the employment contract for business rea-
sons or by reason of incapacity is obliged to pay the worker severance pay. As the
basis for the calculation of the severance pay, the average monthly wage which was
received by the worker, or which would have been received by the worker if work-
ing, in the last three months before the termination must be taken into consideration.
The worker is entitled to severance pay amounting to:
– 1/5 of the basis for each year of employment with the employer, if the worker
has been employed with the employer for more than one and up to five years;
has been employed with the employer for the period from five to fifteen years;
has been employed with the employer for the period exceeding fifteen years.
The period of employment with the employer also includes the work for the
employer’s legal predecessors. The level of the severance pay may not exceed the
tenfold amount of the basis unless otherwise stipulated by the branch collective
agreement. In proceedings of compulsory composition, the worker and the employer
may agree in writing about the manner of payment, the form, and the reduction of

the severance pay, if due to the payment of the severance pay the existence of a
larger number of jobs with the employer would be jeopardized.
328. Workers whose employment contracts are terminated in bankruptcy pro-

ceedings, in liquidation proceedings executed by the court, or in the case of a con-
firmed compulsory composition, are entitled to severance pay.
VII. Serving the Notice of Termination
329. The notice about regular or irregular termination of the employment con-
tract is a unilateral expression of the will of one party to the employment contract,
communicating the information to the other party that after the defined period of
time he or she no longer considers himself or herself to be bound by the contract.
It must be delivered to the other contracting party in writing. The regular or irregu-
lar termination of the employment contract must be delivered to the worker by the
employer in person, as a rule on the employer’s premises or at the address from
which the worker daily comes to work. The regular or irregular termination of the
employment contract must be delivered to the worker by the employer according to
the rules on civil procedure, unless the worker has no permanent or temporary resi-
dence in the Republic of Slovenia. In such cases, the termination of the employ-
ment contract must be made public on the notice board in the employer’s registered
office. After the expiration of eight days, the service is deemed to be implemented.
Violations of statutory regulations about serving the notice of termination of the
employment contract lead to relative invalidity of the notice and can render the ter-
mination of the employment contract unlawful. The notice has its legal effect from
the time of its delivery to the other contracting party.
VIII. The Regulation of the Notice Period and its Legal Nature
330. A worker and an employer may terminate an employment contract within

a statutorily or contractually determined notice period which is agreed upon by both
contracting parties, taking into account the minimum duration of the period of
notice determined by the statute, unless otherwise determined for smaller employ-
ers by a branch collective agreement, which entails that this type of collective con-
tract can determine shorter notice periods. The right of the party arising from the
regulations about the notice periods is a non-property right in its nature. It is con-
nected with the enforcement of the employee’s freedom to work and with the
employer’s right to manage organizational matters in their work units. In view of
the fact that such a right is a non-property right, the employee is entitled to this in
the situation in which he or she performs the job on the basis of the full-time
contract as well as in case of a part-time job contract. These legitimate grounds are
taken into consideration by the legislature when determining the minimum periods
of notice by the statute. They should also be taken into consideration in the pro-
cesses of collective bargaining. Therefore, collective contracts at different levels can
determine the notice periods depending on the economic situation of employees

and their possibilities to find a new job. These criteria can be of great importance
for the flexible autonomous regulation of the notice period; however, the statute lim-
its itself to reasons for the termination of the employment contract and the length of
the service of the employee. If one contracting party gives notice, this does not pre-
vent the opposite party from doing the same. In such a case the employment con-
tract terminates after the expiration of the shorter notice period. The seniority of the
employee must be calculated from the beginning of the employment relation with
the employer and the commencement of the notice period. Working conditions dur-
ing the notice period cannot be changed unilaterally. The employee is entitled to the
same wage or salary and he or she is due to perform the job as before.
IX. Duration of Notice Periods
331. If the employment contract is terminated by the worker’s decision, the

period of notice is at least one month. The employment contract or the collective
agreement may provide for a longer period of notice, but it may not exceed three
months.
If the employment contract is terminated by the employer’s decision, the notice
period depends on the legitimate reason for the decision and on the duration of ser-
vice with the employer because of reasons determined by the statute. The periods of
notice are:
– 30 days if the worker’s period of service with the employer is less than five
years;
– 45 days if the worker’s period of service with the employer is at least five years;
– 60 days if the worker’s period of service with the employer is at least 15 years;
– 120 days if the worker’s period of service with the employer is at least 25 years.
If the employment contract is terminated by the employer due to fault reasons on

the side of the worker, the minimum period of notice is one month. The period of
service also includes the period of service with the employer’s legal predecessors.
X. Compensation Instead of the Period of Notice and Rights and

Obligations of Parties during the Period of Notice
332. The employer and the worker may agree on compensation instead of the
continuation of their relation and the employee’s work during the period of notice.
The compensation may cover the part or the whole notice period (ERA 2007). The
agreement about this should be in writing. If the employment contract is terminated
by the employer’s decision, the worker is entitled to absence from work during the
period of notice due to searching for a new employment, with the right to wage
compensation, for a minimum of two hours per week.

XI. Notice of Termination by Offering a New Contract
333. The work process and its organization is a dynamic category. The need to
perform particular working tasks is continuously changing. In case of greater
changes the employer faces the need to transfer the employee from one job to
another. The employer cannot do so by a unilateral decision. This is only possible
with the consent of the employee and changing the employment contract. However,
the employee may not always be willing to change the job. In order to fortify the
position of the employee, to whom the employer gives notice for the regular termi-
nation of the employment contract on the basis of redundancy and at the same time
offers him or her a new job which he or she does not prefer, the statute lays down
special regulations. As a general rule, accepting the new contract would entail that
the employee also agrees with the decision of the employer about the termination of
the employment contract. However, the statute acknowledges the possibility that the
employees in this situation may accept the offer of the new contract for fearing to
losing their job and even the rights which redundant persons are entitled to. The
regulation therefore offers to the employee the additional protection, that is, the
right to file a claim against the dismissal even if he or she had previously accepted
the new employment contract. The regulation regarding this in the ERA is as
follows.
In cases in which an employer terminates an employment contract by his or her
decision and is obliged to offer a worker a new employment contract, the provisions
of the statute relating to the ordinary termination of the employment contract must
be applied. The worker must express his or her views about the conclusion of the
new employment contract within 30 days as of the receipt of the written offer. If the
worker accepts the employer’s offer in regard to the appropriate employment for an
indefinite period of time, he or she is not entitled to claim severance pay, but retains
the right to challenge in court that the reasons for termination are not founded. The
appropriate employment is deemed to be the one for which the type and level of
education are requested which are the same as for the performance of work at the
previous post for which the worker’s employment contract was concluded. In the
case of unsuitability of the new employment, the worker is entitled to a proportion-
ate share of severance pay to an amount agreed with the employer.
§4. REASONS FOR DISMISSAL
I. The Legal Nature of Dismissal
334. Dismissal is a unilateral decision of the employer to terminate the

employment contract with the employee. The decision must be made by a formal
procedure and served on the employee. The statute has different approaches to the
regulation of reasons for dismissal in relation to the type of dismissal. On
the one hand, the dismissal which causes ordinary (i.e. regular) termination of the
employment contract must be founded on facts which are consistent with the
abstractly determined causes by the statute. On the other hand, dismissal which

causes the extraordinary (i.e. irregular) termination of the employment contract

must be founded on facts which are consistent with the concretely determined
causes by the ERA. In both cases, the additional conditions determined by the stat-
ute must be fulfilled.
II. Reasons for Regular (i.e. Ordinary) Dismissal
335. Reasons for a regular termination of the employment contract of the

worker by the employer are classified by statute as (a) business reasons, (b) reasons
of incapacity (c) fault reasons, and (d) inability to work under conditions deter-
mined by the employment contract on the ground of regulations about disability and
pension insurance or employment rehabilitation and the employment of disabled
persons. The business reasons can be a legal ground for the termination of the
employment contract in cases of cessation of the employer’s need to carry out cer-
tain activity due to economic, organizational, technological, structural, or for simi-
lar reasons on his or her side. The reason of incapacity entails the basis for the
termination of the employment contract because of non-achievement of expected
worker’s work results, more specifically, if the worker has failed to carry out the
work in due time, professionally, and with due quality. This ground can also be used
in case of the worker’s non-fulfilment of conditions for carrying out work deter-
mined by law due to which the worker fails to fulfil or cannot fulfil the contractual
or other obligations arising from the employment relation. However, the fault rea-
son exists as the basis for the termination of the employment contract if the worker
violates an obligation arising from the employment relation.
III. Reasons for Regular (i.e. Ordinary) Dismissal of Officers and Other
Civil Servants
336. The CSA excludes the application of general provisions about business
reasons for a regular dismissal. In cases of the reduction of public service activities,
in cases of the privatization of public services, and in cases of organizational, struc-
tural, fiscal, and similar reasons, a civil servant may be transferred to a new job
regardless of his or her title or may be dismissed. A direct legal basis for a decision
about the transfer of a civil servant or the dismissal is the amendment of the regu-
lations about the internal organization and systematiatzation of jobs (i.e. reorgani-
zation). The decision of the reorganization may be adopted by a state body or the
government. The plan for the reorganization must be supported by documentation
explaining the goals and causes of the reorganization, analyses of the work tasks and
work procedures, as well as the number and structure of jobs and the number of the
civil servants. The plan must be sent to the representative unions organized in the
body, in order to enable them to form their opinion.
337. The reason for incapacity is also regulated more precisely as in the case of
a general regulation. The special regulation of this issue by the CSA explicitly
excludes the application of general regulations. According to the CSA, a civil

servant is considered not to be capable of performing the job if he or she is not

achieving the expected work results. If he or she was transferred because of orga-
nizational reasons, the procedure for stating the incapacity may not begin in
the period of the first six months after the transfer as well if he or she was not given
the possibility of professional training. An officer may be considered incapable of
his or her job if the body or the organizational unit of the body does not meet the
expected results of its activity or if there are frequent mistakes or if a grave mistake
in the performance of the body or organizational unit of the body occurs.1 How-
ever, his or her responsibility for the results of the works unit is limited, if he or she
succeeds to prove that he or she had been acting throughout as a good expert in
order to prevent the wrongful performance in the works unit.
If the civil servant is found not suitable for his or her job or position, the
employer may give regular notice of the termination of the employment contract
only if there is no possibility for his or her transfer to other appropriate job.2 If the
transfer is realized during the notice period, the decision of dismissal is annulled.
In the state administration and the administrations of local communities two addi-
tional legally defined cases of regular dismissal related to the civil servant’s capa-
bility exist. The CSA therefore regulates the dismissal (with the severance pay) of
a civil servant who no longer fulfils the conditions for the job performance if these
conditions have been changed by the statute and the civil servant has not fulfilled
them in reasonable time limit offered to him or her. Another possibility for dis-
missal arises where the civil servant reaches the full age and full pension period,
which ensures him or her a regular old pension income.
1. It is considered that a civil servant or a works unit does not meet the expected results if he or
she fails to perform the job or activity in the determined deadlines or if the work or activity
performance does not reach required expertise or quality.
2. It may be considered that no transfer is possible if there is no free job which matches with the
competences of the civil servant according to the principal’s estimation or if the civil servant
refuses the offered transfer. The principal is obliged to notify a representative union in the body
of the incapacity.
IV. Additional Limitations on Dismissal by Offering a New Job
338. An employer may dismiss an employee, i.e. terminate the worker’s

employment contract, only if general reasons determined by the statute reach the
necessary level of seriousness and weight that is persuasive enough that the con-
tinuation of the employment relation between the worker and the employer is no
longer possible under the conditions determined by the employment contract. In the
case of terminating the employment contract because of incapacity or business rea-
sons, the employer must examine whether it is possible to reemploy the worker
under changed conditions or to transfer him or her to another post, and/or whether
it is possible to additionally train the worker for the work he or she carries out or to
retrain him or her. If such a possibility exists, the employer must offer the worker
a new contract. If the worker refuses the employer’s offer to conclude a new
employment contract for appropriate work and for an indefinite period of time
at premises which are not too distant from his or her residence,1 and his or her

employment relation terminates, he or she has no right to severance pay or to rights

following from protection against unemployment.
The employer must offer to the employee this kind of job protection only if the
duration of the employment contract which is being terminated, exceeds six months.
Smaller employers are not subject to the obligation mentioned above. If the
employer cannot offer to the employee a new job and respectively a new employ-
ment contract, he or she has to notify the dismissal to the employment service within
the time of the notice period in order to enable the active confrontation with
the unemployment threat to such a person as soon as possible (ERA 2007). The
employer or the employment service may offer a new job to the employee with the
time of the notice period at the new employer. In such a case, the employer who
dismisses the employee may pay him or her a severance pay; however, he or she
may be excused from this duty. The employer will be excused if the new employer
acknowledges the working period of the employee at the first employer as his or her
own; therefore this working period should serve as a basis for the eventual calcu-
lation of the notice period as well as the severance pay at the new employer.
1. The ERA of 2007 brought an additional protection of the position of the employee by regulating
that the working place premises cannot be more distant than a three-hour journey in both directions
by means of public transport.
V. A Special Provision Regulating Employment Protection in State

Administration and the Local Communities
339. State administration and local communities may go through different orga-
nizational changes which may also influence systematization and personnel plans.
As a consequence these changes may cause the personnel surplus in some parts of
the system and lack or deficiency of the personnel in other parts. Organizational
changes may lead to the transfer of tasks in case of the abolition of the body or even
without its abolition. Such organizational changes have consequences for civil ser-
vants’ legal position. According to the CSA, all civil servants may be taken on by
the body assuming the tasks of the abolished body. The employment relation of such
civil servants may therefore not be terminated. They may be assigned to the same
jobs. In case the tasks of the abolished body are not assumed by another body, the
employment of the civil servants may be terminated. The body may be finally abol-
ished only in cases in which the principal manages to finish the proceedings related
to the termination of employment for the reasons of service. If the tasks of a state
body are assumed by a local community administration or vice versa, the employ-
ment may be terminated only to be newly concluded on the following day with the
new employer, without a job announcement or an open competition. Civil servants
may retain equivalent jobs and all rights acquired by the employment contract or by
an act of the employer.
These rules may be reasonably applied also in the case of the transfer of tasks
from a body to an entity of public law and vice versa. The reasons of service,
namely the reasons of reduction in the scope of public tasks, the privatization of
public tasks for organizational, structural, or financial reasons, and other similar
reasons are legitimate grounds for an unfavourable transfer as well as for the

termination of the employment contract of the civil servant. According to the CSA,
such reasons which result in amendments to the internal organization act and the job
systematization may lead to the termination of the employment contract or civil ser-
vants may be transferred to new jobs that do not correspond to their titles for rea-
sons of service.
VI. Time Limits for Dismissal
340. The employer has the right to dismiss the employee by giving notice of
termination in the time limits determined by the statute. His or her right to give
notice to the employee expires after six months from the occurrence of the reason
for the termination. In case of a dismissal because of a fault reason, the additional
time limit must be taken into consideration, namely within 30 days as from the time
the employer learned of the reason. In the case of a fault reason on the side of the
worker, which has all characteristics of a criminal offence, the employer may ter-
minate the employment contract within 60 days from the time the employer learned
of the reason and for the entire period in which the employee is subject to criminal
prosecution. The employee may file a claim against the employer’s decision about
the dismissal and in doing so he or she may be formally supported by the trade
union. The employee’s claim and the union’s letter of support have a special legal
effect, a temporary suspension of the legal effects of the employer’s decision; there-
fore, the notice period does not run and the dismissal cannot be put into effect.
Therefore, the employer may not execute his or her decision during the suspension
of such decision. The period of the suspension of his or her decision is the period
of formal review procedure of the legality of such decision if a formal procedure
has been introduced or during the deadlines that are available to the employee to
start the procedure for nullification of the decision of the employer. Nevertheless,
during this period the employer still has the possibility of keeping the employee
away by an interdiction to carry out his or her job and to appear at the working
place. In the period in which the worker is prohibited to carry out work, he or she
is entitled to wage compensation amounting to half of his or her average wage
received in the last three months prior to the introduction of the termination
procedure.
In case of the fault related reason of the employee, which has the elements of the
criminal offence, the employer may prohibit the employee from performing work
activities all the time of pending criminal procedure. During the time in which the
worker is prohibited from carrying out work, the employee has the right to wage
compensation amounting to half of his or her average wage received in the last three
months prior to the introduction of the procedure (ERA 2007).
VII. Unfounded Reasons for Dismissal
341. The statute decisively states the actual cases and conditions for the dis-
missal and also determines some circumstances that are explicitly determined as
those which are always excluded as possible legal and legitimate reasons

for the dismissal. The facts which may not be deemed as founded reasons for regu-
lar termination of an employment contract are as follows: temporary absence from
work due to the inability for work because of an illness or injury or due to caring
for family members pursuant to regulations on health insurance or absence from
work due to the parental leave pursuant to regulations on parenthood. The next cir-
cumstance which could never be deemed as a justified reason for the termination of
the employment contract is related to the worker’s activity in regard to the protec-
tion of his or her rights from the employment relation. The statute determines that
it may not be harmful for the employee to bring an action or participate in the pro-
ceedings against the employer due to the allegation of having violated the contrac-
tual or other obligations arising from employment before the arbitration, court, or
administrative authorities. In accordance with the principles of free trade union
activities, trade union membership can certainly not be considered a circumstance
which could be a justify ground for the termination of the employment contract. The
same applies to the worker’s participation in trade union activities outside working
time and participation in trade union activities during working time in agreement
with the employer, participation in a strike organized in accordance with the law and
strike rules, a candidacy for the office of a worker’s representative in elected bod-
ies, and the current or past performance of this office.
Naturally, the employee’s personal circumstances such as race, sex, age, disabil-
ity, marital status, family obligations, pregnancy, religious and political conviction,
national or social origin, and other circumstances may not be a justified ground for
the termination of the employment contract.
VIII. The Position of Redundant Employees in Case of the Bankruptcy or

Judicial Liquidation of the Works Unit
342. Bankruptcy is an undesired situation of a legal entity in crises in which the

entity cannot cover its debts with its own resources and there is no will of the credi-
tors to relieve the debtor of its debts. Liquidation of the works unit is the situation
in which the owners of the entity decide that an interest that the entity continues
with its activity no longer exits. In both cases the procedure which ends with the
termination of the entity is usually conducted under the supervision of the court
which appoints a manager with the task of bringing the entity to an end.1
In a bankruptcy or liquidation procedure controlled by the court, the
appointed manager may dismiss employed workers whose work has become redun-
dant with a short 15-day period of notice. It is considered that the introduction of
this procedure by itself justifies more flexible managing of the staff, including the
stronger right of economically week employer to dismiss the employees. The exist-
ence of the valid reason is presumed in these cases. The appointed manager in the
bankruptcy or liquidation procedure must also, prior to terminating the employment
contracts to a larger number of workers, fulfil the obligation to consult with trade
unions about the possible manners of preventing and limiting the number of termi-
nations and the possible measures for preventing and mitigating harmful conse-
quences of the termination of the employment contracts. If in the bankruptcy
procedure the debtor is sold as a legal entity, the workers who were dismissed

in the bankruptcy procedure have the preferential right to conclude the employment
contract with the employer if they fulfil the conditions for carrying out work. The
bankruptcy procedure can be discontinued due to the confirmed compulsory com-
position. In such a case, the workers who were dismissed in the bankruptcy proce-
dure have the preferential right to employment with the employer if they fulfil the
conditions for carrying out work. In the case of the confirmed compulsory compo-
sition, the appointed manager may dismiss the employees with a 30-day period of
notice, respecting the limitations determined in the programme for the dismissal of
the personnel due to financial reorganization. Prior to the dismissal of a larger num-
ber of workers, the appointed manager in the compulsory composition must fulfil
the obligations related to the information and consultation with the trade union and
works council as well.
1. Slovenian legislation implemented the rules of ILO C 173 Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s
Insolvency) Convention, 1992. In case of insolvency of the company employees’ rights are secured
by the ERA and the Forced Settlement, Bankruptcy and Liquidation Act (1993) as well as the
Guaranty and Alimony Fund of the Republic of Slovenia Act (1997). On the basis of the guidelines
of the ILO R180 Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Recommendation, 1992,
the plan for the adoption of the new regulation exists in order to improve the guarantees for the
payments of the employees’ claims.
IX. Employees’ Income Protection
343. Employers and employees have a common interest in finding savings by

means of the reduction of the manpower. With this purpose, the employer may alone
or together with other employers form a fund out of which the claims of redundant
employees are settled if the employer fails to pay his or her debt. The legal system,
however, does not offer a legal basis and organizational support for the establish-
ment of the common fund of employers and employees. Thus, there is a lack of the
suitable institution and fund with more efficient support to entities in the case of
financial and business crises with the aim to secure the employees’ incomes in case
of temporary unemployment. The employees, on the other hand, have limited guar-
antee to collect the payments from bankrupted entity, however, their requests related
to their rights arising from the employment contract are partly ensured by the spe-
cial state insurance fund (Jamstveni sklad).
§5. COLLECTIVE DISMISSALS
I. The Termination of the Employment Contract for a Larger Number of

Workers due to Business Reasons
344. The economic situation of the works units is continuously changing. With
these changes the need for the employees’ work also changes. Works units can find
themselves facing of radical organizational and business strategy changes, which
lead to significant changes of the personnel structure. In such a case, the situation

can lead to massive dismissals which not only influence the position and interests
of the employer and employee but also the interests of the wider society, i.e. the
public interest. As a consequence, the employer who is planning massive dismissals
is obliged to act with the redundant employees in a different manner compared to
his or her activities in a case of dismissal of a single employee or a smaller number
of employees.
An employer who establishes that due to business reasons the work of a larger
group of workers will become redundant within the period of 30 days, must per-
form certain additional activities required by the statute. Such additional activities
must be performed if the number of the redundant workers exceeds the number
determined by the statute. The statute determines that such a group of redundant
workers is at least 10 workers with the employer employing more than 20 and less
than 100 workers, or at least 10 percent of workers with the employer employing at
least 100 workers and less than 300 workers, or at least 30 workers with the
employer employing 300 or more workers. In these cases, the employer is first of
all obliged to prepare a programme to manage the dismissal of a large number of
redundant workers. The employer must also elaborate a programme if he or she
plans to dismiss more than 20 employees on the ground of redundancy. The
employer must as soon as possible inform the trade unions at the employer about
the reasons for the redundancies, about the number and categories of all employed
workers, about the anticipated categories of redundant workers, about the antici-
pated term in which the need for the work of workers will cease, and about the pro-
posed criteria for the determination of redundant workers. With the intention of
working out an agreement, the employer must previously consult with the trade
unions about the proposed criteria for the determination of redundant workers, about
the possible manners of avoiding and limiting the number of terminations, and
about the possible measures for the prevention and mitigation of harmful conse-
quences. The employer must send a copy of the written notification to the Employ-
ment Service. The termination of the employment contracts of a larger number of
employees often has such effects that the dimensions of the problem also affect the
interests of the local community, region, or even country. Therefore, the situation
must also be monitored by governmental bodies and institutions. On this ground,
the ERA regulates that the employer must inform the Employment Service in writ-
ing about the procedure of establishing the redundancies of a larger number of
workers, about the performed consultation, about the reasons for the redundancies,
about the number and categories of all employed workers, about the foreseen cat-
egories of redundant workers, and about the foreseen term in which the need for the
work will cease. A copy of the written notification must be sent to trade unions.
The employer may terminate the employment contracts to redundant workers by
taking into account the dismissal programme for redundant workers, however, not
prior to the expiry of 30 days from the fulfilment of the obligation mentioned above.
The regulation is also based on EU Directive 98/59/EC on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies.

II. A Programme for Managing Dismissals
345. A programme, which is focused towards an efficient and just approach to

resolving the problem of works units concerning redundancy, consists of different
elements. According to the statute the programme must contain the following:
– reasons for the redundancies;

– measures for preventing or limiting to the highest degree possible the termination
of workers’ employment relations. The main duty of the employer in this area
is to examine the possibility to secure the continuation of the employment of
the employees under modified conditions; and
– the list of redundant workers.
It is of a great importance that the programme also contains measures and criteria
for the selection of measures in order to mitigate harmful consequences of the ter-
mination of employment relations, such as the offer for a new job with another
employer, the assurance of monetary aid, the assurance of financial help for starting
an independent activity, and the purchase of insurance period. The dismissal pro-
gramme for redundant workers must be financially assessed.
346. The dismissal of a great number of the employees may also take place in
the public sector. In the public sector a programme for managing a dismissal must
be elaborated according to the CSA provisions as well. In the procedure for stating
the existence of a great number of redundant civil servants every body is consid-
ered an independent unit of the public sector, however, in the process of resolving
the problem of redundancy, personnel needs and demands of all bodies that are a
part of the network of the internal labour market must be taken into consideration.
Officers whose work becomes redundant may be transferred to the job that corre-
sponds to their title and competences if such job is available in the body. Other civil
servants who perform supportive jobs may be transferred to the job if the basic sal-
ary for job performance is assessed at least as high as their previous basic salary
and if only they are competent to perform such job.
If the transfer of the civil servant is not possible, professional training may be
granted to the civil servant providing him or her competences needed for the per-
formance of the free job in the body. The CSA also regulates the situation and con-
ditions for his or her eventual transfer to other jobs with the change of the title. If
none of these possibilities exists, a civil servant may be placed in the internal labour
market as an available worker. If the transfer is not possible within one month a civil
servant may be dismissed as a redundant employee.1 In such cases, he or she is
entitled to the right to priority of employment in later hiring procedure regardless of
the rules of the public competition if the new hiring takes place in the period of two
years from the dismissal. If the possibility for the transfer of the employee in a
remote location exists, a competent authority must offer this possibility to the civil
servant; however, a civil servant may choose whether to accept such offer or to
refuse it and exercise the right to severance pay.
1. During the notice period the possibility for the transfer of the civil servant may be found. In
such a case the dismissal may be cancelled if the civil servant agrees to the transfer.

III. Criteria for Identification of Redundant Workers
347. When stipulating the criteria for determining redundant workers, different
circumstances must be taken into account. Some of them are determined by statute.
Such criteria are as follows: a worker’s professional education and/or qualification
for work, necessary additional skills and capacities, work experience, job perfor-
mance, years of service, health condition, worker’s social condition, the fact that he
or she is a parent of three or more minor children or the sole bread-winner in the
family with minor children.
When drawing up the list of the workers whose work has become redundant,
more individual employees may reach the same result in the process of the evalu-
ation on the basis of the criteria mentioned above; therefore the decision about the
question of who has to be dismissed cannot be reached by the use of criteria men-
tioned above. In such a case, in preservation of job the priority must be given to a
worker who lives in a worse social condition. The employee’s temporary absence
from work due to an illness or injury, due to care for a family member or for
severely disabled person, due to parental leave, or due to pregnancy may not be a
criterion for the selection.
IV. Participation and Role of the National Employment Service
348. The dismissal of a large number of employees can be a heavy burden for
the labour market in the area where a works unit has its location or even for broader
regional or national labour market. In view of this fact, state institutions are
involved to control the unusual or exceptional changes on the labour market, such
as mass dismissals. Their role is determined in the regulations regulating employ-
ment and insurance against unemployment as well as in the ERA. According to the
ERA, the employer is obliged to deal with and to take into account the potential pro-
posals by the national Employment Service regarding the possible measures for pre-
venting or limiting to the highest degree possible the termination of employment
relations of workers and the measures for the mitigation of harmful consequences
due to the termination of employment relations. Upon the request of the Employ-
ment Service, the employer may not terminate the employment contract to workers
prior to the expiration of a 60-day term.
V. Preferential Right to Reemployment
349. Unexpected changes in business opportunities can lead employers to

changes of their activities shortly after mass dismissals. These changes can be in the
new demand for manpower on the labour market including the demand for the same
category of employees that have been recently dismissed. In such a case, the statute
gives to the dismissed employees a special privilege regarded through the consti-
tutional principle of freedom of work. This is the privilege of the reemployment.
According to the statute, workers whose employment contracts have been termi-
nated have the preferential right to new employment with the employer who

employs new workers within one year after he or she massively dismissed redun-
dant staff, if only they fulfil the conditions for carrying out work.
§6. IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
I. Types of Immediate Termination of the Employment Contract
350. Immediate termination of the employment contract is a legal fact caused

by the unilaterally expressed will of a party to the employment contract in accor-
dance with the statute. The statute determines the cases in which the party to the
employment contract has the right to terminate the existing contract with the imme-
diate legal effect. These cases are specifically described by the statute, taking into
account abstract frameworks for the definition of justified or valid reasons for the
termination of the employment contract upon the unilateral decision of the party to
the contract. There are two possible modes of the immediate termination of the
employment contract. On one hand, there is a possibility that an employer imme-
diately dismisses an employee, and on the other hand, there is also an irregular (i.e.
extraordinary) termination of the employment contract, caused by the employee’s
decision notified to the employer. For both situations the statute imposes a strict
condition which must be fulfilled in order for the unilateral decision of the party to
the employment contract to terminate the contract to be legally valid. This condi-
tion entails that in the given circumstances it is not possible to preserve the employ-
ment relation even until the expiration of the notice of termination or until the
expiration of the period for which the employment contract was concluded. The
irregular termination of the employment contract must be delivered by the contract-
ing party in short deadlines. The party may do so within 30 days as from learning
of the reasons which justify the irregular termination of the employment contract
(i.e. a subjective deadline) and no later than six months as from the occurrence of
the reason (i.e. an objective deadline). In the case of a fault reason caused by the
worker or by the employer, which has all characteristics of a criminal offence, the
contracting party may terminate the employment contract within 30 days as from
learning of the reasons which justify the irregular termination of the employment
contract (i.e. a subjective deadline) and regarding the offender, for the entire period
in which he or she may be subject to criminal prosecution.
II. Immediate Dismissal of the Employee, Reasons on the Worker’s Side
351. There are different circumstances which justify the employer’s decision to
dismiss the employee immediately. Some of these circumstances are directly con-
nected to the employee’s job performance, whereas others are related to the fact that
the employer should not bear the negative consequences of employee’s behaviour
outside the job which could endanger the employer’s organizational and business
interests.

On these legitimate grounds the employer may decide on a dismissal which

causes extraordinary termination of the employment contract. The cases envisaged
by the statute are as follows:
– If the worker violates a contractual or any other obligation arising from employment
relation and the violation has all characteristics of a criminal offence. In addition
to such criminal action, the valid reason for the extraordinary termination of the
employment contract can also be some other worker’s grave fault on the job or
in relation to his or her job performance. According to the ERA, such a fault
committed if the worker intentionally or by gross negligence violates a contractual
or any other obligation arising from the employment relation.1
– The group of valid reasons is related to the employee’s absence from the job,
caused by the employee himself or herself, if the absence is caused by the formal
decision of the state authority. With reference to such, the valid reason can be
the fact that the employee is prohibited by a final court judgment to carry out
certain work within the employment relation. The same applies if he or she is
submitted to an educational, safety, or protection measure on the basis of which
he or she cannot carry out the work for longer than six months. A similar reason
is his or her absence from the job due to serving a prison sentence for a period
longer than six months.
– Another group of valid reasons for immediate dismissal are other cases determined
by the statute: if an employee fails to successfully pass the probation period, if
an employee within five working days after the cessation of the suspension of
the employment contract (e.g. unpaid leave) unjustifiably fails to return to work,
if an employee during the period of being absent from work because of an illness
or injury fails to respect the instructions of the competent doctor and/or the competent
medical commission. Finally, an employee who, during a sick leave, carries out
prohibited activities or leaves his or her residence without the approval of the
competent doctor and/or the competent medical commission can also face extraordinary
termination of the employment contract by the immediate dismissal.
1. The statute separately mentions unlawful behaviour of the employee, i.e. the employee’s absence
from work five working days consecutively if the employee also fails to notify the employer
about the reason of his or her absence (ERA 2007). In such a case, the employment contract
terminates the first day of the employee’s absence, if he or she does not appear at the workplace
at the time of the procedure on the decision on the dismissal, until the notice of the irregular
termination of the employment contract is served on him or her.
352. In the cases mentioned above related to the worker’s behaviour (i.e. crimi-
nal offence, great misconduct, or absence on the basis of the order by the state
authority), the employer may upon instituting the proceedings for irregular termi-
nation of the employment contract prohibit the worker from carrying out work in
the course of the duration of the proceedings. During the period of being prohibited
from carrying out the work, the worker is entitled to salary compensation amount-
ing to half of his or her average salary received in the last three months before the
institution of the termination proceedings.

III. The Employee’s Notice Related to the Extraordinary Termination

of the Employment Contract
353. Not only the employer but also the employee has the right to react
promptly against the employer’s severe violations of the employer’s duties. The
employee may do so only if the employer’s unlawful and/or improper behaviour
causes grave damage to the employee’s rights and interests. It is useful to compare
the employee’s position with the employer’s with regard to the extraordinary ter-
mination of the employment contract. We can identify a slightly different legal
approach in regulation of the formal manners, available to the contracting party in
case of severe violations of his or her rights. The main formal difference arises from
the regulation which imposes on the employee certain additional actions which have
to be realized before he or she has the possibility of giving notice on the ground of
the extraordinary termination of the employment contract. A different legal
approach to this question is necessary because the statute provides strict sanctions
against the employer who violates legal provisions regulating employees’ rights
(e.g. criminal offences, civil liability and corporate responsibility, fines because of
the infringements). On the other hand, the statute in principle does not impose such
heavy sanctions on employees. Additional supervision over the correct exercising
of the worker’s right to terminate the employment contract irregularly is therefore
useful. This exigency is secured through the statutory provisions regulating the
employee’s duty to notify the employer and the labour inspector of his or her inten-
tion to terminate the employment contract extraordinarily.1 In case of the employ-
ee’s misuse of the right to this kind of notice, the inspector can intervene in
accordance with his or her competences. The misuse can be expected in practice
because the employees who have an intention of leaving the employer could some-
times attempt to use this option instead of the notice of ordinary termination of the
employment contract also due to payments which are secured to the employee in
case of his or her justified extraordinary termination of the employment contract on
the burden of the employer and the Employment Service of the Republic of
Slovenia.
1. Extraordinary dismissal of the worker without a previous written warning about the employee’s
obligation to fulfil the duty and a written notification to the labour inspector may be considered
partially illegal. Therefore, the dismissal in such a case may not be regarded as extraordinary
termination of the employment contract but a regular dismissal (Higher Labour and Social Court
Decision, Pdp 1194/2005).
354. According to the statutory provisions, the employee by himself or herself

can take formal actions in order to protect his or her rights arising from the employ-
ment relation. On the one hand, he or she may warn the employer about the vio-
lation of his or her rights, and on the other hand, he or she may claim the employer’s
missed activity or fulfilment of his or her duty. The warning and/or the claim must
be in writing and must be sent to the employer as well as the labour inspector. If the
employer does not ensure the necessary action with regard to fulfilling the employ-
ee’s requirements expressed in the warning and/or requirement within eight days
after the communication, the employee may decide on the extraordinary termina-
tion of the employment contract in cases determined by the statute. The statute

describes cases which allow the employee to breach the employment contract with-
out observing the notice period. The statute also defines the level of gravity of the
violation of the employee’s right, observed from the viewpoint of subjective and
objective criteria, which must be proved in order to justify the employee’s decision.
The cases which are determined by the statute as such to allow the employee to ter-
minate the employment relation with the immediate effect are as follows:
– If the employer failed to ensure to the employee work for more than two months
and also failed to pay him or her wage compensation determined by law.
– If the employer did not enable the employee to perform work activities, due to
a decision by the competent inspection on the prohibition of performing a particular
work process or on the prohibition of using means of production for longer than
30 days, and the employer failed to pay him or her wage compensation determined
by law. Another situation, which justifies irregular termination, should be considered
a situation in which the employer paid to the employee a substantially lower
remuneration for work for at least two months.
– The next case mentioned by the statute is also related to the fault of the employer
with regard to securing remuneration to the employee. The statute determines
the situation in which the employer fails to pay the remuneration to the employee
pursuant to terms determined by law and/or stipulated in the contract for at least
three times successively or within the period of six months.
– Bearing in mind that it is an essential right of employees to work in safe working
conditions, the statute, as a valid reason for the extraordinary termination of employment
contract, also determines a situation in which the employer fails to ensure worker’s
occupational health and safety at work and the worker previously requested the
employer to eliminate the immediate and unavoidable danger threatening his or
her life and/or health.
– The next reason is related to disrespect for employees’ human rights and fundamental
freedoms. Situations in which the employer offended the employee or behaved
violently towards him or her or if the employer despite the worker’s warnings
failed to prevent such treatment by other workers could be considered an example.
Similar is the situation in which the employer failed to ensure equal treatment
of workers regardless of sex, and a situation in which the employer failed to
ensure the protection of the employee against mobbing, sexual, or other kind of
harassment.
In case of the immediate termination of the employment contract due to the vio-
lations mentioned above, an employee is entitled to severance pay, envisaged for
cases of regular termination of the employment contract for business reasons, and
to compensation amounting to no less than the amount of the remuneration to which
the employee should be entitled if he or she stayed in the employment relation dur-
ing the notice period envisaged to be secured to the employee in case of the ordi-
nary termination of the employment contract. The employee may give notice on
extraordinary termination of the employment contract within 30 days from the
expiry of the eight-day period after the employee’s warning or claim which is
secured to the employer for the fulfilment of his or her obligations or to refrain from
the violation of the employee’s rights.

§7. SPECIAL PROTECTION FOR EMPLOYEES’ REPRESENTATIVES

AGAINST UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL
355. Certain categories of employees are more vulnerable with regard to job
security than others. They could face particular difficulties with regard to preserv-
ing their jobs. The reason for their vulnerability is their special position in the works
unit or special circumstances related to their personal characteristics. These two cir-
cumstances can lead to their discrimination in the area of job protection. Often the
employees’ representatives may find themselves under pressure because of the fact
that they can easily act counter to the interests of managers in the works unit. Their
role is to negotiate with managers, advocating the interests of the employees, which
are sometimes contrary to the interests of employers and managers. In such cases,
the managers are often inclined to exert pressure on employees’ representatives,
considering them their opponents, in different ways. One of the possible tools for
such behaviour of managers is the misuse of their directive power over the employ-
ees. Due to the fact that they decide on the existence of the employment contracts
of the employees’ representatives, the danger of misusing such power is real.
Employees’ representatives therefore need some additional legal and institutional
protection in the area of the job security protection. Therefore, the ERA provisions
provide that the employer may not terminate the employment contract to employ-
ees’ representatives without special substantive and procedural preconditions being
fulfilled.
Special protection in this sense is secured to the members of a work council and
a single workers’ representative, a member of a supervisory or administrative board
in a company, appointed by the work council, the workers’ representative in the
council of an institution, and an appointed or elected trade union representative.
These employees’ representatives may not be dismissed without the explicit con-
sent of their elective body. The protection against the dismissal must be applied the
entire period of their term of office and another year after its expiry.
§8. SPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST UNJUSTIFIED DISMISSAL OF

OTHER VULNERABLE CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE
I. Older Persons
356. A second group of the employees who enjoy greater protection are those
who have reached the age of 55 or more, i.e. older employees. The employer may
not terminate their employment contract for a business reason without their written
consent until they complete the minimum conditions upon which the right to old-
age pension is secured, unless they are ensured the right to the unemployment ben-
efit until the fulfilment of minimum conditions for old-age pension. This protection,
however, is not secured to the older persons if they are offered another appropriate
job by the employer (ERA 2007) as well as in case of the introduction of the
procedure for the termination of the works unit.

II. Family Protection
357. The employer may not dismiss as a redundant worker a female worker in
sensitive periods of pregnancy and maternity or parenthood. This prohibition is
determined for women during pregnancy and while they are breastfeeding. The
employer may not dismiss parents when they are on parental leave in the form of
full absence from work. If the employer is not aware of the pregnancy of a female
worker at time of the delivery of the notice of dismissal, special protection against
the termination of the employment contract applies if a female worker immediately
after the communication informs the employer about her pregnancy which must be
proven by submitting a medical certificate. The same applies if a female worker, in
case of obstacles which are not due to her fault, informs the employer about her
pregnancy immediately after the cessation of obstacles which prevented her from
informing the employer about the pregnancy. However, the employer may dismiss
the employee protected because of the pregnancy, maternity, or parenthood if the
employer obtained preliminary consent from the labour inspector. Such consent may
be given if there are reasons for the extraordinary termination or due to the intro-
duction of the procedure for the termination of the employer.
III. Protection of Disabled Persons
358. An employer may not terminate an employment contract with a disabled

worker because of an established disability of second or third degree according to
the regulations on pension and disability insurance. A disabled person may be dis-
missed on the ground of a business reason in accordance with the statute which
regulates old-age and disability insurance or the statute which regulates employ-
ment and employment rehabilitation of the disabled persons. The ERA regulations
on the dismissal of redundant employees must also be applied in the areas where
the special regulations mentioned above do not regulate this issue.1
1. Disabled persons in employment relation enjoy special relative legislative protection against the
dismissal, but they still may lose the job as redundant workers (Kalčič 2005, Uršič 1996). The
stability of the job performance of the disabled employee is strengthened by the implementation
of the statutory rules about the right of professional rehabilitation (the Pension and Disability
Insurance Act, 1999). A high degree of the employment of disabled persons is also the consequence
of a special care for disabled persons in society as the duty of employers to employ a proportional
number of disabled persons (i.e. quotas) as well as other measures according to the statute (Uršič,
2004). If the disabled person or persons entitled to a disability pension do not receive on this
basis the amount of money sufficient for survival, they are also entitled to receive a so-called
protective supplement according to the special statute (Protective Supplement Act, 2008).

IV. The Postponing of the Date of the Termination of the Employment

Contract of a Dismissed Employee in case of Illness
359. An employee who is dismissed and whose employment contract would

actually terminate during his or her illness could find himself or herself in a difficult
economic and social position with regard to his or her chances of finding a new job
and secureing continuous employment. The employee can therefore face the prob-
lems of the continuity of his or her inclusion in the national social insurance sys-
tems. These are the reasons why the statute in such cases exceptionally regulates
the postponing of the date of the termination of the employment contract. Accord-
ing to the ERA, the employment relation of a worker who is dismissed because of
a business reason or reason of incapacity and who is, upon the expiry of the period
of notice absent from work due to the temporary incapacity for work because of an
illness or injury, may be terminated after the health capacity for work is
re-established, namely on the day when the employee returns to the workplace or
when he or she should return (ERA 2007). This protection no longer exists after six
months after the expiry of the period of notice. The protection mentioned above
does not apply in the case of introducing the proceedings for the termination of the
employer.
V. Multiple Legal Protection
360. If multiple legal protection against termination is ensured to an individual

worker due to his or her status, the stronger legal protection must be applied.

361–363
Chapter 7. Protection of Certain Categories of Worker,

Protection against Discrimination
in Employment
361. In Europe, employment law started to develop in the 19th century in the
era of industrialization, as the reaction of the state against inhuman treatment of the
employees by employers. The first regulations created by the states were envisaged
to protect employees in the area of safety and health in the workplace, but later the
legislation gradually spread towards the basic protection of many other important
working conditions and also to special categories of employees who needed such
protection. The reason for special protection of these categories of employees was
the attitude of the employers towards the unequal or discriminatory treatment of per-
sons who in their eyes appeared less productive then others, because of their special
personal circumstances. Attempts at discrimination of special categories of the
employees are a consequence of the illegitimate and inhuman handling with labour
force. Such behaviour of the employers was based on the cost-related theory of the
role of the labour force. This theory supports the employers and managers to man-
age the staff of works units only on the basis of the attempts to gain profits in the
short run. Employees were not regarded as human capital that needed to be treated
as an important factor of production with the legitimate rights to participate in pro-
duction and management as well as in the results of a works unit. Such an illegiti-
mate approach must be neutralized by different employment law regulations
including the regulations against unequal treatment of certain categories of the
employees.
§1. PROTECTION OF WOMEN
I. Sexes and the Risk of Potential Discrimination
362. Women as well as men have some particular personal characteristics or

positions in the society which offer them worse or better access or position in the
world of work. The problem is not as severe for men as it is for women; therefore,
legislation has to provide special protection especially for female workers. The fac-
tors which make the special protection of female workers legitimate are evident
physical characteristics of women and their particular role in family. Employment
law does not deal with the problem of positive discrimination, but only with nega-
tive discrimination, bearing in mind cases of their unprivileged position with regard
to access to work and to their rights, duties and responsibilities.
II. The Prohibition on Carrying out Underground Work
363. Female workers have such biological characteristics that on average they
cannot cope with as heavy working conditions as well as men. Taking into account
this biological fact, the statute regulates some essential rules about the protection of

Part I, Ch. 7, Protection of Certain Categories of Workers 364–365
female workers in difficult working surroundings. The limitations imposed by the

ERA about special protection in cases of underground work are not the only limi-
tations of that kind but the ERA regulations should be considered as an example of
the protection of female workers. Female workers enjoy additional protection on the
basis of many special statutes and regulations. According to the ERA, female work-
ers may not carry out underground work in mines. This prohibition may not be
applied for female managers. The prohibition also does not apply where women
must spend a certain period of their practice doing underground work in mines as
part of their professional education. The same applies in cases in which women are
employed in health care and social services and in other cases in which they have
to be sent underground in order to perform non-manual work.
§2. PROTECTION OF WORKERS DUE TO PREGNANCY AND PARENTHOOD
I. Pregnancy or Parenthood as Expected Events
364. Pregnancy and parenthood are personal circumstances which influence a

person’s private life as well as working life. They are considered expected events,
therefore, employers or their managers are obliged to take this fact into account in
their human resource management planning. They also have to take into account
special protection of pregnant women and parents of small children. When these cir-
cumstances occur in practice, the employers or managers must take certain addi-
tional managerial activities in order to secure the run of the working process. They
may even cause additional efforts and costs to employers.
The ERA provides that workers have the right to special protection in employ-
ment relation due to pregnancy and parenthood. In case of a dispute regarding the
exercise of special protection due to these circumstances, the burden of proof is on
the employer. The employer must enable workers to easily reconcile their family
and employment responsibilities. The important view of the protection is the pro-
tection of data related to pregnancy. The statute regulates that for the time of dura-
tion of the employment relation the employer may not request or seek any
information on a female worker’s pregnancy unless the worker concerned allows
this in order to exercise her rights during pregnancy. Another view of protection of
these categories of workers is the prohibition on carrying out particular working
tasks during pregnancy and breastfeeding period. A female worker is protected dur-
ing pregnancy and the entire breast feeding period against carrying out work which
might present a risk to her or her child’s health due to the exposure to risk factors
and working conditions, which are defined in an executive regulation.
365. Should a female worker during pregnancy and throughout the breast
feeding period carry out the work, where she is exposed to risk factors, procedures,
and working conditions, which are defined in more detail in an executive regula-
tion, the employer must take appropriate measures in order to temporarily adjust the
working conditions or the working time if the risk assessment indicates a risk to her
or her child’s health.

366–367 Part I, Ch. 7, Protection of Certain Categories of Workers
Should a female worker carry out the work mentioned above and the temporary
adjustment of the working conditions or the working time does not remove the risk
to the worker’s or her child’s health, the employer must ensure for the worker other
appropriate work and a wage or salary equivalent to her previous position, should
this be more favourable to her. Should the employer not ensure the worker other
appropriate work, he must ensure her wage compensation during her absence from
work due to this reason. The executive regulation, which defines the risk factors and
the working conditions, in more detail is issued by the minister responsible for
labour in agreement with the minister responsible for health.
366. A worker, who takes care of a child under the age of three, may be ordered
to work overtime or at night only upon his or her written consent. A female worker
may not carry out overtime work or night work during pregnancy and another year
after she has given birth and/or throughout the breast-feeding period if the risk
assessment of such work indicates risk to her and her child’s health. One of the
employed parents of a child under seven or a child who is severely ill or of a
severely physically or mentally disabled child living alone with a child and caring
for the child, may be asked to work overtime or at night only upon his or her prior
written consent.1
1. Fathers are considered equal partners to mothers in the process of raising children and building
the household. These are factors which in the future can be relevant for the success or the failure
of a child (Hirschfeldu, 2001). When the fatherhood is in question the ability to spend free time
and care for the children is of great importance. Fathers are willing to contribute more to domestic
activities especially if their female partners are employed. Fathers spend more time with children
today, however, still not as much as mothers do (Rener et al., 2006). A special financial bonus
for a so-called large family is the annual payment which is secured to the families with three or
more children, aged below 18 or 26 (if they are still studying). This right can be exercised by
the parent in case that this parent and a child have the domicile in the Republic of Slovenia. The
right can be exercised also by the adult child if three or more children of the same family are
living without parents (the Parental Protection and Family Benefits Act, 2001).
II. Parental Leave, Wage Compensation, and the Right to Breaks for
Breastfeeding Mothers
367. An employer is obliged to ensure for a worker the right to absence from
work or part-time work because of applying parental leave provided by the law. The
worker is obliged to inform the employer on the beginning and the way of exercis-
ing the rights within 30 days before the exercise of the rights unless otherwise pro-
vided by the statute regulating parental leave. A worker who applies for parental
leave has the right to wage or salary compensation in accordance with the regula-
tions on parental leave. A female worker, who breastfeeds a child and works full
time, has the right to a breastfeeding break during working time, which may take
not less than one hour a day. The right to wage or salary compensation for the dura-
tion of the break is exercised in accordance with the regulations on parental leave.
The regulation is also based on EU Directive 89/381/EEC and following directives
including the tenth Directive 92/85/EEC on the introduction of measures to

encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and
workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding.
§3. PROTECTION OF WORKERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18
368. Employees under the age of 18 are called young employees. They enjoy
special legal protection because of their psychophysical characteristics, on the one
hand, and their legal position, on the other hand. The particularity of their legal posi-
tion is their special legal ability to be able to conclude an employment contract at
the age of 15, which is quite different from the general legal ability to conclude
civil-law contracts.
Having such a possibility in the age of growth, the need to protect them against
harmful influences of heavy conditions of work is evident. Therefore, a worker
under the age of 18 may not be ordered to carry out certain working tasks, which
could harm his or her physical or psychological development. With reference to
such the statute determines the following:
– underground or underwater work;

– work which is objectively beyond his or her physical and psychological capacity;
– work involving harmful exposure to agents which are toxic and carcinogenic
and cause heritable genetic damage, or harm to the unborn child or which in
any other way chronically affect human health;
– work involving harmful exposure to radiation;
– work involving risk of accidents which a young person is not able to recognise
or avoid owing to his or her insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience
or training;
– work involving risk to health from extreme cold, heat, noise or vibrations, and
which is determined in more detail by an executive regulation.
369. A worker under the age of 18 may also not be made to undertake work
involving exposure to risk factors and procedures, and work, which is set forth in
more detail in an executive regulation, if the risk assessment shows that such work
involves risk to the worker’s safety, health, and development. The executive regu-
lation determines the conditions under which a worker under the age of 18 can as
an exception undertake work prohibited in certain cases. With reference to this the
ERA mentions e.g. cases of practical education within the framework of education
programmes, provided that the work is performed under the supervision of a com-
petent worker. The executive regulation is issued by the minister responsible for
labour in agreement with the minister responsible for health.
370. The working time of a worker under the age of 18 may not exceed eight
hours a day and 40 hours a week. A worker under the age of 18, who works at least
four and a half hours per day, has the right to at least a 30-minute break during the
working time.Aworker under the age of 18 has the right to a daily rest of at least 12con-
secutive hours. He or she has the right to a weekly rest of at least 48 consecutive
hours and may not be ordered to work at night between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

of the following day, whereas, in the case of work in cultural, artistic, sporting, and
advertising activities, he or she may not work between midnight and 4 a.m. of the
following day. A worker under the age of 18 may exceptionally be asked to work at
night in case of force majeure, when such work lasts for a definite period of time
and must be carried out immediately and there are not enough adult workers avail-
able to perform the work. Should he or she work at night, the employer must pro-
vide supervision over his or her work by an adult worker, and has to ensure him or
her suitable rest over the following three weeks. A worker under the age of 18 has
the right to annual leave prolonged by seven working days. The regulation is also
based on EU Directive 94/33/EC on the protection of young people at work.
§4. PROTECTION OF DISABLED PERSONS
371. Persons who have limited working capacity or have lost their entire work-
ing capacity (i.e. disabled persons) enjoy special legal protection in the area of the
employment. They are divided into two groups, firstly, disabled persons whose lim-
ited working ability is caused by insufficient physical or psychological develop-
ment, and secondly, disabled persons whose limited working ability is caused by
illness or accidents on the job or outside the job. Both groups of persons are sub-
jects of the special statutory provisions of labour law and social security law. These
provisions provide incentives to employers to employ disabled persons, measures
to mitigate the management of this category of employees in the job, and their spe-
cial protection on the job. Their fundamental right in the area of employment rela-
tions is considered to be their training and retraining, which is secured by the
general statute regulating employment and employment rehabilitation of the dis-
abled persons and in special statutory provisions regulating pension and disability
insurance of the employees. Employment relations legislation (i.e. the ERA) deter-
mines certain essential rights of the disabled employees. An employer must ensure
for a worker, to whom the remaining capacity for work has been ascertained, the
following rights: in the first place – another work corresponding to his or her
remaining capacity for work. If the employee cannot perform his or her job in full-
time employment, he or she must be offered part-time work with regard to his or
her remaining capacity for work. In order to regain the working capability he or she
is entitled to occupational rehabilitation, as well as wage or salary compensation in
accordance with the regulations regulating pension and disability insurance.
§5. PROTECTION OF OLDER WORKERS
372. Older workers are considered a vulnerable category of the employees in

the work place. The biological, physical, and psychological characteristics of
employees are constantly changing. In general a person’s work productivity in later
years of service is lower than in middle years. This fact often leads employers to
discriminatory behaviour against older employees.1 In accordance with the ERA,
older workers who enjoy special protection by the statute are those who are older
than 55 years.2 Special protection of these workers in the area of the termination

of the employment contract as well as their protection in the work place is needed.
An older worker has the right to enter part-time employment relation and/or the
right to begin to work part-time if he or she has partially retired. An older worker
may not be ordered to work overtime or at night without his or her prior written
consent.
1. Employment and legal position of the employed older employees is a special issue in terms of
the advantages of the older working force. In relation to this issue it is important to raise the
question of the existence of incentives which may enhance the employment of the older persons
who are indispensable for transferring knowledge and experience of older person to younger
ones. An important issue is also the state support of the employment of older unemployed persons
and special legal protection of the older employees against heavy physical and psychic pressures
or burdens (Belopavlovič, 2005, Korpič-Horvat, 2007, Končar 2010/3, Kalčič 2007).
2. The age of 55 is the age when men begin to enjoy special protection; however, female employees
are entitled to such protection even earlier in accordance with transitory provisions of the statute,
which keep in force greater protection of women. Nevertheless, they are gradually leading towards
equal legal position of women and men, which will come in force in 2014.
§6. PROTECTION FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYEES
373. Employees’ representatives enjoy special protection against employers’

eventual attempts to influence their activities unlawfully. Such protection is secured
for both types of the employees representative namely union representatives, such
as presidents and members of the union bodies or union confidents, and for employ-
ees’ elected representatives, such as members of works councils. Special protection
is legitimate and necessary bearing in mind the nature of the activities of the
employees’ representatives with regard to representing the interests of employees in
order to secure the best possible working conditions, which requires negotiations
and compromises with employers or management of the works units. In doing so,
employees’ representatives are likely to be exposed to pressures, mobbing, and even
dismissal on discriminatory grounds. Therefore, the legislature regulated their pro-
tection so as to reinforce their legal position. In addition to the general prohibition
of discriminatory behaviour against the employees, the ERA contains special regu-
lations about the procedure in case of the dismissal of this category of the employ-
ees. Moreover, there are some other statutory provisions which are important from
a viewpoint of securing independent employees’ representatives activities. Among
them there is a rule which requires the employer to restrain from activities which
could endanger the implementation of the employees representatives’ role in works
units. The statute regulates that an employer must grant a trade union the conditions
for quick and efficient performance of trade union activities in accordance with the
regulations protecting the rights and interests of workers. An employer is obliged to
grant the trade union such access to information as may be necessary for the exer-
cise of trade union activities. This regulation directly addresses employers or man-
agers with regard to their communications with unions; however, it must be
interpreted in the same manner as their communication with employees’ elected
representatives.

374. In the Slovenian legal order trade unions can organize their associations
and activities inside or outside the employer’s works units. The internal organiza-
tion of unions is a Slovenian tradition. In both cases the statute regulates a basic ini-
tial contact between the union and the employer with the aim of establishing their
mutual rights and duties. With this objective the statute determines that a trade union
which has members within a certain employer may appoint and/or elect a trade
union representative to represent them with the employer. If a trade union represen-
tative has not been appointed, the trade union is represented by its president directly.
A trade union must inform the employer of the appointment and/or election of a
trade union representative. He or she has the right to provide and protect the rights
and interests of trade union members with the employer. A trade union representa-
tive must carry out trade union activity in the time and manner which may not
diminish the efficient operation of the employer. This rule is of a significant impor-
tance, because it clearly determines the duty of unions to take into account the legal
rights of employers with regard to property and the entrepreneurship even when
exerting pressure on them in order to secure better working conditions for employ-
ees. On the other hand, the state has adopted regulations which prevent the hostile
behaviour of employers who would perhaps like to get rid of union representatives
thorough organizational changes following by redundancies. The statute regulates
that in case of a change of an employer, a trade union representative may keep his
or her position if with the employer-transferee the conditions for his or her appoint-
ment are fulfilled in accordance with the collective agreement. If the conditions nec-
essary for the reappointment of a trade union representative are fulfilled, according
to the statute provisions, the trade union representative may no longer keep his or
her status. A trade union representative whose term of office expires due to a trans-
fer enjoys special protection one more year after the termination of office of the rep-
resentative. The number of trade union representatives, who enjoy special legal
protection, can be determined in accordance with the criteria stipulated in the col-
lective contract and/or are agreed between the employer and a trade union. Trade
union representatives enjoy protection against the reduction of their wage or salary
or the introduction of disciplinary or damage proceedings or being treated less
favourably or subdued on the basis of their trade union activities. Upon the request
of the trade union and in compliance with the regulation of the trade union the
worker is a member of, the employer must ensure the technical execution of settle-
ment and payment of a trade union membership fee for the worker concerned.

375–377
Chapter 8. Covenants of Non-competition

375. There are two legal approaches to the prohibition of competition in Slov-
enian employment legislation. Firstly, on the legitimate ground of the loyalty
between the contracting parties, there is the duty of the employee not to exercise
the professional performance outside the employment relation during the time of
employment, if this performance could be harmful to the legitimate production
interests of the employer. In addition, the statute determines that the person and the
employer can also agree on a contractual clause about the extension of this statu-
torily determined interdiction to the period after the termination of the employment
relation (i.e. a competition clause).
More precisely, the statute determines that during the employment relation, the
worker may not for his or her own account or for a third party’s account carry out
work nor perform business activities covered by the activity which is actually car-
ried out by the employer if such work or business activities could be considered a
competition to the employer. Such work or activities could be carried out only with
the employer’s special written consent. The employer may require compensation
for the damage caused due to the worker’s actions violating this duty. The compen-
sation can be required within three months from the day the employer has learnt
about the carrying out of such work or the conclusion of such business. In any case,
the requirement should have no ground after three years of the completion of work
or business concerned.
376. The prohibition of competition is less emphasized in the regulation of

employment relations of the public sector.1 The space for harmful conduct of
the civil servants is narrower than for the employees in the private sector because of
the lesser significance of market competition elements in the public sector. How-
ever, the possibility of such harmful conduct is not absolutely excluded. The nature
of certain professional activities is such that they may not be permitted to civil ser-
vants, as they may be considered indecent for them, which was already mentioned
above.
1. In the public sector there is no ground for a competition prohibition envisaged in the public
interest on the basis of the public authorization (Vodovnik, 2004). The law, however, limits the
additional job performance of civil servants or functionaries on other legal ground. These limitations
can be imposed on them on the basis of the conflict of interests and on the basis of the securing
the impartial performance of the service of the civil servants. The Judicial Service Act (2007)
states that a judge may not execute the attorney or notary activity or business or other lucrative
activity. On the other hand, the freedom of activity of some professions typical for the public
sector activities is emphasized. Consequently, for university teachers and researchers the academic
freedom and the right to mobility is emphasized and even confirmed by international law (the
ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) and the UNESCO
Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (1997).
377. Competition clauses can constrain a person’s opportunities to use his or her
profession for earnings, however, not absolutely. The legitimate grounds for the
restrictions of this prohibition are limited by the precise definition of the possible
extent of the person’s prohibition to exercise his or her profession after the termi-
nation of the employment contract. The limitations of such prohibition are

378–379 Part I, Ch. 8, Covenants of Non-competition
defined by the nature of the employee’s work, with time limitations, with the mode
of the termination of the employment contract, and with the form of the agreement.
The stipulation of the prohibition will therefore have legitimate grounds if in car-
rying out work or in relation to work the worker gains technical, production, or busi-
ness knowledge, or business connections. Only in these cases may the parties
determine in the employment contract the prohibition of competition for a certain
period after the termination of the employment relation. The competition clause has
to be determined with reasonable limitation periods of prohibited professional
activities and can be agreed for a period not longer than two years after the termi-
nation of the employment contract. It is allowed only if the worker’s employment
contract was terminated at his or her own will or because of his or her fault in regard
to the exercise of his or her duties connected to the employment relation. The pro-
hibition may not exclude the possibility of the person’s entire professional activity
but only its necessary part, which is necessary to protect the vital interests of the
employer. If a competition clause is not determined in writing, it is assumed that it
has not been agreed.
378. If respecting a competition clause prevents a worker from gaining earn-

ings comparable to his or her previous wage, an employer must pay him or her
monthly compensation in money during the entire period in which the prohibition
must be respected. The compensation has to be determined in the employment con-
tract. It may amount monthly to at least a third of the average worker’s wage during
the past three months prior to the termination of the employment contract. If com-
pensation in money as a counter balance of the competition clause is not deter-
mined in a written contract, the competition clause is regarded as invalid.
379. An employer and a worker may agree on the termination of the validity of
the competition clause. If the worker terminates the employment contract due to the
employer’s major violation of its provisions, the competition clause ceases to have
effect, if the worker within one month after the day of the termination of the
employment contract notifies in writing his or her former employer that he or she is
not bound by the competition clause.

380–382
Chapter 9. Inventions by Employees

380. The area of employees’ inventions touches upon different areas of employ-
ment relations. In view of the fact that this is not only a legal issue, employees’
inventions are also important issues of human resource management and of indus-
trial relations. The Constitution strongly supports the right of a person to creativity,
which is placed among human rights and fundamental freedoms, and therefore has
the greatest significance. Article 60 of the Constitution provides for the protection
of copyright and other similar rights of persons deriving from artistic, scientific,
research, and invention activities. This basic constitutional provision must be
regarded in relation to other constitutional values which are important for relations
between employers and employees, namely the right to property (Article 67 of the
Constitution), the right to free enterprise (Article 74 of the Constitution), and oth-
ers. In order to determine legal characteristics of inventions and other types of the
employees’ creativity in employment relation, the interaction of all constitutional
values must be taken into account. The result of such approach is special legislation
about the legal nature and the legal position of the employees creating intellectual
or artistic work in employment relation. A great part of this area is regulated by the
Inventions in Employment Relation Act (2007), whereas other elements of human
creativity are regulated by statutory provisions regarding copyright and others. A
great number of rules, being no less important than legislation itself, may be
adopted by the employers themselves by unilateral regulation of incentives for
employees’ creative efforts and even more importantly by bilateral regulation of the
subject in collective agreements.
381. Inventions created by employees may be considered a result of activity or

free creations. The statute divides the inventions that are considered a result of due
activity of a person in two groups: firstly, inventions directly created within the
framework of the execution of the employment contract duties. They may be cre-
ated on the basis of the explicit requirement of the employer or on the basis of the
special contract stipulated between an employer and employee. The other types of
the invention are indirectly created and arise from the employee’s professional
activity, if the creation is to a significant extent a result of the experience gained by
the employee on the job or is supported by the employer’s means and resources
accessible to the employee in the process of its creation. All other inventions which
are created during employment relation are considered free inventions.
382. The employee who has created an invention must notify the employer
about it without any delay. The employer must confirm the notification. He or she
may also request additional information about the invention. In the period of three
months, the employer has the right to declare which rights from invention he or
she is enforcing, whether it is the complete takeover or just partial one. The
employer must keep the invention of the employee a secret if this is in the interest
of the employee. The employee has the same duty until the use of the invention
becomes free. If the employer declares that he or she takes over the invention com-
pletely, all rights related to the invention pass to the employer. If the employer takes

382–382 Part I, Ch. 9, Inventions by Employees
over the invention partially, he or she gains non-exclusive rights over the invention.
In case that the invention has the character of an official invention and the employer
only partially takes it over, the employee has the right to ask the employer to take
over the invention completely or to leave it to employee in free use.1
The employee has the right to use the invention freely if the employer calls off
the use of it, if the employer only partially takes over the invention, or if the
employer does not notify the takeover in deadlines determined by the statute. If the
employer takes over the invention completely he or she has to register it otherwise
the right passes over to the employee. The statute also regulates some other modes
of the use of this right and limitations of the duty to register the invention.
1. Enterprises nowadays place great emphasis on innovation and creativity of the employees supporting
these activities by financial and non-financial incentives. Awards and remunerations on such basis
for these employees’ activities in Slovenian companies vary a lot and may be more or less regulated.
Supporting innovation and creativity of the employees is considered a part of the organizational
culture and is an important element of the human resource management (Zirnstein, Franca, 2009).
The protection of the results of these activities is protected by the prohibition of the competition,
which is not flexible enough because the duties of the employees in this regard are determined
in a rigid manner by the statute for the duration of the employment relation (Vodovnik, 2004).

383–385
Chapter 10. Settlement of Disputes

§1. THE DEFINITION OF A LABOUR DISPUTE
I. Characteristics and Types of Labour Dispute
383. A labour dispute can be defined as a disagreement between the parties to

an employment contract about their interests, rights, duties, or a responsibility aris-
ing from employment relation which cannot be resolved between the parties them-
selves and at least one party insists that the disagreement should be resolved by the
intervention of a state body of other third party. In a wider sense labour disputes are
also disputes between job seekers and employers in their conflicts in relation to
the employment. This general and abstract definition provides the framework for a
wide area of different types of disagreement, which can be distinguished according
to the legal nature of the dispute, the parities involved, the subject of dispute, the
procedure which is suitable for the conflict resolution, and others. With regard to
the nature of the disagreement a division should be made between disputes of inter-
est and disputes of rights. The main characteristic of the first group of disputes, i.e.
the dispute of interest, is the disagreement between different subjects, i.e. address-
ees of labour law, about the special regulation of the employment relations by the
agreements, contracts, or even legal sources. Conflicts of law must be regarded as
disagreements about the existence of the rights, duties, or responsibilities of the par-
ticipants in the employment relation. The procedure for the resolution of these two
types of labour disputes differs significantly.
384. Another important division of labour disputes is the division on individual

and collective labour disputes. The first group of disputes is a group of formal con-
flicts between an individual employer and one or more employees about a certain
working condition. An employer can face this type of dispute also with job seekers,
who did not succeed with their application for a vacancy in a hiring procedure. Col-
lective labour disputes are those, in which the employer or the group of employers
face the disagreement with the groups of the employees.
With regard to the procedural regulations which must be respected in dispute
resolution procedure, the division can be made between disputes which can be
resolved by state bodies who are competent to intervene on the statutory basis and
disputes, which can be resolved in the procedure that are conducted on the basis of
the autonomous regulations adopted by social partners.
II. Enforcement and Protection of Rights, Obligations, and Responsibilities

of Employees
385. The ERA contains provisions which have the function of dispute preven-
tive measures in cases in which employers do not fulfil their obligations to employ-
ees. The statute determines that whenever a worker learns that the employer does
not fulfil his or her obligations arising from employment relation or that he or she

386–386 Part I, Ch. 10, Settlement of Disputes
violates any of his or her rights arising from employment relation, the employee can
make a request in writing addressed to the employer to end the violation and/or ful-
fil his or her obligations. Should the employer not fulfil his or her obligation arising
from the employment relation and/or not abolish the violation within eight working
days upon the receipt of the worker’s written request, and the worker insists upon
his or her request, an individual labour dispute may be initiated on the employee’s
unilateral request before the competent state authority or on his or her request
addressed to the third party with the consent of the employer. Claims arising from
employment relations lapse after five years.
386. Similar provisions can be found in the law regulating employment rela-
tions of civil servants. Decisions on the legal position of the civil servants should
be made in writing.1 The same rule is applied to decisions made with regard to
requests to remedy2 the violations of rights arising from employment relation. Such
decisions must be in writing. Such an act must be composed of the definition of the
content of the decision, the statement of grounds, and must be served with the civil
servant. The provisions of the law governing civil procedure apply, mutatis mutan-
dis, to the serving of these decisions. In the case of disagreement with such deci-
sion, the employee has the right to appeal which is allowed against the decision on
the rights and obligations arising from civil servant’s employment relation, and
against the violations of rights arising from employment relation.3 A civil servant
may file an appeal in deadlines determined by the statute to the appellate commis-
sion.4 When deciding on appeals against administrative acts, an appellate commis-
sion applies the provisions of law governing general administrative procedure. On
the other hand, when deciding on appeals against acts on the rights, obligations, or
the responsibilities of civil servants in pure labour dispute without the authoritative
elements, appellate commissions apply, mutatis mutandis, statutory regulations gov-
erning civil procedure. An appeal may suspend the execution of the decision on the
rights and obligations arising from civil servant’s employment relation, unless oth-
erwise provided by the statute. In cases in which an authoritative decision on the
rights and obligations of the civil servant is taken, an appeal is allowed in confor-
mity with the law governing general administrative procedure, unless otherwise pro-
vided by the statute; judicial review of the final decision is allowed in judicial
review of administrative acts proceedings. Judicial review of the decision made
about the complainant’s claims is allowed at the labour court, if the civil servant
has previously exhausted the right to appeal. The possibility of submitting the dis-
pute to the arbitration body is also allowed under the same condition. A civil ser-
vant or a job applicant may request judicial review by submitting a legal action to
a competent labour court or administrative court5 within deadlines determined by
the statute. These deadlines run from the time the civil servant has been served with
the decision of the appellate commission or the time in which the deadline for issu-
ing the order of the appellate commission expired. If no appeal is allowed, the
period for the submission of the legal action begins with the service of the decision
issued in first instance.
1. Managerial orders and instructions in respect of work falling within the description of the particular
job may not be considered decisions on the rights and duties of the employees. The nature of
these decisions must be regarded as the execution of their rights and duties.

Part I, Ch. 10, Settlement of Disputes 387–387
2. If a civil servant is of the opinion that the employer failed to meet the obligations or has violated
any of his or her rights arising from employment relation, he or she has the right to request that
violations be remedied and that the employer’s obligations are met. The employer must meet
his or her obligations or remedy the violations within 15 days.
3. The legal regulation of the position of the civil servants is often different from the position of
other employees in the area of the protection of the rights arising from the employment relation.
In the private sector there is no special procedure for the resolution of the employee’s claim in
an individual labour dispute; however, in the public sector such a procedure exists (Prek, 2008).
4. The appellate commission is organized with the government, on issues relating to civil servants
in public administration bodies and judiciary bodies; with other state bodies on issues relating
to civil servants in other state bodies, with the representative associations of local communities
on issues relating to civil servants in local community administrations; in case no such commission
is established, appeals may be decided by the governmental commission. The statute determines
the structure of commissions, the level of education as the condition for the membership in the
commission, appointment and dismissal of chairman and members, as well as other procedural
and organizational issues (e.g. deadlines).
5. No appeal is allowed against the decisions of the special competition commission; judicial review
of administrative acts is, however, allowed.
III. Individual Labour Disputes
387. A worker may request judicial protection before a competent labour court
within 30 days from the expiry of the time limit determined for the fulfilment of
obligations and/or abolishment of violation by the employer. A worker may request
a statement of unlawfulness of dismissal, of other modes of termination of the
employment contract, and/or of a written statement on disciplinary responsibility
of the worker within 30 days from the day when the statement was served with
the worker or the day when he or she learnt about the violation of the right, before
the competent labour court. Notwithstanding the time limits, a worker may enforce
pecuniary claims arising from employment directly before the competent labour
court. An applicant for the job who has not been chosen in the hiring procedure
because of unequal and discriminatory conduct of the employer may request judi-
cial protection before the competent labour court within 30 days from the receipt of
the employer’s notification.1 The employee can avoid long lasting court procedures
by requiring a mediation procedure before the labour inspector. The employer also
has the same right if he or she has claims against the employee. If mediation was
proposed by only one party, the labour inspector must first obtain the consent of the
other party to settle the dispute by mediation. The labour inspector may mediate in
the dispute between the worker and the employer with the purpose of settling the
dispute without the forced intervention of the state authority, trying to convince
the parties to accept the solution that is acceptable for both. The initiation of
the mediation procedure does not impede the parties to initiate other procedures
with other state or non-state bodies, which are competent to intervene in individual
labour disputes upon the request of the parties to the employment contract. If such
additional procedure is initiated, the labour inspector may mediate in the dispute
between the worker and the employer until the executable arbitration award is
reached in dispute and/or until the decision of the court of first instance is adopted
in the dispute. The reached agreement on the settlement in dispute between the

worker and the employer may not be contrary to the morals or the existing com-
pulsory regulations.
1. In some cases court sentences in individual labour disputes do not have all the elements of a
proper executable document because they do not contain sufficient information about all details
of the duty that is imposed on the party to the employment contract. The formation of the claim
and the duty of the court to strictly follow the claim of the party are regulated by civil procedure
legislation. The court has an authorization to decide only within the framework of the claim of
the party and the party can enjoy the court protection just in case of the correct and precise
formation of the claim (Pirnat 2009). The legal nature of the employment relation in the private
and public sector opens the question of the extent and dimensions of the claim which is the
framework for forming a court decision. The novelties of the legal regulations of the employment
relation brings to light some doubts about the existing interpretations of the application of the
Labour and Social Courts Act (2004) regarding juridical competence of these courts (Šetinc Tekavec
2007).
IV. Arbitration
388. A collective agreement may regulate the possibility of establishing an arbi-

tration body for the settlement of individual labour disputes. In such cases, the col-
lective agreement determines the composition, the procedure, and other issues
relevant to the work of the arbitration. Should a collective agreement which is bind-
ing on the employer and the worker, provide that individual labour disputes could
be settled by arbitration the worker and the employer may agree on the settlement
of a dispute before the arbitration. This possibility of resolving the dispute is also
given to the parties to employment contract in the public sector. In such a case a
legal action may be submitted in a deadline determined by the statute. The annul-
ment of the arbitration award may be required only in certain exceptional cases of
grave breaches of substantive or procedural regulations, determined by the statute.
Should the arbitration body fail to reach a decision within the time limit determined
in the collective agreement, however, not later than within 60 days, an employee
may within the following 30 days request judicial protection.
§2. THE ROLE OF COURTS
389. Slovenia has a court system which is close to the central European legal
tradition. The core of the court system are the courts which make court decisions in
first instance in civil and penal matters. They act at two levels. Courts of first
instance deal with less complicated and less demanding cases, and courts of second
instance are authorized to make judgments in more demanding cases. The first
group of courts is organized at the local level, and the second group for wider ter-
ritories, i.e. regions. Judicial review of administrative acts proceedings is conducted
by administrative courts. In second instance, final judgements are rendered by higher
courts in civil and penal matters. Administrative court decisions in the first instance
are supervised by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. The Supreme
Court also decides on extraordinary legal remedies which are directed against
final court decisions. Unlike in other countries where the labour court system is

fully or partially joined with regular courts, in Slovenia it is entirely separate from the
general system of regular courts. In addition to this court organization system, a
special body of the judicial power plays an important role in the system of the state
authorities. It is the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, which has, inter
alia, the power to resolve certain disputes between citizens and state bodies in cases of
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, whereas the main function of
the Constitutional Court is to review the constitutionality of laws.
390. Labour and social disputes can be resolved by special labour and social
courts. These courts are organized similarly to regular courts dealing with civil and
penal matters. Thus, at the regional level we can find labour courts of first instance,
whereas the social court is organized together with the largest labour court in first
instance in the country, namely the Labour and Social Court in Ljubljana. In second
instance, court decisions are made by the Higher Labour and Social Court in Ljubl-
jana, which is the court of appeal in labour and social matters. The judgements of
this court are final, whereas its decisions can be challenged by an extraordinary legal
remedy, i.e. revision, under the conditions determined by the statute.
391. Supervision over implementation of the provisions of the ERA, executive

regulations, collective agreements, and general acts of an employer, which regulate
employment relations, is exercised by labour inspection, unless otherwise provided
by the law. In case of violation of the fundamental provisions of the ERA, the labour
inspector has upon the performed supervisory inspection the right and obligation to
issue a decision and order the employer to ensure the implementation of the Act.1
1. According to the legal regulation of the labour inspection, a labour inspector supervises the correct
application and implementation of the statutes, regulations, collective agreements and general
acts of the employer which regulate employment relations, salaries and other remunerations of
the employees, the process of concluding employment contracts with the employees in the country
as well as abroad, strike, and the security of the employees at work (the Labour Inspection Act,
1994). The supervision of the correct application of the law regulating similar areas, i.e. the area
of the social security is performed by the special social inspection and the supervision of the
correct application of the regulation of the legal position of civil servants is also provided by the
special inspectorate.
392. In order to prevent arbitrary conduct and irreparable damage the labour
inspection may suspend the effect of the termination of the employment contract
due to a notice until the expiry of the time limit for initiating arbitration and/or judi-
cial protection procedure, and/or until the executable arbitration award, and/or if the
worker in judicial proceedings requests, not later than by the filing of a complaint,
a temporary injunction until the decision of the court following a proposal that a
temporary injunction be issued.
393. The Slovenian legal system imposes a duty on works councils and trustees
for safety and health at work places to be active in the area of providing of
safety measures. The management is obliged to inform them and to enable
discussions or consultations about all questions which are related to safe and healthy
work. They must be provided with information and be offered consultation and

even co-decision-making powers. The Act determines which data about safety and
health must be presented to employees’ representatives and which questions must
be submitted for compulsory consultation. The duty of the employer to enable
employees’ representatives to take part in the inspection supervision visit is empha-
sized. Communication with employees’ representatives is also an important ele-
ment of the code of ethics of experts, who are active in the area of providing safety
and health at workplace (Bilban, 2005).
394. According to the CSA, supervision over the use and implementation of the
regulations about the legal position of civil servants is imposed on the inspector for
civil servants system. The inspector has the right to inspect all documentation and
data records related to employment of civil servants. He or she performs inspec-
tions ex offıcio. In particular, inspectors supervise the conformity of the acts on the
systematization and general acts with laws and executive regulations; the legality
and regularity of providing central personnel records with the relevant data, and the
keeping of the collection of documents related to personnel records; it is the inspec-
tor’s duty to inspect whether individual acts are issued in a timely and regular mode,
the legality of the employment contracts, whether employment is in accordance with
personnel plans, and that employment is otherwise legally correct, the conduct of
competition procedures, that the acts on appointment to title or to a position are
legal; the conduct of proceedings for the assessment of working and professional
qualities, for promotion and for transfer, the conduct of reorganization proceedings,
the conduct of proceedings for determining the incompetence of civil servants for
the performance of work, the implementation of the programmes of education,
training, and additional qualifications, and other matter. In the conduct of inspec-
tion supervision, the inspector acts independently.1
Inspectors must protect the security of personal and other data that they acquire
during the conduct of supervision. Inspectors draw up minutes on the conducted
supervision and they are obliged to pass the minutes to the principal of the body
and to the minister responsible for administration.
1. The authorization for the performance of supervision must be demonstrated with an official identity
card. The minister responsible for administration makes provisions as to the form of the identity
card and the procedure for issuing thereof.
395. When inspectors find unlawfulness or irregularities in the activities of the

body, they may propose to the principal that disciplinary proceedings be com-
menced against the person who is held responsible. They may also address a claim
to the competent appellate commission, proposing that the unlawful act be annulled.
They may address to the principal of the body and the minister responsible for
administration a proposal that measures necessary for the removal of irregularities
be taken. In cases in which the actions found by inspectors amount to a serious vio-
lation of law, they must propose that the proceedings for stating the responsibility
of the competent officers be instituted. They must consider the applications of civil
servants and representative trade unions of activities and professions, or represen-
tative trade unions in the body, falling within their competence, and notify the
applicants of their findings.

§3. SANCTIONS FOR THE VIOLATION OF DUTIES IN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
I. Criminal Offences
396. Parties to the employment contract are subject to different sanctions if they
violate statutory provisions regulating employment relations. Employees are under
the supervision of the employer who has the right to impose a sanction on the
employee in most such situations. The nature of the employment relation and its ele-
ment of the subordination of the employee allow the employer to act in this area.
The employer’s power over the employees is limited by statutory preventive regu-
lations. An employee does not have the authority and the means to control the indi-
vidual employer, but trade unions do (Kresal-Šoltes, 2010). The most efficient
control over the employer’s correct application of labour law and implementation
of the regulations is secured through the supervision of the competent state bodies,
i.e. the labour inspectorate and labour courts. In case of inadmissible behaviour of
the employer or manager in regard to the violation of the rights of the employees,
the level of the gravity of such inadmissibility can vary significantly. In cases of
very grave inadmissibility of the employer’s action, the employer will be subject to
criminal responsibility for criminal offences, which are listed in the Penal Code.
This responsibility can be accompanied by civil liability and other legal conse-
quences (Šelih, 2009). In cases of less grave inadmissibility of the employer’s
wrongdoing, the employer may be fined for minor offences, which are directly regu-
lated in the statutory regulations of employment relations.
II. Minor Offences
397. If the employer violates the rights of the employee, this violation can be
determined as a minor offence regulated in the employment relations legislation.
The ERA determines that a fine is imposed on the employer in cases in which the
employer or manager directly violates the compulsory regulations of the statute.
Minor offences are classified in three groups according to the gravity of the viola-
tion of the employment-law values. Similar minor offences are also determined by
the CSA. The first group of the gravest offences are those, committed by the
employer or manager, if:
(1) he or she has put a job seeker or a worker in an unequal position;

(2) he or she has engaged a person under the age of 15 in the work with the characteristics
of the employment relation;
(3) he or she has concluded an employment contract with a person who does not
meet the conditions for carrying out the work;
(4) he or she has published a vacancy contrary to legal requirements;
(5) he or she has acted contrary to the ERA when concluding an employment contract;
(6) he or she has not provided protection against sexual harassment in accordance
with the ERA;

(7) he or she has concluded a fixed-term employment contract outside the cases
referred to in the ERA;
(8) he or she has concluded one or more successive fixed-term employment contracts
contrary to the provisions of the ERA;
(9) he or she has not taken into account the consequences referred to in the ERA
provisions in respect to an unlawfully concluded fixed-term employment contract;
(10) he or she has not informed the trade union in writing on the intended ordinary
or extraordinary termination of the employment contract;
(11) he or she has not expressed in writing ordinary or extraordinary termination of
the employment contract in accordance with the ERA or he or she has not
served the worker with the ordinary or extraordinary notice of termination of
the employment contract in accordance with the ERA;
(12) he or she has terminated the employment contract contrary to the provision of
the ERA;
(13) he or she carried out the procedure of giving notice to a large number of workers
contrary to the provisions of the ERA;
(14) he or she has given an extraordinary notice of termination of the employment
contract contrary to the ERA;
(15) he or she has terminated the worker’s employment contract contrary to the
provisions of the ERA;
(16) he or she has not taken into account the minimum wage or salary stipulated by
a special act and/or the collective agreement, which is directly binding on the
employer, when fixing the worker’s wage or salary;
(17) he or she has not ensured the posted workers, who carry out work for a limited
period in the Republic of Slovenia, the statutory rights;
(18) he or she allowed the work of children under the age of 15, apprentices, secondary
school and university students contrary to the ERA.
398. The legislature considered the second group of the minor offences less
grave and dangerous, therefore sanctions are less repressive and the amount of fee
is lower. Such offences are committed by the employer or manager who ordered a
worker, who has been working part time, to work beyond the agreed working time
contrary to the ERA. This lower penalty must be imposed on the employers if they
did not provide safe working conditions with reference to work at home, if they
ordered overtime work contrary to the provision of the ERA, if they distributed
working time contrary to the ERA, if they did not provide special protection of
workers carrying out night work or did not take into account the restrictions of night
work. The same sanctions should be imposed on the employer or manager if he has
not consulted with the trade union prior to the introduction of the night work in
accordance with the statute, if he did not ensure the worker a break during working
time, a rest between two successive working days, and a weekly rest, if he did not
grant the worker the right to annual leave in accordance with the ERA, if he pro-
nounced a disciplinary sanction contrary to the statute, if he did not act in accor-
dance with the statute in a disciplinary procedure, if he did not notify the trade union
of the disciplinary procedure and did not take into account a written opinion of the
trade union in accordance with the statute, if he did not serve a decision on the dis-
ciplinary responsibility on the worker in accordance with the statute, if he did not

ensure a breastfeeding worker a break during working time in accordance with the
statute, and if he did not ensure the rights to special protection of workers under the
age of 18.
399. The third group of minor offences which can be imposed on the employer
or manager is listed in a special article providing even less severe sanctions in case
that they are committed. Minor offences in this group are considered to be commit-
ted if the employer or manager did not deliver a photocopy of the insurance reg-
istration to the worker within 15 days from the beginning of the employment; if he
employs the worker so as the worker carries out the work on the basis of a civil-law
contract contrary to the statute; if he did not provide a written proposal of the con-
tract and the employment contract to the worker in accordance with the statute, if
he did not stipulate the conditions for carrying out work in a certain job in accor-
dance with the statute; if he did not publish a vacancy in accordance with the stat-
ute; if he did not inform the applicant, who has not been chosen, of the fact that he
or she has not been chosen within eight days from the conclusion of the employ-
ment contract; if he provided the worker’s work to the user contrary to the statute;
if he did not inform the labour inspection on the intended organization of home
work prior to the beginning of the work; if he did not pay a severance pay to the
worker, whose employment contract has been terminated, in accordance with the
provision of the statute; if he did not pay a wage or salary to the worker in accor-
dance with the provisions of the statute; if he did not pay wage compensation in
accordance with the provision of the statute; if he did not pay a wage or salary to
the trainee in accordance with the provision of the statute; if he ordered a female
worker to carry out work contrary to the Act and a special regulation issued on the
basis of the statute; if he ordered a worker under the age of 18 to carry out work
contrary to the statute and a special regulation issued on the basis of the statute; if
he ordered an older worker to work overtime or at night without his or her consent;
if he did not, upon the request of the worker, deliver to the worker an employment
booklet during employment; or if he did not return the employment booklet to the
worker upon the termination of the employment.
400. A fine must be imposed the employers which are legal entities, as well as
employers who are natural persons, who committed a minor offence, whereas the
amount of the fine is different for employers who are natural persons. A fine is also
determined for the responsible person of the employer, legal entity, and for the
responsible person in the state body, state organization, or local community, who
has committed the offence.


401–402
Part II. Collective Labour Relations
Chapter 1. Trade Union Freedom

I. Constitutional and International Regulation of Trade Union Freedom
401. Trade union freedom is one of the fundaments of Slovenian collective

labour relations. It is based on the constitutional principle of democracy (Article 1
of the Constitution), which includes political democracy and so-called industrial
democracy. In the general sense, industrial democracy entails the possibility that
employees can influence decision-making processes in works units and in other
areas of economic and social life. Trade union freedom is more precisely regulated
in Article 76 of the Constitution. The constitutional provisions guarantee the
employees the right to join trade unions freely as well as the right of the trade
unions’ members to organize the unions’ structure and their bodies. These general
provisions must be interpreted strictly in accordance with international law, espe-
cially the ILO conventions, and with the official views of the ILO bodies, which are
competent to interpret the conventions. The relation between the constitutional pro-
visions and international law emphasizes some basic foundations of the Slovenian
industrial relations, namely the positive and negative aspects of the trade union free-
dom, free collective bargaining at different levels, the explicit protection of the
employees’ representatives, and the systematic approach to the prevention and
resolution of the industrial conflicts.
II. Freedom of Association
402. A person’s freedom can be defined, on the one hand, from a general point
of view and, on the other hand, from a legal point of view. Freedom in general can
be defined as a state in which a person can choose, can freely decide, or as a state
in which people are subordinate only to laws and not to unlimited, arbitrary power.
From the legal point of view a conception is established that individuals are legally
free if they are not limited by legal prohibitions, legal requirements, and the rights
of others and inasmuch as they did not correctly legally bind themselves (Pavčnik,
1997, p. 48). Also trade union freedom can be understood from this point of view.
Trade union freedom is a legal category which is regulated by the Constitution of
the Republic of Slovenia in Articles 1 and 76. It contains the following:

403–404 Part II, Ch. 1, Trade Union Freedom
– the right of individuals to freely join trade unions and to participate in the formation
of trade unions; it is also not allowed to force individuals to join trade unions of
impede them if they wish to join (i.e. a positive and negative aspect of trade
union freedom);1 and
– the right of trade unions to operate freely (i.e. an organizational and action aspect).
This concerns internal trade union organization, joining national associations and
international workers’ organizations, adopting instruments of incorporation and
rules, forming trade union bodies, and drafting work programmes. The action
aspect of trade union freedom is manifested in free collective bargaining and
free deciding on the use of the means of pressure in order to reach trade union
goals, including strike and lock-out.
1. Legal regulation ensures the protection of the employees against possible pressures of trade unions,
on the one hand, and the right of the employers to join trade unions, on the other hand. Also the
case-law of the European Court of Human Rights importantly contributed to the perception that
it is not admissible to pressure employees to join trade unions. In the Case of Rasmussen v.
Denmark the Court decided that it was inadmissible that the employer offered an employment
to the applicant under the condition that he joined the trade union which he decided to leave
beforehand. The respondent stated violated Article 11 of the European Convention on Human
Rights as it failed to legally prevent such conduct of the employer (Case of Sørensen and Rasmussen
v. Denmark, European Court of Human Rights, Applications Nos. 52562/99 and 52620/99, Strasbourg,
11 January 2006).
403. The category of trade union freedom thus comprises different elements. It
is an individual right which has a legal nature of a fundamental freedom, on the one
hand, and a collective right of trade union members to freely carry out the allowed
activities through their trade union organization in order to exercise and protect eco-
nomic and social interests of their members, on the other hand. The fact that this
legal category is included among the constitutional provisions on economic and
social relations and not among fundamental human rights is not essential for the rec-
ognition of the legal nature of this constitutional category, as it is also defined by
instruments of international law. International and national legal regulations recog-
nize trade union freedom a as having multilayered significance. Its placement
among economic and social rights in the Constitution only emphasizes the role of
trade union freedom in the field of relations between social partners and within the
framework of the social dialogue. 1
1. On the category of trade union freedom in the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, cf.,
Šturm, Editor, 2002, p. 748.
404. Also employers have the right to association in order to exercise their inter-
ests. Their right is ensured within the framework of the general constitutional free-
dom to association. This is in compliance with the principles of international
collective labour law, as not only the conventions of the International Labour Orga-
nization, but also the amended European Social Charter,1 the European Convention
on Human Rights,2 and other instruments mention the employers’ right to freely
establish their associations (i.e. organizations) and their right to join such.3
1. European Social Charter (revised), Official Gazette RS, No. 7/1999.

Part II, Ch. 1, Trade Union Freedom 405–407
2. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Official
Gazette RS, MP, No. 33/1994.
3. The representatives of the employers’ associations in Slovenia are:
– The Association of Employers of Slovenia;
– The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia;
– The Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia;
– The Association of Employers of Craft and Entrepreneurs of Slovenia.
405. The right to association and trade union freedom may be limited because
of the protection of the public interest. The public interest is in its substance bound
to the state and law as an instrument of social regulation, as the legal regulation by
its normative instruments determines which of the many possible interests is the
public interest (Trpin, 2005, pp. 357–358). Within the framework of the protection
of the public interest it is necessary to ensure the performance of the tasks within
the scope of different activities which must be performed because of the protection
of citizens and the state itself in order to ensure and protect normal life and which
are from this point of view defined as activities of special importance.
406. When discussing a legal nature of trade union freedom, which is a funda-
mental freedom based on Articles 42 and 76 of the Constitution, also Article 15 of
the Constitution must be taken into consideration in accordance with which the
manner in which human rights and fundamental freedoms are exercised may be
regulated by law whenever the Constitution so provides or where this is necessary
due to the particular nature of an individual right. Such regulation is only possible
by law. In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 15 of the Constitution
human rights and fundamental freedoms may be limited only by the rights of others
and in order to protect public interest in cases in which the protection of the public
interest also entails the protection of the rights of others. The Constitutional also
determines (the first paragraph of Article 16) that human rights and fundamental
freedoms may exceptionally be temporarily suspended or restricted during a war
and state of emergency. Human rights and fundamental freedoms may be sus-
pended or restricted only for the duration of the war or state of emergency, but only
to the extent required by such circumstances and inasmuch as the measures adopted
do not create inequality based on discrimination.
407. Direct limitations on trade union freedom, except for the regulation of
strike, cannot be found in the statutory regulation. With the implementation of the
Trade Union Representativeness Act, which determines that depositing trade unions
rules is a condition for the recognition of a legal personality of trade unions, the
question arose whether determining such conditions entails a limitation of trade
union freedom; however, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia
decided that this statutory regulation does not entail such a limitation. It further-
more decides that determining quantitative and qualitative criteria for the recogni-
tion of the representativeness of trade unions also does not entail a limitation of
trade union freedom.1

1. Constitutional Court Decision No. U-I-57/95, Official Gazette RS, No. 13/98 and OdlUS VII,
21. None of these conditions for the recognition of the representativeness of trade unions interferes
with the right of every person to establish a trade union, to adopt its rules together with others,
and to elect its representatives; it also does not prevent trade unions from being established.
408. The constitutional guarantee of the freedom of association applies to dif-

ferent categories of the active population. These are mostly employees who are
dependent on the employers in the private or public sectors. In addition to employ-
ees in the private sector, the freedom of association is also acknowledged to civil
servants employed in the public sector, namely in state administration and local
community administration, as well as to the employees employed in social services.
This freedom is also guaranteed to atypical employees as well as to independent and
associate workers if they need to protect their legitimate economic and social inter-
ests in confrontations with employers. The problem of the recognition of the right
to organize and exert pressure on the employers may arise with regard to the special
group of the employees, namely those who hold a certain public office. In Slov-
enian legal system there are no restrictions in this regard and the employees’ right
to organize is widely recognized to everyone who performs a professional activity.
However, certain activities, especially the right to strike, may be restricted by law.
409. The right to organize freely is also widely acknowledged to employers who
have the same legitimate right to protect their economic and social interests in con-
frontations with the employees. The employers’ union freedom is based on the gen-
eral principle of the equal legal position of the negotiating parties (Article 14 of the
Constitution); however, Slovenian legislation does not contain a precise and detailed
statutory regulation owing to a relatively stronger economic position of the employ-
ers in comparison to the position of the employees.
III. Trade Unions – Definition and their Legal Position
410. The legal bases for the recognition of unions as legitimate employees’
organizations are ratified ILO conventions about the employees’ right to organize;
however, there is no legal definition of the employees’ union as a special organi-
zation of employees in Slovenia. The characteristics of the employees’ unions and
their associations are therefore based on the ILO conventions and definitions in
theory. In addition to this general approach, there is also a more precise definition
of a special type of union, namely representative employees’ unions. The definition
of this type of union is contained in the Trade Union Representativeness Act of 1993
(TURA).
411. The statute recognizes for representative unions and their associations a
more important and stronger position and therefore they more legitimately repre-
sent employees and are entitled to enjoy more decisive state support. This is the rea-
son why this kind of union may acquire special additional rights provided for by the
statute. The main characteristics of these unions, which may be organized at differ-
ent levels, is their organizational and financial independence, provided that they

reach the minimum size determined by the statute in regard to the number of the
employees of a certain category.
412. In view of the fact that the Constitution1 does not contain a definition of
the trade union and the fact that there exist different definitions in the legislation2
and different emphasis on main defining elements of the trade union in theory the
definition of a trade union within the framework of the constitutional judiciary is
important. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia has defined a trade
union as every organization or association of workers whose aim is to improve and
protect workers’ interests, regardless of its name. Such interests are by their nature
economic and social.3
1. Within the framework of the socialist Constitution of 1974 and its amendments in 1989, the
Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia defined a trade union as ‘an independent workers’ organization
which the workers freely establish and freely join in order to protect and improve their social
and economic position, their rights on the basis of work and arising from work and employment
relation’. In accordance with this constitutional regulation, trade union operations cannot be limited
by law or any other legal act.
2. Certain other legislation contains a definition of the trade union. The legislation of Great Britain,
for instance, defines a trade union as an organization which is not under the domination or control
of an employer or group of employers or of one or more employers’ associations, and is not
liable to interference by an employer or any such group or association arising out of the provision
of financial or material support or by any other means whatsoever tending towards such control.
Trade unions which fulfil the conditions determined in this definition, may apply to the competent
state authority for a certificate that they are independent (Pitt, 2008, p. 529).
3. Constitutional Court Decision No. U-I-161/92, dated 30 June 1994, Official Gazette RS, No.
67/1994.
413. Trade unions adopt their internal rules. Numerous rules of trade unions or
their associations determine objectives and the manner of their organization and
operation. Rules of trade union confederations or associations, which are joined by
trade unions organized mostly in the public sector (e.g. the Confederation of Trade
Unions of the Public Sector) or mostly in the private sector (e.g. the Slovenian Asso-
ciation of Free Trade Unions, the Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia Per-
gam, the Confederation of Trade Unions ‘90 of Slovenia) regulate objectives of the
confederations, their bodies, membership, financing, etc. Determining such rules is
in the nature of the matter a self-limitation of the membership; however, this cannot
be considered a limitation of trade union freedom. Such rules of limitation can for
example be found in trade union rules especially with reference to strike.
414. Although trade unions as organizations are not comprehensively defined

by legal acts, in legal literature authors nevertheless emphasize their fundamental
elements. Prof. Daübler,1 for example, defines a trade union as a permanent, freely
formed democratically regulated association which is independent from its oppo-
nents and the state as well as other organizations, and is prepared to also use means
of pressure if necessary in order to implement the adopted goals of the protection
and development of employment or economic conditions (Novak, 1992, p. 25).
Trade unions can be distinguished from other interest associations as they are orga-
nized associations of employees which permanently and with sufficient power and

pressure in relation to the employers’ sphere or the state fight for the implementa-
tion of economic and social objectives of employees. From the economic point of
view two elements are especially important with reference to trade unions, namely
the intensity of their negotiations and their willingness to make compromises
(Vodovnik, 2001, p. 49). Salamon defines trade unions as any employees’ organi-
zation which tries to organize and represent workers interests in their workplace and
tries to arrange employment relations through a direct process of collective bargain-
ing with management (Salamon, 1998, p. 628). On the basis of this definition
Salamon defined the following fundamental tasks of trade unions:
– strengthening the power of the employees in works units;

– enabling that employees’ interests in legal proceedings to be formulated and
communicated;
– ensuring different types of aid and services to their members;
– ensuring their members education and other benefits whose purpose is self-
actualization of individuals.
Due to this role of trade union individuals become members of trade unions.
Their becoming members is also influenced by certain special reasons, most of all
the following:
– strengthening the security of their employment;

– safe and pleasant working environment;
– strengthening the possibilities for their promotion;
– strengthening their good reputation because of their work and consequently
strengthening their good self-esteem;
– strengthening employees’ dignity by ensuring recognition for their work, respecting
their personality, and ensuring the opportunities to express their opinions;
– strengthening loyalty to colleagues and to the employer;
– ensuring a fair payment and other working conditions (Kavčič, 1991, p. 245).
1. Cf., Däubler, W., 1990, Das Arbeitsrecht I, Rowohlt, Hamburg.
415. From the sociological point of view, an important defining characteristic

of trade unions is that trade unions are most of all voluntary and democratic orga-
nizations that are established to represent interests of the employees in negotiations
with the employers (Moore, 1994, p. 28). Among sociological definitions of trade
unions there is also a definition that trade unions are permanent associations which
are defined most of all by their focus on specific goals of the protection and
improvement of economic, social, as well as political position of the employees
(Stanojević, 1996, p. 10).
416. International law and the constitutional order determine the foundations for
a legal position of trade unions. Other legal acts may only exceptionally determine
limitations of freedom of trade union organization and trade union operations; as a
general rule, however, such acts determine different rights and benefits of trade
unions, and therefore their main purpose is to support trade unions.

A. Legislation
417. For the operation of trade unions it is important that they become legal
entities in order to more efficiently participate in legal transactions. Acquiring a
nature of the legal entity is regulated by the Trade Union Representativeness Act
(Official Gazette RS, No. 13/1993), which determines that a trade union becomes a
legal entity on the day a decision of the administrative body on depositing the rules
or other basic act of the trade union is issued. The rules of trade unions which
are organized at municipal level or broader local community level, and trade unions
organized in companies, institutions and other organizations, as well as trade unions
organized at employers and in state bodies, municipal bodies or broader local com-
munity bodies are deposited with the administrative bodies that are competent in
first instance for labour issues.
The rules of trade unions organized at the national level, trade unions organized
for more municipalities or broader local communities, branches, activities and pro-
fessions are deposited with the ministry responsible for labour (i.e. the Ministry of
Labour).1
1. The procedure for depositing the rules of the trade union is initiated upon the application of an
authorized person of the trade union. The application by the trade union to deposit its rules must
be enclosed the minutes of the union’s founding meeting and the rules whose depositing is requested.
The decision on depositing is issued by the minister responsible for labour or a head of the
administrative body competent in first instance for labour issues, and namely within eight days
after receiving the application.
In 2009 in Slovenia there were some more than 10,000 trade unions at all levels with the
status of a legal entity. 154 of those trade unions acquired a status of a legal entity on the basis
of the decision issued by the minister responsible for labour; 23 of those trade unions (6 associations
or confederations, the rest are trade unions organized for different activities and professions) are
representative at the national level.
418. The ERA (2002 and subsequent amendments) in the chapter on the activi-
ties and protection of trade union representatives regarding the employer’s obliga-
tions towards a trade union envisages that an employer must ensure a trade union
the conditions for quick and efficient performance of trade union activities in accor-
dance with the regulations in force protecting the rights and interests of employees.
An employer must also grant the trade union access to information as may be nec-
essary for the exercise of trade union activities.
The ERA at the statutory level regulates the activities and protection of trade
union representatives; this field is additionally regulated by collective agreements.
The Act determines that a trade union, which has its members employed with a cer-
tain employer, may appoint or elect a trade union representative to represent it with
the employer. If a trade union representative has not been appointed, the trade union
is represented by its president. A trade union must inform the employer of the
appointment or election of a trade union representative. A trade union representa-
tive has the right to ensure and protect the rights and interests of trade union mem-
bers with the employer. A trade union representative must carry out trade union
activities in the time and manner which do not diminish the efficient operation of
the employer. The number of trade union representatives, who enjoy protection
under Article 113 of the Act,1 can be determined in accordance with the

criteria stipulated in the collective agreement or agreed between the employer and
a trade union. Trade union representatives enjoy protection against the reduction of
their salary, against the introduction of disciplinary or damage proceedings against
them, or against being treated less favourably or subordinately on the basis of their
trade union activities. The protection of trade union representatives is furthermore
strengthened by a position of the case-law which is favourable for trade unions,
namely that the employer cannot require a review of the legality of the appointment
or election of trade union representatives. Against a notification on the appointment
of trade union representatives in accordance with the statute a legal remedy is not
envisaged.2
1. Article 113 of the Employment Relations Act determines:
The employer may not terminate the employment contract:
– to members of a works council, workers’ representatives, members of a supervisory board
representing workers, workers’ representatives in the council of an institution, and
– to appointed or elected trade union representatives, without the consent of the body whose
members they are or without the consent of the trade union, if these persons act in accordance
with the law, the collective agreement, and the employment contract, except if in the case
of the termination due to business reason they reject the offered appropriate employment or
in the case of termination due to the procedure of the employer’s termination.The protection
against termination for the persons referred to in the previous paragraph shall be applied
the entire period of their term of office and another year after its expiry.
2. Higher Labour and Social Court Decision, No. Pdp 413/2006.
419. In case of a change of an employer, trade union representatives may keep

their status provided that with the employer-transferee the conditions for their
appointment are fulfilled in accordance with the collective agreement. If this con-
dition is not fulfilled and trade union representatives’ term of office expires, they
enjoy special protection as workers’ representatives for another year after the ter-
mination of their office.
420. The Collective Contracts Act 2006 (CCA) extensively regulates the posi-
tion of trade unions and their associations, as it regulates their role in free collective
bargaining procedures. As the Act does not determine the obligation to conclude
collective agreements and does not regulate the types and levels of collective agree-
ments, it regulates these instruments so that they may be concluded only by freely
organized social partners.
421. The TURA 1993 determines qualitative and quantitative conditions for the
recognition of the representativeness of a trade union. The representativeness is a
special legal position of a trade union which is recognized as having additional
rights and benefits by law due to its size, power, and influence.
Qualitative criteria for the recognition of a representative trade union are the
following:
– it is democratic and exercises the freedom of joining the trade union, freedom
of its operation, and freedom of exercising the membership rights and obligations;

– it has been operating without interruption for at least six months;

– it is independent from state bodies and employers; and
– it is financed mostly from membership dues and other sources of its own.
422. In addition to qualitative, the TURA also determines quantitative criteria.

It determines to this end that representative associations or confederations of trade
unions at the national level are those in which trade unions of different activities and
professions are united and which have at least 10 per cent of workers from an indi-
vidual branch, activity, or profession as members. Trade unions that join the above-
mentioned associations or confederations become representative. However, if an
individual trade union does not join the association, which is representative at the
national level, it may acquire the position of a representative trade union if it dem-
onstrates that more than 15 per cent of the employees of a certain category (i.e.
activity, profession, individual organization) are its members. A decision is issued
regarding the representativeness of a trade union. A decision on the representative-
ness of the associations of confederations of trade unions and trade unions orga-
nized for a branch, activity, or profession is at the national level issued by the
minister responsible for labour. The representativeness of a trade union organized
in an organizationis recognized by the employer. A judicial protection is ensured in
cases of disputes with reference to decision on the representativeness of the trade
unions before labour and social courts.
423. The tasks of the representative trade unions are the following:
– concluding collective agreements with a general applicability;

– participating in bodies which decide on issues concerning economic and social
security of workers; and
– nominating workers’ representatives who take part in management in accordance
with special regulations (i.e. the Employees’ Participation in Management Act,
Official Gazette RS, Nos. 42/1993, 61/2000, 56/2001);
Representative trade unions furthermore play an important role in cases in which

the legality of the termination of employment contracts is reviewed at the employer.
For the employee and employer is of essential importance whether an individual
employee is a member of a trade union (Judicial Decision, Judgment No. Pdp
430/2005).
424. In Slovenia there are six representative associations at the national level
that mainly unites trade unions in the private sector and one which unites certain
trade unions of the public sector. These are the following: the Slovenian Associa-
tion of Free Trade Unions; Independence, the Confederation of New Trade Unions
of Slovenia; the Confederation of Trade Unions ’90 of Slovenia; the Confederation
of Trade Unions of Slovenia Pergam; the Slovenian Union of Trade Unions Alter-
nativa; the Union of Workers’ Solidarity; the Confederation of Trade Unions of the
Public Sector.

B. Autonomous Sources of Law
425. The Collective Agreement for the Non-Economic Sector of the Republic
of Slovenia (1991 with subsequent amendments) determines that collective
agreements cannot interfere with the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of trade
unions that operate in accordance with their role and tasks in institutions, and make
proposals, standpoints, and requests to competent bodies. The operation of
trade unions can also not be limited by decisions of the bodies in an institution. A
director, authorized employees, and professional services ensure information to
trade unions concerning all issues which are decided by management bodies and
authorized employees and which refer to socio-economic and employment position
as well as rights, obligations, and responsibilities of the employees arising from
work and employment relation in public institutions, organizations, and bodies
which are mostly financed from public funds; they must also ensure information
concerning salaries. Furthermore, a director and professional services must ensure
trade unions to participate in all decision-making procedures on rights, obligations,
and responsibilities of employees arising from the employment relation.
426. The Collective Agreement for the Non-Economic Sector of the Republic
of Slovenia furthermore determines that for trade union operations the following
must be ensured:
– trade union representatives must be ensured at least one paid hour yearly for
each employee in the institution, however, not less than 50 yearly, for carrying
out trade union activities and for participating in the operation of trade union
bodies outside of the institution. A number of hours so determined does not include
the participation of trade union representatives in bodies of trade union associations
and in trade union bodies that are organized at the level of activity. Regardless
of the number of trade union representatives, a total number of paid hours for
their trade union activities (i.e. the activities of all trade union representatives
together) cannot be less than the number of employees in the institution and not
less than 50 hours a year; 1
– a trade union and a director of the institution decide on the manner of using a
certain number of hours for the work of the trade union representative. With
reference to this they take into consideration the needs and interests of trade
union members and the requirements of the working process. Work obligations
of trade union representatives are reduced or they are ensured an additional payment
for increased workload;
– free access of the external trade union representatives to the institution on the
basis of the prior notification;
– free trade union information and distribution of trade union publications;
– professional assistance and other conditions (e.g. premises, technical and administrative
work) for trade union activities, their bodies, and trade union representatives;
– calculation and payment of membership dues to trade unions for trade union
members;
– the right that trade union representatives enjoy special protection two more years
after the termination of their office.

With reference to the above-mentioned, a director and a trade union conclude a

contract stipulating conditions for trade union activities.
1. For that period trade union representatives are entitled to a salary in the amount to which they
were entitled and which they received before they started to perform this office.
IV. Similar Organizations
427. The organizations of independent professionals cannot be considered trade

unions. They act independently and are not subordinate to any managerial authority
of the employer or they may even be employed. Such organizations are usually
established on the basis of the statutory regulation of a certain public service. Their
scope is to secure the support of the development of their professional autonomy.
From this point of view, these organizations control the admission to the profession,
establish standards of good professional practices, and develop codes of ethics.
Such organizations may also take and express the members’ positions on their social
and economic interests. From this point of view, their nature can be similar to the
legal nature of the trade unions. Professional organizations can exert pressure on
public authorities in order to achieve adequate tariffs for the services rendered by
their members.
V. Trade Union Freedom and International Law
428. Slovenian legislation regulating employment relations is closely con-

nected to international law. All ILO conventions and recommendations which apply
to collective labour relations and industrial relations have been ratified by the Slo-
venian Parliament and are a part of the Slovenian legal order. The same applies to
many formal instruments of other universal and regional international regulations.
The most important standard which influences internal legal regulation and the use
of the regulations regarding the collective labour relations in practice is ILO Con-
vention No. 87 (1948), concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the
Right to Organize. Another important international instrument is the European Con-
vention on Human Rights of 1950, adopted by the Council of Europe, whose Article
11 requires from the states to guarantee the individuals’ right to organize collec-
tively, and the European Social Charter of 1961, revised in 1996, which determines
the principle of trade union freedom (Article 5) and also recognizes the right to bar-
gain collectively and, although with limitations, the right to strike and lock out
(Article 6), which is not considered in other above-mentioned international instru-
ments. Certain European Union documents have recognized these basic rights,
beginning with the Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, known as
the Social Charter, which was adopted in 1989.
429. European and other international sources of law provide for some sort of
institutionalized control over the implementation of these principles by the con-
tracting states. Within the ILO, this control is entrusted to the Committee on Trade
Union Freedom. Some further sources must be also mentioned: the International

Agreement on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, drafted within the United
Nations in 1966, which requires from the states to guarantee both trade union free-
dom and the right to strike (Article 8); the EEC Regulation of 15 October 1968,
enacted in accordance with Articles 48 and 49 of the Treaty of Rome, which deals
with the equality of rights with regards to trade union membership and activities.
A worker who is a national of a Member State shall enjoy equality of treatment
as regards membership of trade unions and the exercise of rights attaching thereto,
including the right to vote; but he may be excluded from taking part in the man-
agement of bodies governed by public law and from holding an office governed by
public law (e.g. having a seat in the labour court); further more he shall be eligible
for workers’ representative bodies in the undertaking (Article 8, title 2).
430. International law concerning trade union freedom and issues of the collec-
tive labour relations has important effects not only on legislative procedures but also
as the resource of certain fundamental values in the area of employment relations.
As such it has a strong influence on the activities of the social partners and private
and public institutions that control the implementation of law. The modern Slov-
enian legal system is based on the Constitution adopted in 1991 and together with
international law concerning union freedom it is a sufficient legal basis for the
employees and employers to exercise union freedom, and therefore there is no need
for a special statutory regulation of this subject.
431. Taking into account the general sense of union freedom, it is obvious that
employer’ actions that violate this right should be considered unlawful and that such
violations should have legal consequences in accordance with the legislation which
is a part of different legal subsystems. Unfavourable measures against employees,
which violate union freedom, are considered discrimination. Such acts are consid-
ered null. Discriminatory treatment can be followed by civil, penal, or other sanc-
tions. Some examples of unlawful behaviour of the employers are:
– imposing a condition on the employment of the employees that they must be

members or must not be members of a trade union or that they must leave the
trade union;
– dismissing employees, discriminating against them in the assignment of jobs or
in job classifications, in transfers, in disciplinary sanctions, or otherwise prejudicing
them because of their union affiliation or activity or their participation in a strike;
– distributing benefits to employees in a manner such that it influences the exercise
of their union freedom. Employers are prohibited from granting any collective
economic benefits which are discriminatory on account of the motives relating
to union freedom.
VI. The Violation of Union Freedom and the Consequences
432. Collective labour law does not have a long tradition in Slovenia and the
same is true for exercising union freedom in practice. Traditional deviations in

employers’ practices attacking union freedom are relatively new but not unknown
in Slovenian social dialogue. Violations of trade union freedom are common, which
may be the consequence of the absence of professional standards with regard to the
communication between the employers and employees. As a consequence, sanc-
tions for violating the regulations in this area should be relatively severe. Employ-
ers may unlawfully use their property in order to achieve their goals in the collective
bargaining (e.g. anti-strike bonuses, extra vacations, promotions, privileged work-
ing conditions). Such employers’ behaviour is unlawful on the ground of ILO Con-
vention No. 98, which prohibits employers and their associations from organizing
or supporting by any means, financial or other, trade unions. In order to prevent such
unlawful practices, the legislation may even provide for property sanctions for such
behaviour. The Slovenian legal system, however, does not regulate such sanctions
notwithstanding good examples in foreign legal systems. Statutory provisions do
not provide for civil liability for discriminatory behaviour of such kind, or for the
duty of employers to pay a certain amount of money to social security funds.
Employers and their associations violating a legal prohibition of the discriminatory
support of certain unions can be ordered by labour courts to desist from any unlaw-
ful interference with union freedom. Extreme violations of this principle can be the
reason for the denial of the recognition of the union’s organization (e.g. yellow
unions) by labour courts.
VII. Employers’ Support for Trade Unions
433. The principle of independence of trade unions should not be considered

violated if the employers transparently ensure limited property rights or benefits to
trade unions on the basis of collective agreements. Such arrangements may be
included in a collective agreement as special clauses in the part of the collective
agreement which regulates mutual rights, duties, and responsibilities of the nego-
tiating parties.
Payment of salaries for union officers or delegates carrying out union activities
during working time can be considered legal; however, it is not a duty of the
employers determined by the statute as in some foreign countries.
Employers may secure some property benefits not only to a union but also to
employees directly. They may set up funds for social, educational, and similar
purposes in favour of employees. The statute does not explicitly regulate such situ-
ations or the management of such funds; however, employers must consider the con-
stitutional principle of the equal treatment of persons or a special group of persons
(Article 14 of the Constitution). All employees must be given the same possibilities
with regard to access to such benefits.
VIII. Intolerable Practices against Employees
434. Trade union freedom includes the right of individuals not to join the union.
In its legal nature, this right is an absolute right; therefore, it is protected against
interference by any subject. The statute does not refer to this right explicitly,

however, the right is clearly determined in ILO conventions and recommendations

about the union freedom, and in the official interpretations by the competent bodies
of the ILO. The basis for this right can be found in Article 76 of the Slovenian Con-
stitution. In recent years neither the negative nor the positive aspects of union free-
dom have been a serious problem in the Slovenian practice of exercising this right.
After the introduction of union pluralism on the basis of international and consti-
tutional regulations there is no evidence of employers’ behaviour in the sense of
violating the negative union freedom. Situations like a closed shop blacklisting, or
boycotting of non-union members have not yet been recorded in Slovenia.
Violations of the negative union freedom in everyday life may, however, be com-
mitted by hidden practices of the employers. They may appear in different forms,
like securing for employees certain benefits if they abstain from joining an
unfavourable union.
435. Negative freedom is recognized, fundamentally, not only for employees

who are not members of any union, but also for members of a single union. Union
freedom includes the protection of the employees against unlawful pressures to
leave the union. Union freedom is violated also in case of urging the employees to
join or form another union. The promotion of union organization and of collective
bargaining must not be oppressive and may not violate the employees’ right to self-
determination whether they want to join or stay in the union. Negative union free-
dom can be endangered by the employer’s behaviour or the union itself. It can also
be the result of internal conflicts in the union.
436. Non-union members can have different working conditions than union
members, which is a consequence of the collective agreement between the union
and the employer. The advantages which have this legal basis cannot be considered
anti-union activities or discriminatory behaviour of the employer or breach of the
negative union freedom. However, if there is no legal basis for securing better work-
ing conditions or a better position for union members in comparison with non-
union members, in some cases this can be considered a violation of the negative
union freedom, which may be (is) sanctioned as a discriminatory behaviour of the
employer.
IX. Intolerable Practices against Unions
437. Negative union freedom can be violated where employers are not willing
to perform the collective bargaining with unions as such but only with those they
prefer. In the Slovenian legal system the employers have to react if unions start a
collective bargaining procedure. Different behaviour should therefore be considered
unlawful and the nature of such unlawful activity can be a violation of negative
union freedom. The duty to react to the union’s proposal does not imply the duty to
reach the agreement (which does not apply in the public sector); however, the
employer has the duty to give feedback to the proposing party. Such statutory pro-
vision gives to the proposing party the possibility to verify whether the other

party negotiates in good faith or not. If the party violates the duty to negotiate, a
further step may be the analysis of the nature of the violation and in the conse-
quence the use of the appropriate sanction. The duty to negotiate is clear in cases of
registered representative unions, which are relatively larger and stronger unions
whose legal position is defined by the TURA of 1993.
It is more difficult to identify breach of the duty to negotiate in cases in which the
employer does not react to the negotiating proposal of the employees’ association if
the employer denies the association the legal position of the union. In cases in which
the negotiating party includes more subjects, new problems may arise regarding the
beginning of the negotiating process. The subject may refuse to negotiate with the
other negotiating party – together with some other subject or more of them who
form the negotiating party. In such cases it is considered that the negotiating pro-
cess has begun but that it was not successfully concluded, and therefore legal instru-
ments such as consultation, mediation, and arbitration can be used. In cases in which
it is not possible to reach an agreement in the processes of collective bargaining
with the unions, the employers may try to reach the agreement with the employees’
elected representatives if they are present in the works unit or even directly with the
employees.

438–439
Chapter 2. Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations

§1. ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF TRADE UNIONS
I. Trade Unions and their Members
438. The phenomenon of trade unions in Slovenian territory has been closely
connected with the political situation in the region. Between the two world wars the
social order in Slovenia was similar to other European countries, i.e. society was
organized as a market economy and relations between employers and employees
were primarily based on collective agreements concluded between the employers’
and the employees’ organizations at different levels.
Unions are a form of associations of subordinated employees as well as other per-
sons who perform their professional activities and even retired persons. Within this
framework, the question of whether managers may organize unions and whether
they may perform the negotiating activities are obsolete. Managers in Slovenia are
united in a special association, i.e. the Association of Managers, which performs
activities of the professional interest of the managers, on the one hand, and the
union activities, on the other hand. It also conducts negotiations with employees
with regard to their working conditions, especially salaries. The conditions are a
result of the negotiations determined in a special act, which is not a typical collec-
tive agreement; however, it has the nature of such. In addition to the position of the
top managers, which is regulated by this act, the legal position of lower level man-
agers who are subordinated employees is regulated in the same manner as for other
employees. This entails that they may organize their own professional unions or
they may join other unions freely.
Unions are associated in wider union associations and very few of them act com-
pletely independently. The unions are in practice organized at a plant level, terri-
torial levels (a region, a community, and the state), professional level, and various
combinations of the levels mentioned above. For the time being there are no inde-
pendent unions of atypical workers but they may certainly be members of other
unions.
II. Trade Union Associations’ Organization
439. Trade unions are structured on two main lines, which is a common
approach in the industrial relations practice in most European countries. Unions are
organized in vertical and horizontal lines. Vertical structures are national unions,
which are in fact the associations of different unions organized at different levels.
Different types of associated unions may be organized the provincial, regional, and
local sections of the association. The most important members of the associated
unions are those who assemble workers of the special branch of the economy within
the private sector of the economy. The situation is similar in the public sector. The
phenomenon of two or more unions in the same public service can be observed (e.g.
health care).

Part II, Ch. 2, Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations 440–442
The unions which are joined in the union associations organized at the national
level remain independent and have their own structure, their own governmental
bodies, and their own budgets. On the other hand, they have to follow the regula-
tions and decisions of the union associations’ bodies that they adopt within the
scope of their competences.
Unions’ horizontal chain is a structure which aggregates unions or unions’ units
in a specific territory or geographic area, namely the territory of the state, region, or
local territory. This type of the union link appears mostly at the state territory level
(i.e. union associations’ activities throughout the state). They are rarely organized
at regional or local levels. The rarity of this type of chains is the result of the lack
of tradition of the industrial democracy in Slovenia regardless of the great impor-
tance of such chains for the workers’ interests. They may be of a great help in fight-
ing against political pressures exerted on unions or a strong power in confrontations
with the main threats for the employees in a single geographic area, e.g. the
unemployment.
440. Certain trade unions do not wish to join associations, which allows them
greater independence; however, such policy also has certain disadvantages. These
are the following:
– insignificant influence on the conclusion of collective contracts at the national

level; and
– greater difficulties in reaching results if all members are not of the same opinion
(i.e. different opinions within the trade union).
Non-associated trade unions are mostly organized for professions which are of
special importance at the national level.
III. Formal Characteristics of Trade Unions
441. Regarding the legal regulation of the union structure, administration, and
operation the main characteristic of the legal regulation is that statutory law does
not play a very important role. In accordance with the principle of union freedom,
unions alone should regulate these questions. In the areas mentioned above, the
most important statutory regulation is the regulation of the conditions for the rec-
ognition of representative unions, i.e. the most representative unions according to
the criteria determined by the statute, and the regulation of issues concerning the
registration of trade unions.
442. The TURA determines that a trade union becomes a legal entity on the day
a decision on depositing the rules or other basic act of the trade union is issued. The
conditions set out in Article 3 are the following:
– submitting an act whose depositing is required;1

– producing evidence that a trade union was in fact established; and

443–444 Part II, Ch. 2, Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations
– producing evidence that an application was submitted by an authorized person

of the trade union.
The above-mentioned requirements that must be fulfilled in order to recognize the

legal personality of a trade union cannot be deemed the limitations of the right of
individuals to establish a trade union, to adopt its rules, and to select its represen-
tatives. This concerns recording the facts, which confirm that a trade union was in
fact established, followed by a determination that a trade union became a legal
entity. If a trade union is not registered with the competent administrative body and
does not acquire legal personality, it may still operate as a trade union; however, it
is in a less favourable legal position. Formal recognition of a legal personality to a
trade union results, on the one hand, in the acquisition of the rights with reference
to participating in legal transactions and in the transactions in the field of property
law, on the other hand, however, due to such recognition certain obligations arise
which are in the public interest determined also for legal entities of private law. The
implementation of such can be deemed an exception from the principle of trade
union freedom. An example of such obligation is drawing an annual report which
must be submitted to the competent supervisory institution (i.e. Agency of the
Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services) in accordance
with accounting regulations.
1. The name, abbreviation, and a distinguishing sign of a trade union must be significantly and
undoubtedly different from the name, abbreviation, and the distinguishing sign of any other trade
union whose rules are already deposited. A trade union which is of the opinion that a name,
abbreviation, and a distinguishing sign of another trade union are not significantly and undoubtedly
different from their registered name, abbreviation, and distinguishing sign is ensured judicial
protection by law or the right to challenge by legal action the decision of the administrative
body on depositing the rules of another trade union.
443. The rules of trade unions which are organized at municipal level or broader
local community level, and trade unions organized in companies, institutions and
other organizations, as well as trade unions organized at employers and in state bod-
ies, municipal bodies or broader local community bodies are deposited with the
administrative bodies that are competent in first instance for labour issues. The rules
of trade unions organized at the national level, trade unions organized for more
municipalities or broader local communities, branches, activities and professions are
deposited with the ministry responsible for labour. On the basis of the third para-
graph of Article 3 of the TURA operative provisions of the decision on the depos-
iting are published in the Official Gazette RS at a trade union’s expense.
444. Bodies that are responsible for having trade unions’ rules deposited and
issuing decisions on depositing such rules also keep a record of the trade union rules
that are deposited with them. The manner of keeping such a record is determined
in the Rules on Keeping Record of Trade Unions’ Rules (Official Gazette RS, No.
18/1993), which determines that the following data are entered in the record: order
number of the entry in the record, date of the entry, title of the rules, name and
abbreviation of the trade union, registered office of the trade union, number and date

of the issuance of the decision on depositing the rules, and the date of the removal
from the record. In addition, the competent body keeps and maintains a collection
of documents that are a basis for the entry in the record. Trade unions must notify
the competent body of all changes of data which are entered in the record and facts
which are a basis for the entry in the record. A trade union may decide to terminate
its operations. In such a case it may notify the body responsible for depositing
the rules, which issues a decision on the termination of depositing the rules of the
trade union. On the basis of the issued decision the trade union is removed from the
record of trade union rules.
445. In Slovenia there are approximately 190 trade unions that acquired a status
of a legal entity on the basis of the decision issued by the minister responsible for
labour (source: Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs).
446. Other questions regarding the structure, administration, and operation of

unions are the matter of the internal autonomous regulations through the internal
rules, adopted by the employees or the union governmental bodies. The internal
structure of the unions and their bodies follows the general principles of the legal
regulation of associations in the area of administrative law. This entails that gov-
ernmental bodies of the unions and their associations are composed of representa-
tives of the union members, elected in varying proportions. Conventions are
considered a form of a basic democratic manner of securing the unions or their
members the possibility to influence the union’s organizational activities and poli-
cies. The convention elects a governing body of the union and other bodies and usu-
ally one or more individual officers of the union or union association, usually
secretaries. Unions may employ the staff and union officers. The main resource for
their maintenance are the union’s membership dues and a special employers’ pay-
ment if provided by the collective agreement under the condition that such payment
does not jeopardize the independent position of the union against the employers.
IV. Trade Unions’ Size and the Financing of Trade Unions
447. The unions are mostly financed by dues which are paid by union mem-
bers. The unions succeeded in achieving the regulation in the ERA which is favour-
able to them, and imposes the duty on employers to collect members’ dues for the
unions, organized in the employers’ works unit. Union members’ dues are deter-
mined in the percentage from the salary received by each individual union member.
448. In the past the number of the union members in Slovenia had been the
internal and secret data of an individual union. The situation changed in 1993 when
the new legislation regulating the representativeness of the unions was adopted by
Parliament. The main criterion for the representativeness of the union is its
size, measured by the number of its members. The most common method for
ascertaining the number of the union members is the presentation of the list of the
members’ dues paid in the union budget. The union’s size, ascertained

in such a manner, is also a criterion for the recognition of the number of the union
seats in the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia, in the Economic and
Social Council, and some other state or public bodies where the unions have been
secured the right of access in their structure on the basis of the existing regulation.
V. Trade Unions and their Changing Role
449. Unions in Slovenia have a strong structure and a high density of over 40
per cent of the working population. The collective agreements cover all the employ-
ees (100 per cent) due to general collective agreements concluded at the national
level for the private sector as well as for the public sector. In the past union density
was even higher, over 60 per cent, which is the consequence of a traditionally auto-
matic union membership of the employees in the former socialist single trade union.
The existence of the union in a socialist state was a contradiction per se, because all
the power of deciding on the distribution of the gained new value in production was
formally in the hands of the employees’ representatives in the councils of workers.
In the past, the employees also played an important role in decision-making. There-
fore, a single trade union (i.e. a trade union monism) did not have the negotiating
role regarding working conditions. Its role was limited to securing some less impor-
tant benefits for the employees and was more political. The union played the role of
a tool for strengthening the political decisions of the ruling single political party (i.e.
transmission). After political and economic changes and the introduction of inter-
national law and the new modern Constitution of 1991, the union pluralism has
emerged. New emerging unions were more or less the result of the confrontation of
the political parties in the areas of social and economic affairs. New unions suc-
ceeded to attract a part of the employees from the old single trade union; however,
the majority of the employees did not change their union membership after the
change of the national social and political order, and therefore the former, though a
restructured and modernized union, kept the majority of the members. Due to these
circumstances even today the union density remains relatively high.
450. After the introduction of the political pluralism and the market economy,
trade unions in Slovenia have had an important role in the regulation of the social
and economic relations in the state. Collective agreements which regulate the main
issues concerning the wages or salaries and working conditions apply to all workers
in Slovenia. In the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century they also sup-
ported the first move towards the legal regulation of the employees’ participation in
decision-making and its introduction in the works units.
451. It was the state policy in the area of legal regulation of the social and eco-
nomic relations which was conducted in a manner such that the unions played a con-
structive role in matters such as the introduction of the employees’ participation in
decision-making and in collective bargaining as well as the restructuring of the soci-
ety, e.g. the changes of the pension system. It can be concluded that the unions
played a very important role in the development of democracy and in efforts
towards better working conditions in the country. The unions have also established

important international contacts with union associations in neighbouring and other

countries. Some of them are today members of international union associations in
Europe and worldwide.
VI. Trade Union Structure
452. Despite a relative lack of tradition of the trade unions in Slovenia, they
have succeeded in avoiding some recently manifested traps of trade union move-
ments in Europe. The labour market has been rapidly changing all over the world
and in Europe. Eurostat data indicate that there is an increasing number of atypical
workers in Europe, who are employed part-time or fixed-time, or carry out tele-
work, that there is more student work and other uncertain types of work (Mas-
sarelli, 2008). These changes are one of the important reasons for the decline in
membership of trade unions. Employment has moved from industry, where trade
union density was traditionally very high, to branches of the private service sector –
where trade union density is lower (Waddington, 2005, p. 1). There are an increas-
ing number of atypical employments, employment with smaller employers, and new
types of employment relations (Waddington, 2005, p. 1). These workers have a dif-
ferent attitude towards their employers, as can be expected from a typically
employed workers, and therefore they need different trade union support. Trade
unions, however, are only gradually adapting to these changes. They are only gradu-
ally developing adapted strategies for including atypical workers and young work-
ers in trade unions. Trade union organizations do not sufficiently consider the type
of employment of workers. Therefore, trade unions are losing members. Reduction
in the number of members in industrial branches is greater than its growth in the
private service sector (Waddington, 2005, pp. 1-2).
453. Learning from the experiences of union organization in Western European

countries, Slovenian trade unions have avoided weaknesses in the organization and
allocation of certain union activities. Some weaknesses of union organization and
activities, which can be noticed in most European countries, are also present in Slo-
venia. Such a phenomenon is the decline in the union density; however, as men-
tioned above, the figures still show a relatively high number of members in
Slovenian trade unions. The union density is falling because of different reasons,
e.g. a scarce need for the employees’ protection at the plant level. This is a conse-
quence of a considerable improvement of managerial skills in the management of
the works units and especially in the human resource management. The ability of
unions to express the interests of the employees and to protect their interests and
rights in the processes of the prevention and resolution of labour disputes remains
high. According to the modern legislative approach to the unions’ activities, the leg-
islation enacted an important role of unions in the elections and the activities of the
employees’ elected representative bodies (e.g. works councils, workers’ trustees).
The active role of the unions at the plant level through the works council’s activities
dispels doubts about the recommended levels of the collective bargaining in the
system of Slovenian industrial relations. The existence of the system of
employee direct participation in decision-making at the plant level emphasizes

the importance of the unions’ role in social dialogue outside the works units. The
most important activity of the unions in this area is collective bargaining at the
branch level, professional level, and national level. The unions are gradually becom-
ing less dependent on political parties and there are signs of a stronger trend towards
union unity in the country. This phenomenon causes a better ability of the unions
for the coordinated union actions and for successful representation of the employ-
ees’ interest in the Economic and Social Council and elsewhere. This situation is
partly a consequence of fast changes in the world economy (i.e. globalization),
which influence the unions’ awareness of the need to strengthen their networks. The
straightening of union’s unity is also a consequence of the decline of ideologies
which were in the past an important foundation for forming the unions.
VII. Employers’ Organizations
454. Employers’ associations developed in the similar manner as trade unions.

In the socialist political order before 1991 real employers’ organizations did not
exist. A formal counterpart of the unique socialist trade union was the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. This institution had as its original role to rep-
resent the business interests of the companies. In the socialist social order the major-
ity of the means of production was social property. Within this framework, workers
formally obtained the power of decision-making and therefore there was no room
for collective bargaining. The position of the employers was formally given to com-
panies and the position of the employers’ representative was acknowledged to the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. Private employers were repre-
sented by the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia. Both chambers,
namely the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and the Chamber of
Craft and Small Business of Slovenia, were not real representatives of the employ-
ers according to the ILO criteria. ILO conventions acknowledge the position of the
representative association only to free associations. Both chambers lack this char-
acteristic. The chambers were namely founded on the basis of the statute, the mem-
bership was not voluntary but compulsory, and state representatives had seats in
their governmental bodies. Such situation continued even after the adoption of the
new Constitution in 1991.
In view of the fact that collective bargaining processes require free negotiating
parties, the companies have organized a parallel institution, i.e. the Association of
the Employers of Slovenia. In 2006 the Chamber of Commerce and Industry was
transformed in the association of companies and employers may join the associa-
tion freely. Since then the Chamber has legitimately taken the role of the party in the
national collective bargaining.
455. Slovenian trade unions regarded as associations are not considered legal
entities until they are registered. The registration and the legal personality are
needed so that a union is able to conclude collective agreements with erga omnes
effects.

VIII. Trade Unions as Employees’ Associations
456. Non-representative trade unions are not recognized as having legal per-
sonality; therefore, they act like associations of civil and administrative law. On the
other hand, unions which have the legal position of the representative unions are
recognized as having legal personality. The difference can be important, especially
regarding their relation to the state and regarding civil liabilities. Representative
unions have the capacity to conclude collective agreements, which are legally
enforceable in their obligatory as well as in their normative part. If a collective
agreement concluded by the workers’ association is disputable, the validity of its
normative part can be examined by a court. The court can examine whether the
workers’ association can be considered a trade union or not. Slovenian law does not
regulate the essential defining elements of a trade union; therefore the criteria
should be taken from the theory or doctrine. The Trade Union Representativeness
Act of 1993 nevertheless defines the criteria that must be fulfilled so that a workers’
association can be recognized as a representative trade union. These criteria are the
same as those arising from the doctrine defining a trade union with the exception of
the quantitative criterion (i.e. the number of the employees). These criteria are as
follows: the association has to perform activities within the scope of the enforce-
ment of social and economic interests of the employees, the activities have to be
continuous, and the employees’ association has to have a capacity to exert pressure
against the employers. The association has to be independent of employers.
Employees’ associations which are recognized as trade unions can take part in court
proceedings. They can sue employers in cases of non-compliance of the employers’
conduct with the provisions of the obligatory part of the collective contracts. On the
other hand, trade unions have no procedural capacity to sue employers if the pro-
visions of the normative part of the collective contracts are violated. The unions,
however, can participate in proceedings in such cases within the scope of securing
individual appointed employees special rights determined in this part of the collec-
tive agreement. If the employees’ special rights, which arise from the collective
agreement, are violated by the employers’ conduct, trade unions can support indi-
vidual employees in court proceedings by representing them in the proceedings or
by forming an opinion about the matter which is the subject of the individual labour
dispute.
§2. REPRESENTATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
I. Different Types of Trade Union and their Legal Position
457. Simple trade unions that represent the employees, who are the members of
the union, have the right to form their own associations freely. This right is consid-
ered the result of the employees’ struggle for better working conditions and is the
achievement of labour movement activities aimed to protect economic and social
rights of the employees. Simple unions represent the employees and are therefore
by their nature the representative associations. The notion of representative trade
union is used by the statute for larger and stronger unions which meet the

criteria determined by the special statute. From this point of view, these types of
unions should be called the most representative, as is the case in some other Euro-
pean countries.
458. Some important representative trade union associations, which operate in

Slovenia, are described below.
459. In accordance with the definition from the rules of the Union of Free Trade
Unions of Slovenia this is a non-profit, voluntary, and democratic organization. It is
independent of political parties, Parliament, the government, and religious commu-
nities. It is funded from membership dues and project work and represents the com-
mon social, economic, social, and cultural interests of the trade unions which are its
members. It was founded in 1990.
It unites 22 trade unions of different activities from the commercial and non-
commercial fields and has slightly over 300,000 members. It participates actively in
the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Slovenia in which, together
with employers and the Government, harmonises draft laws and other important
regulations and documents. From 1999 it has been a member of the European Trade
Union Confederation (ETUC).1 A fundamental purpose and objective of the Union
is to defend social justice and human dignity of its members. It stands for the devel-
opment of a social state. The Union operates on the basis of the programme within
the framework of which there are several projects, as for example the project of pro-
moting ‘good welfare at work’. As regards the economic policy and economic
development the Union promotes balanced and stabile social development that is
based on investment in knowledge and people. It also strives to recruit young
people, whereas its members are also retired persons.
1. ETUC is one of the European social partners. The EU, the Council of Europe, and the EFTA
recognize ETUC as the only representative, supranational trade union organisation at the European
level.
460. The Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia Pergam (Konfederacija

sindikatov Slovenije Pergam) was founded in 1991 at the founding general meeting
on the basis of the conclusions of general meetings of five trade unions, i.e. trade
unions of the paper, graphic, publishing, newspaper-information industry, and the
professional trade union of maintenance workers. These five trade unions were later
joined by another 13 trade unions of different activities from the economic and non-
economic fields. The Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia is also a member
of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Slovenia; its members are
represented in various national institutions and European Union institutions. In
accordance with the Rules of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Slovenia Per-
gam, the Confederation independently represents the interests and requirements of
its members in negotiations with the representatives of the employers in companies
and the representatives of the employers organized at the national level, with mana-
gerial bodies of companies, when concluding collective agreements, in front of the
competent courts in cases of individual or collective protection of employees’
rights, in negotiations with the representatives of the government, and when
representing and harmonizing positions in the National Assembly, the National

Council, and with the representatives of local community bodies, in interest coop-
eration and alliances with other trade unions, when exerting trade union pressure
and strikes in accordance with strike rules, and in negotiations with political parties
on economic and social issues, which are important for trade union members. The
Confederation promotes a balanced economic development, whereby it underlines
the importance of improving the well-being of the population and providing new
employment opportunities. It devotes special attention to promoting the interests of
disabled persons, especially at the regional level. It also devotes its attention to edu-
cation and promotes the development of a national educational system and pro-
grammes which will be based on the concept of lifelong learning and training.
461. The Confederation of Trade Unions ’90 of Slovenia (Konfederacija

sindikatov ’90 Slovenije) was founded in 1991 in Kranj. It unites various indepen-
dent trade unions organized at the level of activities in the private and public sector
as well as professional trade unions and regionally organized trade union organiza-
tions. The objectives of the Confederation are to preserve the foundations of a social
state, exercising human rights, etc. The Confederation adjusts its programme to
world events whereby it preserves as a starting-point of its activities the promotion
of the implementation of the principle of fairness in relations between employees
and employers. The Confederation cooperates with trade unions of the neighbour-
ing countries, especially with reference to employment in border regions and the
harmonization of economic and social standards. It is a member of the Interregional
Trade Union Council for Friuli-Venezia and Slovenia, which unites trade unions in
Italy and Slovenia. Through this organization it is also a member of the European
Trade Union Confederation.
462. Independence – Confederation of New Trade Unions of Slovenia (Neod-

visnost – Konfederacija novih sindikatov Slovenije) was founded in 1990.
It unites new trade unions which were not successors of the one single trade union
which existed in the socialist state order. The Confederation of New Trade Unions
of Slovenia comprises 10 trade unions, which operate in Slovenian regions.
Regional trade unions also allow individual membership to employees.
463. The Confederation of Trade Unions of the Public Sector (Konfederacija

sindikatov javnega sektorja) was founded in 2006. It was founded by the Trade
Union of Education, Science, and Culture of Slovenia, the Trade Union of Employ-
ees in Nursing Care of Slovenia, the Police Trade Union of Slovenia, and the Inde-
pendent Trade Union of Employees of Ljubljana University. The Rules of the
Confederation among its objectives underline a commitment to implementing
the principle of solidarity and cooperation between trade unions. In January 2007,
the Trade Union of the Employees in the Judiciary of Slovenia jointed the Confed-
eration of Trade Unions of the Public Sector. Nevertheless, the Confederation com-
prises less than half of the trade unions that are organized in the public sector. In
March 2007, the Confederation held its second congress where it adopted the pro-
gramme of its work until 2010, the positions on the salary system for civil servants,
and the resolution on quality public education and health care.

The Confederation was founded with the objective that trade unions, included
therein, will jointly promote better social and financial position of civil servants,
respect for human rights, and the protection of professional and trade union rights
of their members, and will jointly participate in organizational and representative
bodies at the national level. The rules about the Establishing the Confederation of
Trade Unions of the Public Sector regulates bodies of the Confederation,1 their com-
petencies, and the manner of their deciding.
The Rules of the Confederation determine the manner of the operation of the
Confederation and underline that operates in such a manner such that it strengthen
and ensure:
– equal social partnership in social dialogue;

– financial, organizational, and political independence;
– the principle of resorting to strike only as an extreme measure in order to achieve
the objectives of trade unions in order to protect legal, financial, and social security
of trade union members and to preserve acquired rights;
– incompatibility of office of the Confederation’s officials with offices in political
parties;
– the voluntary nature of joining and withdrawing from the Confederation;
– mutual solidarity of trade unions; and
– refraining from any activity to the detriment of other trade unions and their members.
The Rules of the Confederation also determine the objectives of the operation of
the Confederation, which are the following:
– promoting better financial and social position of civil servants who are trade
union members;
– promoting the respect for human rights and for the functioning of a state governed
by the rule of law;
– promoting the protection of trade union rights and trade union freedom;
– promoting and implementing the agreed common interests of trade unions;
– protecting trade union and professional rights of trade union members;
– cooperating with other trade unions, associations, and confederations at the national
and international level;
– implementing the principle of solidarity between trade unions;
– representing interests in organizations and institutions at the national level; and
– carrying out activities with reference to education, publications, and other own
activities.
Article 9 of the Rules of the Confederation determines that members of the Con-
federation can only be trade unions organized in activities whose members are
mostly employed in the public sector. It is interesting, however, that a member of
the Confederation may not at the same time be a member of any other confedera-
tion or association of trade unions in the Republic of Slovenia. Membership of the
Confederation terminates if a member withdraws or is expelled2 from the Confed-
eration or is removed from the list of members of the Confederation (Article 12 of

the Rules). On the basis of Article 17 of the Rules of the Confederation, the
Confederation and trade unions may join international trade union organizations.
A conference of the Confederation decides on such membership. The Confedera-
tion plays an especially important role in regulating the salary system in the
public sector.
1. The bodies of the Confederation are listed in Article 18 of the Rules of the Confederation and
are the following:
– a congress;
– a conference;
– a chairmanship;
– a committee for the supervision of financial management;
– a committee for the implementation of the Rules of the Confederation.
2. A trade union may be expelled from the Confederation if it operates contrary to the fundamental
principles and objectives of the Confederation, if it violates the provisions of the Rules of the
Confederation, or if it does not pay its membership dues (Article 14 of the Rules). A proposal
that a trade union be expelled from the Confederation may be submitted by an individual trade
union or the chairmanship of the Confederation. Such proposal is decided by the conference of
the Confederation (Article 15 of the Rules).
II. The Protection of Employees’ Representatives against Discrimination
464. In Slovenian legislation the employees’ representatives are protected

against transfer to a different job or to a different works unit. This protection, which
can be observed also in other legislation, is secured by a general statutory rule on
the prohibition of putting the employees’ representatives in a harmful position
because of their office. The special protection of trade union representatives is the
subject of the statutory regulation and is not determined in collective agreements.
The eventual contractual clauses of simple collective contracts about the wider pro-
tection of union officers or representatives might cause unlawful privileges of these
persons in comparison with their colleagues of other unions. The limitations of trade
union representatives’ protection do not go beyond the line of protecting them
against the employers’ attacks because of their office. Therefore, they must not
enjoy any privileged working conditions compared to other employees.
III. Representativeness of Slovenian Trade Unions and their Legal Position
465. Slovenian legislation does not secure the right to paid absence to union
representatives within the scope of supporting the union activities; however, such a
right is normally enacted in the collective agreement. On the other hand, the
employees’ representatives’ right to paid absence from work is widely regulated in
the regulations that regulate the activities of the works councils.

A trade union’s elected or appointed representatives enjoy special legal protec-

tion against the dismissal or other discriminatory behaviour. Protection against
unjustified dismissal is precisely regulated by the ERA provision (Article 113 of the
ERA), which determines that an employer who intents to dismiss a trade union rep-
resentative, must previously obtain the trade union agreement. There are two excep-
tions. First, no agreement is needed if the employer dismisses the union
representative because of business reason and at the same time offers him or her a
new appropriate position of employment, and second, no agreement is needed for
the termination of the employment in the procedure of the termination of the
employer. If the union does not agree with the dismissal without a legitimate rea-
son, the employer can commence an emergency dispute before the labour court. The
union representative’s protection against the dismissal is therefore relative. In case
of the unlawful dismissal of the union representative emergency court proceedings
may also be conducted on the initiative of the employee or the labour inspector. By
unlawfully dismissing a union representative, the employer commits an anti-union
action, however, the statute does not provide for a special sanction against the
employer such as it may be observed in comparative law, e.g. a payment of a cer-
tain amount of money to the social security fund.
IV. Employees’ Meetings
466. The dimension of the employer’s duty to allow the union meetings has a
legal ground in the provisions of international law and in the Slovenian Constitu-
tion. The abstract statutory regulation of the employers’ duty to secure for trade
unions efficient performance of trade union activities does not include the right of
the employees to hold meetings on the employers’ premises during working time in
order to articulate their requirements regarding working conditions or in order to
organize the union. Such activities of the employees performed outside working
time but still on the employers’ premises have their legal basis in ILO Conventions
87 and 98 and in Article 76 of the Constitution. The dimensions of the employers’
duty mentioned above are not very clear. It is not clear whether the leaders of union
associations may be present at the employees’ meetings on the employers’ premises
or not. A more explicit statutory regulation in this regard would be useful. The ques-
tion is whether the union officers who are not employed in the works unit or man-
agers of the employer may attend such meetings. Union meetings have to be
organized according to the rules known in advance to the employer, but sometimes
the meetings and work breaks may be spontaneous and not organized according to
the collective agreements. In such case the union may be a subject of civil liability.
The work breaks or wild union meetings can have the legal character of a sponta-
neous strike which has no legal ground in the Slovenian legislation. Strikes may be
announced and performed only in accordance with the statutory regulation regulat-
ing this type of the protection of the employees’ interests. Workers who are on strike
may organize meetings also in public places. In such cases statutory rules on public
meetings (an act adopted in 2005) must be taken into consideration in accordance
with which a meeting must be reported to the police at least three days prior to the
day of the meeting.1

1. An organizer must organize a meeting or an event in a manner such that public order is ensured,
that lives and health of participants or other persons or property are not endangered, that public
traffic is not disturbed, and that the environment is not excessively burdened. An organizer must
appoint a leader who is responsible for a correct course of the meeting. Taking into account the
character of the meeting or event and the expected number of the participants, the organizer
must ensure security where the event is taking place in order to protect order.
467. The constitutional right to association and more concrete constitutional

right to trade union freedom can be effectively exercised in works units only if the
employers have certain duties in regard to trade unions or employees. One of the
essential rights of employees in this regard is to hold meetings in order to articulate
their common interests and views regarding their working conditions. There are two
types of meetings on the employer’s premises: first, the meetings of union members
which have a legal basis in the union freedom, and secondly, the meetings of
employees which are based on the explicit regulation of the workers’ participation
in decision-making in the works unit. In both cases the employers may not prohibit
employees from meeting on the employers’ premises outside working time. If a
meeting is called by a trade union, the right to association is explicitly protected by
the statutory regulation of the employers’ duty to abstain from any activity that may
constitute an obstacle for trade union activities. According to the existing standards,
this right may be legitimately extended so that the collective agreements allow the
meetings of the union members even during working time. If meetings are not only
the internal matter of the union and employees who do not wish to become mem-
bers of the union, their right is considered the right related to industrial democracy
or workers’ participation in decision-making. The statute secures for employees the
night to meet at least once yearly even during working time. The meetings offer the
employees an opportunity to express their opinion about matters concerning work-
ing conditions and about their social and economic interests. The meetings as the
union right or the right of the employees must be organized in such a manner that
the legitimate interests of the employers or their property as well as the organiza-
tion of the working process are not violated. The employers must be notified about
the meetings in due time.
V. Training of Employees’ Representatives
468. The statute does not allow trade union officers or representatives paid or
non-paid absences from work for training in order to perform their union activities
successfully and skilfully. The trade union officers or representatives may be
secured such rights in the obligatory part of the collective agreements. These rights
are secured to employees’ elected representatives by the statute which regulates
employees’ participation in decision-making. The rights mentioned above can also
be extended by collective agreements concluded between the management and the
employees’ representative bodies. Such collective agreements also regulate
the manner of exercising these rights because the statute does not contain any con-
crete provisions in this regard.
The duty of employers to allow free union activities in works units has its coun-
terpart in the duty of the employees not to endanger the working process

in the works unit. These duties are not precisely defined by the statute; however,
they are usually the subjects of a detailed regulation in the obligatory part of the
collective agreements. The question of the balance between duties mentioned above
occasionally arises in practice and regulations do not provide a direct answer to the
question of the dimensions of the rights of the employees or employers in regard to
meetings.
VI. The Right to Call a Referendum
469. Slovenian legislation does not explicitly provide the unions with the right
to organize a referendum for all the employees of the works unit. The nature of this
right is namely related to the right of the employees’ to direct participation in
decision-making and the right of the employees’ to elect their representatives.
There are different ways in which the right to a referendum and similar rights of
the employees in the private and in the public sectors can be secured. The statutory
regulation, which applies in the public sector, namely does not provide for the same
forms and modes of employees’ participation in decision-making as the legislation
for the private sector does. In 1993, the National Assembly adopted a general stat-
ute regulating the employees’ direct participation. At that time, the legislature
intended to systematically regulate in the statute employees’ participation also in the
public sector, but the goal was never reached. As a consequence, the reserve solu-
tion provided for in the general statute regulating the employees’ direct participa-
tion in decision-making has been in force for the last 15 years. The forms and modes
of the employees’ direct participation are not guaranteed by the statute but may be
regulated by collective agreements concluded between the trade unions and the
employers in the public sector.
VII. The Employer’s Role in Communications between Employees

and their Representatives
470. The typical trade union right, which may not be prohibited by the employ-
ers, is the right to issue different publications or to provide for other types of com-
munication with employees concerning the issues of union interests and issues
related to labour. The statute indicates that this duty is not active but a passive duty.
This entails that the employers at least have to tolerate the dissemination of union
information in the works unit; however, in normal circumstances this duty becomes
active by a contractual clause on the employer’s obligation to actively support the
union’s efforts to provide the information to the employees by press or other means
of communication. The employers do not have the right to supervise the contents of
the information provided to the employees by the union and therefore cannot be
liable for eventual unlawful union activities in this regard. The same legal approach
can be observed regarding determining the place of meetings of the employees. The
statute does not provide for the place of meetings on the employer’ premises but
this issue can be regulated in the plant collective agreements. However, the statute
does provide for the duty of the employers to collect the membership dues

if the union so requests. The union requests in this regard and in regard to the execu-
tion of the employers’ duties arising from the collective agreement may not be such
as to endanger the regular activities of the employers’ in the works unit.
VIII. Unlawful Actions of Employers against Trade Unions

and Union Members
471. When employers provide certain services or benefits to trade unions in a

single works unit, they have to avoid their different treatment by providing to some
of them better conditions than to others. Such acts would be considered unlawful
discriminatory acts regardless of the fact that there is no direct regulation prohib-
iting such behaviour in statutory law. Another employers’ duty is to abstain from
investigating the employees’ activities that they perform as members of the trade
unions. Such investigations would be considered an unlawful collecting of personal
data of the employees, if such data are not directly connected with the employees’
work performance or employers’ business activity and therefore cannot be regarded
as a legitimate area of the employers’ interest. The statutory support of trade unions
in this regard is not as wide as of employees’ elected representatives. This fact can
be noticed in the regulation of paid or non-paid leave of absence that is ensured to
the members of the works councils but not also to the union representatives. This
right can be provided to the union representatives by the works units’ collective
agreements. The positive aspect of this regulation is the fact that such solution does
not raise the question of the dimensions of the rights appertaining to different trade
unions and the dimensions of the employers’ duties in regard to the size of the
works unit. On the other hand, such statutory regulation, which allows that the rights
are determined only on the contractual basis, puts unions and elected employees’
representatives in the competitive position which may have a negative effect on the
support of the unions for the employees’ elected representatives.
§3. ANTI-UNION ACTIVITIES AND CONSEQUENCES
I. Formal Means of Confrontation with Anti-union Activities
472. The employers may perform different activities or behave so that they vio-
late trade union rights. The Slovenian legal order does not regulate specific sanc-
tions for such unlawful activities or behaviour. The protection of trade unions is
possible on the ground of the statutory regulation on the prevention and resolution
of the collective disputes. The tools, which can be used for the prevention of the
collective disputes are regulated in the Collective Contracts Act of 2006, which
allows social partners to form special bodies for the prevention and resolution of
the collective conflicts in regard to collective bargaining or other relations between
the social partners. In addition to the tools mentioned in the statute, the social part-
ners may on the basis of free collective bargaining, e.g. by determining special
clauses in the obligatory part of the collective agreement, provide basis for other
institutions, which may contribute to prevention or resolution of collective conflicts.

The collective agreements in practice often contain a provision regulating commis-

sions for the interpretation of the contractual clauses. The statute, however, gives a
basis for mediation conducted by the mediator appointed by the minister respon-
sible for labour and a basis for arbitration conducted by the special commission
instituted and maintained by the social partners. In case of the circumstances threat-
ening the irreparable damages an emergency ordinance may be claimed by the trade
union from the labour court. This solution is criticized because the access to the
court on this legal ground is very limited and does not offer necessary and efficient
protection to the trade unions. Whenever the labour court or arbitration body inter-
venes in anti-union disputes, it may adopt one of the general decisions, which are
provided by the Labour and Social Courts Act (2004 with the subsequent amend-
ments). In the case of active anti-union behaviour, the court or the arbitration body
has the authority to order the employer to abstain from such behaviour and to repair
its damaging effects. There are ordinary legal remedies against such court deci-
sions; whereas remedies against the decisions of the arbitration bodies are limited.
The employers must respect such decisions. Not respecting such decisions is pun-
ishable under criminal law.
II. Actions against Individual and Collective Rights of Employees
473. Employers can violate the individual rights of the employees, on the one
hand, and the collective rights of the employees, on the other hand, by certain
actions, decisions, or behaviour. Such activities can be considered an unlawful dete-
rioration of the position of the employees’ representatives. The unlawful transfer,
dismissal, disciplinary procedure, and similar can be performed within the scope of
carrying out the pressure against the employees’ representative association or body.
In some other countries, courts may act in such cases on the ground of actions filed
by the employees or the employees’ representatives, whereas the Slovenian
regulation provides for the action only to the employees.

474–474
Chapter 3. Institutionalized Relations between Employers

and Employees
§1. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
I. Historical Evolution of Collective Bargaining and its Perspectives
474. In the Slovenian legal system collective bargaining between trade unions
and their associations and employers and their associations does not have a long tra-
dition. In the socialist social and political order after the Second World War, until
the creation of the new independent state and the adoption of the new Constitution
in 1991, labour relations had the character of mutual relations between employees.
In the system of self-management, which was based on the so-called social prop-
erty of the means of production, the original power of decision-making in the works
units was given to employees. Their assemblies and councils of workers were con-
sidered the highest governing bodies of the works units, which appointed the man-
agers and also created autonomous self-management instruments. Some of them
regulated working conditions within the frameworks determined by statute. This
system covered the majority of the working area in Slovenia. Only a small part of
the economy was run by private owners, farmers, and craftsmen. Employment rela-
tions in this narrow part of the economy were based on labour contracts. They were
partly regulated by the collective agreements concluded between the unique social-
ist trade union organization and the representative organizations of private employ-
ers represented by the management (see, Bohinc, Ivanjko, 1999). The scope of the
regulation of working conditions by contracts was very limited by the statute.
The situation changed after the introduction of the new social and political order
with the political pluralism, market economy, and a new basis for industrial democ-
racy. The new Constitution of 1991 emphasized that the new state was democratic.
The relation between the principle of democracy and the fundamental social and
economic constitutional rights has given grounds for the process of forming of
social partners and different forms of their communication. Only after the privati-
zation of the means of production, when the majority of the works units became pri-
vate subjects, did the real conditions for collective bargaining arise. The social
partners were very keen to play their new role and the processes of collective bar-
gaining between the trade union associations and employers’ organizations were
very successful. In a relatively short time after the adoption of the new Constitu-
tion, the first generation of collective agreements was created. These were two
national collective agreements agreed between the associations of social partners
organized at the national level. Branch collective agreements followed, both in the
private and in the public sectors. Along with the formation of certain professional
trade unions (e.g. of journalists, doctors) collective agreements of professions were
concluded at the national level. Collective agreements at the plant level were also
concluded. These processes had been taking place even before the process of the
privatization of social property was concluded which essentially influenced the
legal nature of the collective agreements of that time. They were not fully autono-
mous and the will of the social partners in the process of concluding collective

475–475 Part II, Ch. 3, Institutionalized Relations
agreements was significantly limited. The space of the free regulation was limited
by the statute in order to protect still existing social property. Trade unions even
assumed the position of the representatives of all the employees of the special cat-
egory due to the fact that in accordance with the statute the collective agreements
had effect erga omnes. This power of the unions at first appertained to all unions;
however, in 1993 the special statutory regulation of the “most representative
unions” changed the situation. The competence to conclude the collective agree-
ments with the general effect erga omnes was acknowledged only to those who ful-
filled the criteria determined by the statute, especially the criteria regarding size and
power of the union. The collective contracts concluded after the privatization of the
social means of production by these trade unions were the contracts of the second
generation and were no longer limited by the statute. One of the main characteris-
tics of these contracts was the contractual clauses in their obligatory parts providing
for different bodies for the prevention and resolution of the conflicts between the
contracting parties. The third generation of the Slovenian collective contracts
includes the collective contracts concluded after the adoption of the Collective Con-
tracts Act in 2006. This Act partly codified the standards already developed in the
processes of building the system of collective agreements in the past by some addi-
tional statutory regulation. The main novelties were the statutory introduction of the
mediation as the legal tool for the prevention of the collective disputes and the gen-
eral regulation of the approaches to prevention and resolution of legal disputes and
interest disputes. The Act explicitly excludes the application of its provisions for the
collective agreements for the public sector, which opens some problems in this area
of collective bargaining. The legislation on the employment relations in the public
sector namely does not provide for the rules for the formal questions of the collec-
tive agreements; therefore, there is a gap in the law which has to be filled with the
application of the legal analogy.
A. The Evolution of the Main Legal Characteristics of Collective Contracts
475. On the basis of the new Constitution of 1991, in the same year the
so-called general national collective contracts of the first generation were con-
cluded or amended by major trade union associations, one for the private sector and
one for the public sector. Almost at the same time branch collective agreements
were concluded in both sectors. The obligatory parts of both types of collective
agreements contained main clauses regulating the relation between the contracting
parties, the modes of preventing and resolving the collective disputes, and some
provisions regulating regular communication between the contracting parties. In
their normative parts, these collective agreements contained the regulation of work-
ing conditions within the scope as determined by the statute. Before the privatiza-
tion of the means of production (1992–1995), collective contracts could not institute
new rights for the employees nor extend their rights if the statute did not explicitly
allow such approach. After the privatization of the means of production the second
generation of the collective contracts were concluded. Collective bargaining in the
private sector is based on the free will of the negotiating parties. On the other hand,

Part II, Ch. 3, Institutionalized Relations 476–477
collective bargaining in the public sector kept the limited and narrow scope of the
regulation of the working conditions. Collective bargaining in the works units
emerged both in the private and in some parts of the public sectors. In the public
sector the space for the collective bargaining has been limited because of a wide
statutory regulation of working conditions. Nevertheless there has been some space
for the negotiations about working conditions, legitimately based on the additional
activities of employees in public works units, offering products or services on the
market. These activities may be a result of the demand on the free market, and there-
fore they are not financed by the budget. On the basis of the constitutional right of
the free use of property, even works units in the public sector may use such income
for improving the working conditions of the employees. The objective of the works
unit collective agreements was therefore a further improvement of the working con-
ditions for the employees. The structure of this type of the collective agreements fol-
lowed the model of other existing types of the collective agreements.
B. Centralization or Decentralization of Collective Bargaining
476. In legal theory as well as between social partners there is a dilemma,

namely how most efficiently and to the benefit of all participants to apply instru-
ments which in the field of industrial relations are provided for by documents and
rules of international law, when regulating economic and social relations. One of the
central questions in this regard is the question of which forms and modes of
the social dialogue can be most reasonably applied at different levels, i.e. from the
national level to the level of an individual organization at which the working pro-
cess is organized in order to achieve the greatest effects possible. We speak of cen-
tralized social dialogue if this concerns the implementation of forms and modes of
the social dialogue at the national level, whereas if this concerns their implemen-
tation at lower levels we speak of the decentralized social dialogue. Decentraliza-
tion entails a controlled and coordinated transfer of functions of the collective
communication from broader to narrower levels.1
1. See Wergin, 2002 and 2004.
477. Before the implementation of the political pluralism and market economy,
social dialogue in Slovenia was limited to one single centrally organized trade union
whose primary role was creating labour-law norms at the national level. The imple-
mentation of the new contractual labour relations and trade union pluralism created
conditions for an intense decentralization process of collective bargaining, which
took place in the 1990s. century. This process was modelled more on the regulation
in the European countries than after clearly developed strategy and objectives of the
social partners and the state. The system of collective agreements was developed,
whereas the question whether real labour-law questions were regulated within the
framework of relevant forms and were based on the best levels of the social
dialogue remained open.

478. In Slovenian labour law certain modes and manners of the social dialogue
are envisaged by law. One example is a statutory regulation of workers’ participation
in decision-making that can be exercised at the plant level or other types of entities
(i.e. works units) or at the level of associated organizations (i.e. joint works councils,
the European works council). However, other forms and modes, which are related to
the implementation of the principle of trade union freedom do not depend on the
legislature but on the social partners. The statutory regulation of collective labour
relations mentions levels and forms of the social dialogue, however, only non-
exhaustively. The statutory regulation most often mentions branch collective agree-
ments. In cases in which the law mentions this it underlines that certain working
conditions cannot be regulated at the lower, for instance company level. The objective
of such regulation is to strengthen the protection of the employees, therefore this can-
not be considered that trade union freedom is being narrowed or inadmissibly limited.
479. Sociologists established that the centralization of the collective bargaining

strengthens the power and authority of trade union associations. The centralization
of collective bargaining also influences the frequency of strikes. The degree of the
centralization of the bargaining structures is (nearly) inversely proportional to the
number of strikes (Stojanović, 1994, 83). An important advantage of the circum-
stance that the centre of gravity or core of the collective bargaining is outside the
company level allows the development and implementation of the doctrine of the
participative management in works units. Participative management is a compre-
hensive and systematic manner of attracting employees in decision-making pro-
cesses in organizations and combines the method of human resource management1
and the method of workers’ participation in decision-making (Vodovnik, 2005,
192). Certain authors are of the opinion that strengthening collective bargaining at
levels outside companies (i.e. recentralization) entails forcing out trade unions from
companies; this criticism is, however, not substantiated. Trade unions have other
numerous important roles in organizations which they can play without using the
means of pressure. They can also join the activities of workers’ elected represen-
tatives (Vodovnik, 2005, 191).2 Decentralized forms of the social dialogue are of
essential importance for strengthening the flexibility of employment relations and
for preserving the appropriate level of security of the employees. In order to achieve
such it is of essential importance that the employees’ representatives and the man-
agement cooperate to the greatest extent possible when deciding on common goals.
1. Employees’ participation in human resource management has beneficial effects on broadening
the possibilities for more flexible regulation of working conditions. It also encourages the development
of human abilities, motivation, and personal growth as well as the development of standards in
the sensitive area of the protection of the employees’ personality rights and privacy at the work
place (Vodovnik, 2005, 191).
2. This concerns various legally regulated possibilities of the protection of the employees as individuals;
their role in forming employees’ elected representation and in supporting their activities is particularly
important. In order to establish an active role of trade unions in organizations in the field of
collective relations the provisions of Article 27 of the Employees’ Participation in Management
Act (Official Gazette RS, Nos. 24/1993, 56/2001, 26/2007) in accordance with which candidates
for the members of the works council may also be nominated by representative trade unions and
not only by employees directly, are of key importance in Slovenia. Thereby, a connection between
trade unions and employees’ elected representatives is appropriately regulated (Vodovnik, 2005, 191).

480. The characteristic of collective bargaining at the company level is its

decentralized nature, which allows greater flexibility and focus on the distinctive
features of an individual company. Collective bargaining at the company level is
most common in medium-sized and large multinational companies where employ-
ers wish to standardise conditions, positions, and employment policies within the
company and in companies for which a collective agreement concluded at the level
of an activity does not apply (Farnham, 2000, 73).
Collective bargaining at the company level allows a more individual approach to
employees, particularly regarding their salaries, promotions, and training; it also
allows companies faster and more appropriate reactions to pressures and competi-
tion stemming from global economy.
Collective bargaining at the company level is a fundamental form of collective
bargaining in the majority of the member states of the EU and also in Slovenia. Sup-
porters of decentralization oppose such collective bargaining and argue that it is
necessary that working conditions are adapted to the possibilities of individual com-
panies in order to ensure their greater competitiveness (Marginson, 2000, 47). This
approach, however, does not consider possibilities which are in this field brought
by the development of workers’ participation in decision-making and partnership
especially within organizations in which work is carried out (i.e. in works units).
II. The Legal Status and Procedure of Collective Bargaining
A. Different Types of Collective Agreement
481. The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which was adopted in 1991,
provides a legal basis for collective bargaining in Articles 75 and 76.
Article 75 of the Constitution is the legal basis for the statutory regulation of the
workers’ participation in decision-making. The important part of this area of social
partnership is the possibility of the employees’ elected representatives negotiating a
specific type of agreement (i.e. participatory agreements) with the employers or
their representatives (i.e. the management). This type of agreement is regulated in
Article 5 of the Employees’ Participation in Management Act (1993 and subsequent
amendments).1 The statute provides for the agreement which has a regulatory role
in two areas. First, the agreement may regulate the manner of implementing general
provisions of the statute about the modes and forms of the employees’ involvement
in decision-making processes in the works units, and second, the agreement may
also regulate the working conditions, or more precisely, the manner of deciding on
the working conditions, namely rights, duties, and responsibilities of the employ-
ees. The statute does not provide for more precise rules concerning this type of the
agreement, which may be concluded between the employer or the management and
works council or the employees’ trustee.
Article 76 of the Constitution, however, is the basis for collective bargaining and
for forming different types of the collective contracts concluded between trade
unions and employers and their associations.

1. The statute provides for the right of the employees to influence strategic decisions of the governmental
bodies of the companies and not operational decisions, which are in the absolute competence of
managers.
B. The Legal Regulation of Collective Bargaining and the Duty to Bargain
482. The Slovenian collective bargaining system has developed spontaneously

on the basis of the Constitution, adopted in 1991, and on the basis of the ILO con-
ventions regulating trade union freedom.
The characteristic of the bargaining is the use of pressure of one participant of
the collective labour relations on the other participant in order to enforce their eco-
nomic and social interests. There also exists a different type of the communication
between social partners that is based on the balancing of interests between them.
Their interests are different, nevertheless the aim and desire of the social partners to
cooperate in order to implement long-term common interests is in the foreground.
This type of the dialogue has been implemented within organizations in which work
is carried out. All employees in the organization elect their representatives who rep-
resent them in the management of the organization (i.e. employees’ participation in
decision-making). Activities and results of the bipartite social dialogue are carried
out in formally regulated procedures and forms. Various legal regulations of this
field can be found in the world; the differences are a result of the particularities of
the historical development and culture in individual countries. This fact makes har-
monisation of the legal regulation at the international level difficult. A general mani-
festation of different forms of the expression of the results of the social dialogue is
a collective agreement. In comparative law different types of collective contracts as
one of the types of the collective agreements can be found.1
1. In all legal orders it is an agreement and a document that is a result of the collective bargaining
as the above-described communication process between trade unions and employers. In different
countries other characteristics can be substantially different from substantive-law and formal-
law point of view. Such differences include a legal regulation of the parties to collective contracts,
the procedure for concluding collective contracts, legal effects, and their contents (Vodovnik,
2004, pp. 247, 248).
483. The nature of Slovenian collective agreements has been changing through
time, so there is a distinction between the collective agreements of the first, second,
and third generation. The latter is a result of the statutorily defined frameworks for
the collective bargaining, which is in fact the codification of already existing prac-
tices in this area with a few novelties. The Collective Contracts Act, adopted in
2006, has provided the social partners with the regulation of the procedure for col-
lective bargaining and with legal tools for the prevention and resolution of collec-
tive conflicts between the contracting parties. The statutory contents must be
regarded in relation to other regulations, especially to international law concerning
social dialogue, the constitutional principles, and also the general provisions of civil
contractual law. The Act does not contain the exhaustive list of different types of
collective contracts regardless of the fact that it mentions some of them. It regulates
the possibility of extending the validity of some collective contracts, which may be

concluded for the area wider than the works unit. The power to extend the validity
of such types of collective contracts is vested in the minister responsible for labour.
On the other hand, the Act does not regulate the problem of the possible extension
of the collective contracts concluded at the works unit level. For this type of col-
lective contract therefore stays in force the former statutory regulation of the rep-
resentativeness of trade unions, adopted in 1993, which contains the rule that
representative trade unions may conclude collective contracts which have erga
omnes legal effect. This regulation has been criticized by the employers, because it
does not provide for the collective bargaining in works units with one single col-
lective contract between the employer and the representative body of different rep-
resentative trade unions. In consequence, the employer has the legal duty to enter
the collective bargaining whenever one of the representative trade unions initiates
the procedure. The duty to bargain is not limited to any specific matter, such as
health and safety at work, social services within the enterprise, the number of work-
ers required to guarantee minimum essential services in case of strike.
C. The Contents of Collective Agreements and Other Autonomous

Sources of Law
484. Contemporary Slovenian regulation of the collective bargaining and col-

lective agreements is in general based on the free will of the social partners and
therefore does not impose on them the duty to regulate certain specific issues in
regard to employment relations.1 In the public sector the free will of the social part-
ners is partly limited in the area of employees’ participation in decision-making and
in the area of collective bargaining between trade unions and employers.
The content of participatory agreements which are negotiated between the
employers and the employees’ elected representatives, is partly defined by the stat-
ute. The statute imposes on both contracting parties of the agreement the duty to
regulate the modes and forms of the employees’ representation in the works unit. If
no agreement can be reached, these questions can be regulated by means of the
intervention of the arbitration body, which is envisaged in the statute for such cases.
The arbitration body may determine rules also in regard to other issues which are
not explicitly determined as essential elements of the participatory agreement by the
statute, whereas in such cases the negotiating parties must provide the arbitration
body with the authorization for such.
1. See, Cvetko et al. 2004.
485. Collective contracts, which may be concluded in the private sector, are
based on the free will of the social partners. They may freely regulate all issues
relating to economic and social relations of the employees. In this area the statutory
regulation of the employment relations does not force the social partners to regulate
specific issues relating to working conditions. However, the statutory regulation in
many cases imposes on the employer to provide for the internal regulations by the
autonomous regulatory acts. The statute favours the regulation in accordance with
bipartite autonomous acts, such as a participatory agreement or an internal

collective agreement. If such acts cannot be concluded, the duty to adopt internal
regulation still applies; therefore, the employer has to adopt unilaterally general
enactment according to the statute. In some cases the statute does not require an
internal regulation of the specific issues in accordance with the autonomous regu-
lation but permits different or additional regulation in the autonomous source of law
as prescribed by the statute. In some cases the statute permits the regulation by uni-
laterally determined internal rules with the general enactment of the employer. In
other cases, however, it requires different or additional regulation by the collective
agreement and in most cases by explicitly defined genus of the collective agree-
ment, namely the collective agreement at the branch level. In the public sector the
contents of the collective agreements is regulated more precisely and the regulatory
area of this type of the agreements is limited by more detailed regulation of the
working conditions in accordance with the statute.
III. The Binding Effects of Collective Agreements
486. The legal basis for the collective agreements, namely the collective con-
tracts as well as the participatory agreements, are general civil law provisions regu-
lating contracts the application of which depends on the contracting parties. In
addition, the legal bases for collective agreements are special labour law regula-
tions regulating the collective agreements concluded by the employers and employ-
ees’ elected representatives or trade union representatives. Legally binding
effects of collective agreements are not provided for in the obligatory part of the col-
lective agreements of both types. The binding effects are provided for in the col-
lective agreements, namely their normative part of the collective agreement.
Participatory agreements primarily regulate the modes and forms of exercising the
right of the employees to influence the decision-making processes in works units,
including decisions concerning working conditions and the regulation of the work-
ing conditions themselves in works units. The normative part of the collective
agreements cannot be considered contractual clauses but an autonomous regulation
of the specific subject, i.e. working conditions. As such they have to be published,
which is a condition for their application. The autonomy of the contracting parties
is defined by the general rules about the relations between sources of law. The basic
principle in this regard is that the autonomous sources of law may not diminish the
employees’ rights, which have already been secured by statutes, collective agree-
ments, or international regulations if such possibility is not explicitly anticipated by
these regulations. The regulation, which is not in compliance with this principle, can
be proclaimed null and void by the labour court.
If some clause of the single individual labour contract violates this principle pro-
viding for less favourable working conditions than prescribed by the collective
agreements or regulations, the latter is applied automatically instead of such unlaw-
ful clause.
The contents of the normative parts of different types of collective contracts
depends especially on the scope and manner of the statutory regulation of working
conditions and on standards which are applied in individual countries regarding the

question of at which level and in what scope it is appropriate to regulate concrete

working conditions.
With reference to such, in Slovenia a principle applies, namely that the statutory
regulation of individual employment relations often authorizes social partners to
regulate by a collective agreement of a certain type certain working condition in a
different manner than they are regulated by law or that they regulate under certain
conditions certain working conditions less favourably than they are regulated
by law.1
1. The law, for instance, determines that a fixed-term employment contract may be concluded for
the period of the duration of a project, however, it is determined by a collective contract concluded
at the level of activity what is deemed project work. For telework applies that conditions for the
conclusion of a contract to carry out telework are regulated by law and a collective contract
concluded at the employer.
IV. Personal Validity of Collective Agreements
487. Collective contracts generally have an erga omnes effect on the basis of the
decision of the minister responsible for labour. This decision of the minister is pos-
sible in case of the collective contracts concluded at the national level or in case
that the collective contracts at the branch level are concluded by a representative
trade union or unions. This most common situation does not exclude the possibility
of negotiating collective agreements which protect only trade union members if the
agreement is concluded by the trade union that does not have a nature of the rep-
resentative union. In such case employees who are not members of a trade union of
the same category of employees, do not have the same level of rights, regulated in
the normative part of the collective contract, as the union members have. In this
situation the non-unionized employees may claim equal treatment in comparison to
union members who are protected by the collective agreement at the branch level,
if no legal ground for a different level of rights exists on the basis of mutually
defined duties of the contracting parties to the collective agreement. If employers
are not bound by the collective agreement to secure certain employees’ rights, they
may unilaterally decide to recognize them to these employees. The employers may
explicitly state their willingness to do so in writing or simply continuously apply
the rules in practice. In such cases the provisions of the collective agreements in
question have a binding effect even in relation to these employees.
If the employer changes because of the division of the works unit, the transfer of
the undertaking or some other significant change of a legal position of the works
unit, the new employer is legally bound by the existing collective agreements as the
successor, who enters in the legal position of the predecessor. One of the central
questions of the applicability of broader collective contracts is the question of which
broader collective contract binds employers if there exist at the broader level, espe-
cially at the branch level, more collective contracts. If the matter concerns regular
collective contracts, this question is not difficult. The employers are bound by a col-
lective contract that their representatives concluded or to which they acceded. How-
ever, in cases of collective contracts with broader applicability, the answer is

not that simple. Business entities may perform various activities, therefore the ques-
tion is raised which activity collective contract applies for them. In such a case it
must be determined which is the employer’s principal activity. The manner of deter-
mining a principal activity is determined in Article 12 of the Business Register of
Slovenia Act.1 A principal activity of a business entity is the activity by which it
creates the greatest share of its total added value by its products or services. If the
share of the total added value cannot be determined, a criterion for determining a
principal activity is a share of fixed assets or a share of investments or a share of
the number of the employees or paid gross salaries. Business entities acquire infor-
mation on the principal activity upon the entry in the business register of Slovenia.
1. The Business Register of Slovenia Act, Official Gazette RS, No. 13/1995.
V. The Obligatory Part of Collective Agreements
A. Clauses on Mutual Obligations
488. The obligatory part of the collective agreement contains contractual

clauses which in regard to their legal nature may not be considered a regulation of
the working conditions.1 This part of a collective agreement contains mutual obli-
gations between contracting parties. They do not directly affect the legal position of
single employees.
Both parties may accept certain duties in regard to the implementation of the con-
tract. In addition, each party may consent to accepting certain specific duties in
favour of the opposite party. The theory of collective labour relations mentions vari-
ous typical clauses, which can be found in obligatory parts of collective agree-
ments. Among them are especially important social peace clauses (i.e. company
security clauses, no-strike clauses) and related clauses that regulate mutual obliga-
tions of the parties to collective agreements.2 A peace obligation clause may exclude
the right of trade unions to organize a strike and refrain from certain forms of pres-
sure against employers in order to achieve better working conditions during the time
of the validity of the collective agreement. This clause has a direct impact on the
position of the employees who are the members of the union; therefore, the clause
must be regarded as a hybrid, being at the same time the element of the obligatory
as well as the normative part of the collective agreement. The peace obligation
clauses can be relative or absolute but in any case they have to be explicitly deter-
mined in the collective agreement as specific contractual clauses.3 Relative peace
obligation stands for the working conditions which are regulated by the collective
agreement, and absolute peace obligation stands for the prohibition of industrial
action for any reason during the validity of the collective agreement. Some union
officials object to the peace obligation clauses, however, the majority of collective
labour-law experts have no doubts about their legitimate basis. This condition can
be deemed fulfilled if the peace obligation clause is concrete and related to some
concrete duty on the employer’s side. In case of strike, which could take place in
spite of the peace obligation clause, many different situations are possible. If the
strike is organized or joined by trade union members of the union which must

respect the peace obligation clause, they can be held responsible for their conduct
and the employer may impose disciplinary sanctions against them or they may even
be dismissed or/and liable for damage caused to the employer. Civil liability can
also be a burden of the trade union if the union bodies caused or contributed to the
unlawful behaviour of the workers when organizing or taking part in a wildcat
strike. The peace obligation clause binds the individual members of the union, inso-
far as they remain the members of the union. As the Constitution grants the right to
strike to the employees and not to trade unions, the employees who decide to exer-
cise this constitutional right can avoid the duty to respect the peace obligation by
withdrawing from the union. This situation shows the legal nature of the peace obli-
gation clause, which provides the employer with a relative protection against the
employees’ action. On the other hand, the peace obligation clause restrains the
employees relatively. According to the constitutional regulation of strike, there is no
doubt that in Slovenian law the right to strike must be considered the individual
right of the employees which can be self-restrained. In view of the fact that the
peace obligation clause regulates the individual right of the employees as well as
the duties of the trade unions, the peace obligation clause must be regarded as the
element of the obligatory as well as the normative part of the collective agreement.
1. The obligatory part of collective contracts is binding only on signatories to the contract. Collective
contracts are not adopted by state or administrative authorities, therefore they cannot be considered
a law or an administrative instrument; they are concluded by two contracting parties voluntarily,
although the law determines a procedural obligation of the parties to bargain. Therefore, for the
obligatory part of the collective contract apply general principles of civil law. Each contracting
party must fulfil their contractual obligations. The obligations must be fulfilled in a manner such
that causa of the conclusion of the contract as well as standards of due care and diligence must
be taken into consideration. The consequence of not fulfilling the obligations is a civil sanction,
as a general rule damages (šinkovec J., Tratar B., 2001).
2. The first generation of collective contracts regulates the duty of the contracting parties to respect
social peace in a manner such that a clause binds the parties to strive to correctly implement
such collective contract by all means available to them. They must strive to keep social peace
and to prevent their members from using so-called means of pressure. Trade unions or employers
must, within the framework of the means available to them, influence the conduct of their members.
The first generation of collective contracts also regulates the duty of the parties to omit every
act that would be contrary to or would impede the implementation of the collective contract.
These clauses can also be found in the second generation of collective contracts as well as in
the new, third generation of collective contracts.
3. An agreement with reference to such can be limited to certain special types of pressure; it can
be limited in its subject, etc. In cases in which such limitations are already determined by law,
the peace obligation clause may only determine additional limitations of the use of the means of
pressure.
489. There are also some other clauses in the collective agreements, which have
the legal nature of hybrids, namely they appertain to both parts of the collective
agreements, i.e. the obligatory and the normative part. According to the statutory
rules regulating employment relations, collective agreements can contain the regu-
lation regarding arbitration bodies whose competence is to decide individual labour
disputes. In such case collective agreements also have to contain procedural provi-
sions regulating the mode of the conflict resolution. These provisions regulating
arbitration and the arbitration procedure provide individual employees with the

procedural rights, on one side, and impose on the parties to the collective agree-
ment the duty to organize and maintain an arbitration body, on the other.
490. Employers may also accept certain obligations in favour of the union. They
may provide active support to the union with reference to the union’s operational
needs. Such obligation is often the obligation to permit trade union members to have
meetings at the employer’s premises, offering them the necessary space, adminis-
trative and technical support, and similar. Such benefits in favour of trade unions
may, however, not result trade unions becoming dependent on employers.
B. Institutional Clauses
491. Institutional clauses can be determined in order to regulate bodies and pro-
cedures that are necessary to secure communication between the parties to the
agreement. They can be determined in collective agreements or in participatory
agreements. The regulation concerning different bodies, which can be determined
in the obligatory part of the collective agreements, are usually the bodies whose
activities are to prevent and resolve specific collective disputes. In this part of the
collective agreement the parties may regulate certain social services for the employ-
ees or the framework for social benefits or services for the employees. The clauses
of the obligatory part of the collective agreements may also regulate a concretely
determined duty of further negotiations on specific matters, and even more impor-
tantly, the clauses may determine the frameworks for further regulations in the col-
lective agreements. In this sense, the clauses of the obligatory part of the collective
agreements may grant to the parties or to the representatives of the parties the right
to regulate the position of the employees that is less favourable than regulated in
the existing collective contract (i.e. regulation in peius). As this possibility entails
the exception from the principle that later collective agreements may grant the
employees more rights and not less, the clauses on such regulation ‘in peius’ must
contain a clear limitation.
VI. Procedure for Negotiating Collective Agreements and Duration

of the Collective Agreements
A. Procedure
492. The procedure for negotiating collective agreements and the framework for
their duration is determined by statute. The main statutory provisions regulating the
procedure determine the duty of the social partners to bargain. This duty is biding
for both parties of the collective relation; therefore, the duty to bargain is the bur-
den of the employers and their associations and the employees’ representative bod-
ies, unions, and the employees’ elected representatives. Regardless of the explicitly
determined duty to bargain in the Collective Contracts Act and the Employees’
Participation in Management Act, social partners do not have a duty to accept
proposals of the subject who initiated the collective bargaining procedure.

The legal nature of their duty to bargain is procedural and not substantive. The bar-
gaining procedure may fail if there is no consent on the proposals. In such case the
parties may try to resolve the conflict of interest by using the possibility to autho-
rise certain institutions that have been established for the prevention and resolution
of collective conflicts (i.e. conciliation, mediation, and arbitration bodies).
B. Duration
493. The duration of the collective agreements is not determined by law with
the exception of the provisions regulating the maximum duration of the collective
agreements concluded for a fixed period of time. In such case the maximum dura-
tion of the agreement is limited to five years. The statutory provisions regulating
collective agreements in regard to the procedure for negotiating such and their dura-
tion are elaborated in more detail for the collective contracts than the participatory
agreements; therefore, the general rules on the collective contracts may also be
applied for the negotiation and duration of the participatory agreements.
494. If there are two or more members of the negotiating party, the problem of
the formation and the expression of the will of the negotiating party arise. In the
public sector the statutory regulation about the manner of forming the will of the
party must be applied, however, there are no such statutory provisions for the pri-
vate sector. In the private sector the negotiating parties may express their will freely;
therefore, the principle of union freedom is fully applied in this area. The element
of union freedom contains the right of the negotiating parties to determine the man-
ner of forming and expressing their will according to their own rules (if associated)
or agreements (if not associated), which may determine how the subjects who are
members of the single negotiating party influence the formation and expression of
the will of the negotiating party.
VII. Enforcement of Collective Agreements
A. Collective Agreements and the Legal System
495. Collective agreements are formal legal acts of private law. They have the
same characteristics even when they are concluded in the public sector, which
entails that one of the negotiating parties is a public authority. In the processes of
negotiations between trade unions of the public sector and public employers, public
authorities do not act as public authorities but as employers of the private sector,
taking into consideration the limitations determined by regulations. Having the
nature of legal formal acts and sources of law, collective agreements are regulated
by general statutory provisions on collective agreements and special statutory pro-
visions on the frameworks of the collective bargaining and negotiating in the public
sector. In addition to the regulation on the collective agreements, also general
provisions of civil law regulating contracts must be taken into consideration.

496. Collective agreements are as a general rule respected and implemented by

the parties themselves. In case of a disagreement on the implementation of the con-
tractual clauses or regulations the parties may initiate procedures for the prevention
or resolution of disputes about rights. The institutions, which may act in order to
prevent and resolve the disputes about rights, may be bodies of consultation, media-
tion and arbitration, labour inspectors, and labour courts. In the field of the collec-
tive bargaining such disputes can arise if the parties do not agree on the manner of
the implementation of the provisions of the applicable collective contract or if any
of the parties establishes that there was a violation of the contract. The parties can
themselves eliminate the risk of the dispute by bargaining (i.e. prevention). A party
may initiate a procedure by a proposal to bargain that contains a written statement
of reasons, which the party sends to the opposing party. If the disagreement cannot
be resolved by means of bargaining, it can be established that a legal dispute has
arisen between the parties. In such case the legislature ensures to the parties the
same mechanisms for the dispute resolution as in cases of interest disputes. Arbi-
tration is especially effective means for the resolution of such disputes.
B. Arbitration
497. Arbitration is a legal institution that is implemented in various fields of

law, also in the field of labour law. From the formal-law point of view, arbitration
is a body envisaged for out-of-court dispute resolution. It is established on the basis
of a legal norm or an agreement between the parties in dispute with the objective to
decide their dispute. Parties can directly or indirectly influence its formation,
whereas an arbitration decision has the effects of a final judicial decision.
An arbitration as a body for out-of-court dispute resolution is regulated in the
Arbitration Act.1 In addition to this general regulation, the rules on arbitration are
also contained in regulations regulating collective contracts and employees’ partici-
pation in decision-making. In the field of employees’ participation arbitration is
obligatory and as such also entails a procedural condition that a procedure before a
labour court2 in accordance with the Labour and Social Courts Act may be
initiated.3
1. The Arbitration Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 45/2008).
2. In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 23 of the Labour and Social Courts Act in
cases in which a law or a collective contract determine an obligatory procedure for a peaceful
resolution of a dispute, an action is allowed under the condition that such procedure has been
initiated, which entails a temporary limitation of access of the parties to court. The parties may
not seek judicial protection if they do not try to peaceful resolve their dispute beforehand.
3. The Labour and Social Courts Act (Official Gazette RS, Nos. 2/2004, 10/2004 – corr., 45/2008,
and 45/2008).
498. In regulations regulating collective bargaining, an obligation that the par-

ties try to resolve their dispute by arbitration is not determined as a condition for
judicial protection. However, obligation is determined in certain collective con-
tracts. An obligatory arbitration is also determined in the important Collective Con-
tract for the Public Sector, however, not for all types of disputes. It is envisaged only
for issues that must be regulated by a collective contract,1 and not for issues for

which regulations do not determine that they must be regulated by a collective con-
tract and in cases of violations of employees’ rights or the rights of parties to the
collective contract.
The adopted arbitration decision in such case is an instrument permitting enforce-
ment. In case that a dispute about rights was prevented by bargaining or resolved
by mediation or arbitration, the time in which the party must implement the deci-
sion must also be determined together with the resolution of the dispute. The arbi-
tration decision has erga omnes effects, i.e. it applies for all for whom applies the
collective contract. 2
1. Issues that must for instance be regulated by a collective contract in accordance with the Salary
System in the Public Sector Act (Official Gazette RS, Nos. 95/2007 – official consolidated text
17/2008, 58/2008, 69/2008, 69/2008, 120/2008, and 20/2009) are the following: the amount of
the harmonization of the value of salary brackets (the fourth paragraph of Article 5), the lowest
possible salary bracket without promotion for an individual tariff bracket (the second paragraph
of Article 8), etc.
2. An arbitration that is mentioned in the statutory provisions regulating collective bargaining is
composed of the equal number of members appointed by each party and of the president who
is appointed by both parties by common consent. Arbitration can be permanent and the parties
establish such on the basis of the relevant clauses of the collective contract. In such cases the
parties determine each their own list of arbiters who participate in deciding in individual cases.
Each time arbitration procedure is initiated, the parties appoint their arbiters from this list. The
collective contract may, in addition to establishing arbitration, also determine procedure for its
work.
The second option is establishing an ad hoc arbitration for resolving a particular dispute. In
cases in which an ad hoc arbitration is established, arbiters are appointed from the list of arbiters,
which is determined by the minister responsible for labour upon the proposal of representative
trade union associations and employers.
In both instances the parties try to agree on the president of the arbitration. If they cannot
agree, each one of them may propose that the president is appointed by the court competent for
labour disputes from the list of arbiters determined by the minister responsible for labour.
499. In cases of legal disputes in the field of the participation of the employees
in management, arbitration also plays a central role. The forming of the arbitration
body and arbitration procedure is regulated by the Employees’ Participation in Man-
agement Act. In cases of legal disputes with reference to strike the Act does not
envisage arbitration for the resolution of such disputes. The use of arbitration is
naturally possible in cases in which the parties in disputes agree thereon, which is
a desirable manner of the resolution of such disputes.
500. In cases of other types of dispute, namely interest disputes, prevention and
resolution of the disputes may also be in the hands of the bodies of consultation,
mediation, or arbitration if negotiations are not successful.1 Labour inspectors may
also have the role of facilitators or mediators. An interest dispute is a collective
labour dispute, which is a consequence of different interests of the parties. Such dis-
putes can arise in all fields of collective labour relations. In the field of collective
bargaining such disputes arise if parties cannot agree on individual issues regarding
the conclusion, supplementation, or amendment of the collective contract. The pro-
cedure for a peaceful resolution of an interest dispute in the field of collective bar-
gaining by means of mediation or arbitration is initiated on the proposal of one of
the parties within a certain time limit, which runs from the moment the proposal was

submitted to the other party, and the party did not accept it. Each party may, after
they received a written consent of the opposing party, propose that an expert nomi-
nated by the minister responsible for labour, intervenes as a mediator in the dis-
pute.2 The second possibility is that parties may agree that their dispute be resolved
by arbitration. In this, the parties define disputable issues and the time limit for their
resolution. An arbitration decision may replace a collective contract or its part and
is published in the same manner as a collective contract. In cases in which the par-
ties agreed on arbitration, during proceedings they must refrain from any type of
pressure with reference to their claims for which the dispute had arisen, unless they
agree otherwise.
Labour courts are not authorized to resolve such disputes because the courts in
Slovenia can only decide on the basis of the constitutional and statutory regulations.
1. As a tool for resolving collective labour disputes in the field of collective bargaining, the statutory
regulation also determines mediation of the parties in dispute. This task can be carried out by an
individual, i.e. a mediator, or a body, i.e. a mediation commission. Members of the commission
are appointed by the parties in dispute, whereas the president is appointed by the appointed parties’
representatives. The main characteristic of mediation is that a mediator or a mediation commission
outlines a proposal for the resolution of the dispute. An agreement on the interest issues, which
the parties concluded, must be published. An authority competent for the registration of collective
contracts must be informed thereof, whereas such notification is not necessary for an agreement
by which a legal dispute was resolved.
The applicable Slovenian statutory regulation does not mention conciliation as one of the
possible manners of prevention or resolution of collective labour disputes. This does not entail,
however, that such possibility does not exist. As the statutory provisions on the prevention and
resolution of collective labour disputes are of dispositive nature, the rules on conciliation can be
applied in collective contracts as clauses of the obligatory part of Collective contracts. Unlike
mediation, conciliation procedure is the procedure in which an authorized person or a body does
not outline a proposal to the parties, but only conducts their negotiations or the process of the
resolution of already arisen dispute.
2. An act determines that representative employers’ associations and trade unions propose experts,
who may intervene as mediators. On their proposal the minister responsible for labour compiles
a list from which experts are appointed in individual cases.
C. Preventing and Resolving Collective Labour Disputes in Practice
501. The Slovenian system of collective agreements contains certain legal insti-
tutions concerning prevention of labour disputes that do not have a direct basis in
the statutory regulations but in contractual clauses of the collective agreements (see,
Vodovnik, 2002). In practice such approach has brought some positive results. Com-
missions for the interpretation of the collective agreements have been formed on the
basis of the collective agreements clauses. Those commissions had the most impor-
tant role in branch collective agreements. Their decisions on the interpretation of
collective agreement provisions were even published in the Official Gazette of the
Republic of Slovenia. Their opinions complement the provisions of collective
agreements. The main role of these commissions is to find an acceptable interpre-
tation of individual provisions of the collective agreement that the parties under-
stand differently, which may cause that conflicts between them escalate. In practice
the activities of these commissions have proved to be the most efficient manner for
the prevention of collective labour disputes and as a consequence this type of labour

disputes is very rare. Collective agreements also contain provisions regulating con-
ciliation commissions, which were in the past usually obligatory in relation to
intended arbitration, i.e. a party who wants to initiate an arbitration procedure must
primarily try to resolve a dispute by conciliation. If the conciliation fails, the party
may initiate an arbitration procedure. In 2006 the Collective Contracts Act brought
some changes in the system of the collective labour disputes resolution. The statute
introduced the possibility of mediation between the parties to the collective agree-
ment that is conducted by the mediator who is appointed by the minister respon-
sible for labour from the list of experts.
Regarding arbitration, arbitration bodies are rarely mentioned collective agree-
ments. Arbitration bodies are not compulsory; their decisions are final and may be
challenged by actions in just a few cases determined by civil procedure legislation.
D. Labour Courts
502. A central and traditional manner of resolving collective labour disputes is

resolving such disputes by courts. Such courts are special courts, i.e. labour and
social courts, whose Organization and procedure are regulated by the Labour and
Social Courts Act.1 Article 6 of the Labour and Social Courts Act determines the
authority of the labour courts also in collective labour disputes.
The Act determines the authority of the labour courts for four groups of collec-
tive labour disputes. A collective labour dispute is a dispute on a collective (thus
not on an individual) right, obligation, legal relation, or interest. Certain authors
define as the essential determining elements of collective labour disputes two cat-
egories. Such disputes arise: if they concern disputes on collective rights or legal
relations, and if the parties in such disputes are collective, representative bodies or
employers’ and employees’ organizations (Novak, 1995, p.1006).
The parties can resolve a collective labour dispute themselves following a certain
procedure or their dispute may be resolved by a third person or a public institution.
503. Slovenian legal regulation distinguishes between two ways of resolving

collective labour disputes:
– a procedure for a peaceful dispute resolution (i.e. an out-of-court procedure);

and
– a court procedure.
In general it applies that parties shall try to resolve their disputes peacefully,
whereas they should resort to an action before a court only when all other options
are exhausted, namely as ultima ratio. In the field of dispute resolution with refer-
ence to collective bargaining, the Collective Contracts Act1 is important also from
the procedural point of view; it namely regulates the manners of resolving collective
labour disputes, i.e. out-of-court resolution by means of mediation, conciliation, and

arbitration as well as before a court in accordance with labour courts regulations.

This Act also regulates the elements of out-of-court procedure; however, it leaves
the parties the possibility to determine themselves the procedural norms on bodies
and the procedure for the prevention and resolution of labour disputes with refer-
ence to collective bargaining. The statutory rules in the field of collective bargain-
ing are thus dispositive, and shoud be applied in cases in which an individual
collective contract does not contain the rules on bodies and procedure. Procedural
rules on the resolution of collective labour disputes are furthermore contained in
the regulations on participation of employees in decision-making and on strike. The
right to strike is implemented under the conditions set forth in the Strike Act. The
case-law of labour courts shows that a subject of disputes is not only the question
of the lawfulness of a strike in a narrower sense. A subject of collective labour dis-
putes can also be relations that arise with reference to strike, e.g. preparations for a
strike.2
2. In one of the cases the subject of the dispute was cited to be the question of lawfulness of a
strike, in fact, however, the decision of the strike board on the announcement of the strike was
reviewed (Cvetko, 2005, p. 241).
504. In addition to mediation, conciliation, and arbitration an important manner

of the resolution of collective labour disputes is also a settlement. It can be based
on substantive rules of civil law or on procedural rules of labour law. The parties in
dispute may reach a compromise on the basis of the provisions of the Code of Obli-
gations,1 or they can reach a settlement at court. In the latter case, the statutory rules
regulating the procedure in front of the labour courts with reference to settlement
must be taken into consideration.
1. Articles 76, 356, 399, 410, 1000, 1022 of the Code of Obligations.
505. The Labour and Social Courts Act determine who may be parties and par-
ticipants in procedure in cases of collective labour disputes. This issue can also be
regulated by other regulations, including substantive-law regulations. Judicial pro-
ceedings are partly regulated by the Labour and Social Courts Act. From Article 14
of the Labour and Social Courts Act1 there follows that a court, when deciding col-
lective labour disputes, only decides in a panel of judges. In view of the fact that in
collective labour disputes also the provisions of the Civil Procedure Act2 apply
(Article 19 of the Labour and Social Courts Act), if the Labour and Social Courts
Act does not determine otherwise, it is thus admissible also in collective labour dis-
putes to apply those provisions of the Civil Procedure Act which allow the presi-
dent of the panel to adopt certain decisions, as it applies in civil proceedings.
1. Official Gazette RS, No 2/2004, 10/2004 – corr., and 45/2008.
2. Official Gazette RS, No 73/2007, 101/2007, 102/2007, 45/2008, 62/2008, 111/2008, 116/2008,
and 121/2008.
506. Collective labour disputes before of labour courts may not be initiated by
filing an action, as applies for individual labour disputes. They may be initiated on
a proposal. The main characteristic of the legal regulation of the procedure before

labour courts is that the above-mentioned Act only regulates a smaller part of the
procedural rules. The majority of the procedural rules, which must be applied in pro-
cedures of court resolution of labour disputes (i.e. individual and collective) can be
found in a general regulation of civil procedure which is applied subsidiarily, thus
in cases in which special procedural rules do not exist. Labour courts adopt differ-
ent types of decisions, i.e. decisions on the merits, decisions on procedural issues,
decisions on temporary injunctions,1 or decisions on the confirmation of the court
settlement. In the appellate procedure with reference to collective labour disputes
the regulation provides for a specific solution, namely that also participants who did
not take part in proceedings in first instance may appeal. A new trial is not allowed
in collective labour disputes.
1. Temporary injunctions:
– a court may also issue ex offıcio temporary injunctions during proceedings which are necessary
in order to prevent the use of force or the occurrence of difficult to remedy damage;
– if a participant requests that a temporary injunction be issued, a court shall decide the request
within three days;
– a competent court shall decide a legal remedy against a decision on a temporary injunction
within eight days;
– temporary injunctions are issued in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating
securing of claims, if it is not determined otherwise.
§2. WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION
I. Legitimate Basis
507. Workers’ participation is a phenomenon which exists in different types of

works units. It is present in different areas of economic and social relations and can
have different forms. The word participation entails the entitlement of the employ-
ees to directly or indirectly exercise their right to acquire a part of the new value
arising from their work results, on the one hand, and the right to influence decision-
making processes in the works units, on the other hand. The first area is considered
workers’ financial participation and the second the employees’ participation in
decision-making. The employees’ participation as described above has its constitu-
tional basis. The financial participation has its basis in the basic principles of the
Constitution, namely the principle of the social state (Article 2 of the Constitution).
This principle can be interpreted from different aspects; one of them is a legal guar-
anty of just relations between employers and employees. One of the legitimate
approaches is profit sharing and other forms of the financial participation of the
employees.
508. The second area of the employees’ participation, namely participation in

decision-making processes in works units, also has its basis in the constitutional
provisions regulating social dialogue, which is considered a communication process
among the employers, employees, and the state. Social dialogue is the essential ele-
ment of the democracy (i.e. industrial democracy), therefore, the main regulatory
basis for the social dialogue is in the first part of the Constitution: Article 1 of the

Slovenian Constitution emphasizes that Slovenia is a democratic republic. Employ-

ees’ participation in decision-making may be observed in a broader or narrower
sense. In a broader sense it contains all forms of the employees’ expression of their
different views about their economic and social interests, including trade union
activities in processes of the collective bargaining. In a narrower sense, the partici-
pation in decision-making processes entails the expression of the employees’ views,
expressed either directly or through employees’ elected representatives. As the col-
lective bargaining system has already been described, the further presentation of the
employees’ participation in decision-making is limited to a description of the
employees’ and their elected representatives’ activities. A direct constitutional basis
for the legal regulation of this area is the provision of Article 75 of the Slovenian
Constitution. It guarantees the employees in the works units in the private sector and
in the public sector the right to participate in decision-making processes in accor-
dance with the statutes which regulate this area.
II. Fundamental Statutory Regulation
509. Employees’ participation in decision-making in works units is regulated by

many statutes which have introduced in the legal system the modern elements of
the employees’ participation according to the acceptable solutions which can be
found in comparative law. National regulations also comply with international law,
namely regulatory acts of the ILO, the European Union, and the Council of Europe.
The legislature has drafted the Employees’ Participation in Management Act 1993
(EPMA) on the constitutional basis. The EPMA introduced in Slovenian legislation
the majority of the important legal institutions in the area of employees’ participa-
tion in decision-making in works units. In addition to this Act, in Slovenian legal
system there are other statutes which are entirely or partially devoted to the subject
mentioned above.
510. Slovenian legislation regulates the field of employees’ participation in

management also by the European Works Councils Act, 2002 (EWCA), which regu-
lates employees’ participation in management in European works councils. The Act
can be applied in undertakings established in the Member States of the EU that
operate in at least two European Union Member States. The Act ensures the right of
employees to information and consultation in undertakings. The central manage-
ment must inform the employees of the possibility that a works council be estab-
lished; after that, upon the employees’ request, it must initiate the procedure for
developing the system. The Act applies to undertaking located within the EU with
head offices in the Republic of Slovenia, if they employ at least 1,000 employees in
European Union Member States, of which there are at least 150 employees in at
least two European Union Member States. It also applies to groups of undertakings
located within the EU for which the controlling undertaking has its head office in
the Republic of Slovenia, if they employ at least 1,000 employees in European
Union Member States and include at least two undertakings that have a head office

in different European Union member states in which at least 150 employees are
employed.
Employees’ participation in a European public limited liability company and in a
European cooperative society is regulated in the Workers’ Participation in Manage-
ment in the European Companies Act (2006) and the Workers Participation in Man-
agement in the European Cooperative Society Act (2006).
The above-mentioned Acts regulate the manners of employees’ participation in
management of the European Company and the European cooperative society and
in detail regulate a negotiating procedure and employees’ participation in manage-
ment on the basis of an agreement and on the basis of the law. The Acts furthermore
determine the principles of participation, the protection of employees’ representa-
tives, and the competence for a dispute resolution.
Extended minimum requirements regarding information and consultation were
introduced in the Slovenian legal order by the Act amending the Employees’ Par-
ticipation in Management Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 26/2007) and the Act
amending the Employment Relations Act (Official Gazette RS, No. 103/2007). The
process of building of the system of regulations is still going on (see, Krapež, 2008).
511. Article 16 of the Directive on Cross-Border Mergers of Limited Liability

Companies 2005/56/EC was transposed in the national legislation by the provisions
of the Act amending the Companies Act.1 The Act regulates employees’ participa-
tion in decision-making in companies that are a result of cross-border mergers. In
Part VI by added Section 4 Special Rules for Cross-Border Mergers of Limited
Liability Companies it supplemented the field of the reorganization of the legal posi-
tion of companies. The regulations provides for the duty of the management to
adopt a joint plan for the cross border merger. Among others essential elements of
the joint plan the provisions about the employees’ participation on decision-making
should be regulated. Management is also obliged to make a report about the con-
sequences of the cross- border merger for the employees of the companies involved.
The management’s report must be sent to the employees’ representatives of the
companies before the merger takes place. In case that there are no elected represen-
tatives of the employees in the company the information must be delivered to the
employees directly. In case that the management receives the employees’ opinion in
time, the opinion should be attached to the managerial report.
512. By the above-mentioned regulations EU directives, which were adopted in

this area,1 were transposed into the Slovenian legal order. The legislation should be
modified in short time because of the recent changes in the European law. The recast
Directive 2009/38/EC of 6 May 2009 on the establishment of a European Works
Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale
groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees
namely brought new principles in the regulation of the employees’ participation.
The main novelties of the Directive are the inclusion of the definition of the infor-
mation of the employees’ representatives and improvement of the definition of the
consultation; better description of the trans-national competence of the European

Works Councils; the linkage between various levels of the information and consul-
tation; the duty of the employer to provide the members of the European Works
Council with training; and obligation to inform European social partners about the
negotiations and others.2
1. Directive 94/95/ES on the establishment of a European Works Council (1994) tried to regulate
the areas of the establishment of European works councils and procedures in Community-scale
undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and
consulting employees. The Directive determined criteria or conditions for the establishment of
a European Works Council and for regulating procedures in undertakings and groups of undertakings
for the purposes of informing and consulting employees. Directive 94/95/ES on the establishment
of a European Works Council was last adapted by Directive 2006/109/EC (2006).
Directive 2001/86/EC supplementing the Statute for a European company with regard to the
involvement of employees was adopted together with Regulation 2157/2001 on the Statute for
a European company (Societas Europaea – SE), which was implemented in the Republic of Slovenia
with the adoption of the Companies Act. Thereby a model of the European public limited liability
company was introduced in the Slovenian legal order. Special negotiating body of the SE and
the employees’ representatives negotiate arrangements for the involvement of employees in the
SE. In cases of the transformation of the existing public limited liability company into a European
company, the employees’ involvement in management should be retained to the greatest extent
possible.
Directive 2002/14/EC establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees
in the European Community establishes a general framework for the minimum scope of the
duty to inform and consult employees at the European and national levels.
Directive 2003/72/EC supplementing the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (Societas
Cooperativa Europaea - SCE) with regard to the involvement of employees supplements Regulation
1435/2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society. The Regulation regulates organizational
characteristics of a European cooperative society, whereas the Directive determines starting points
for a legal regulation of the participation of employees in management in a cooperative society.
The Directive underlines the principle of retaining the acquired rights of employees to participate
in management, if a cooperative society is transformed into a European cooperative society.
2. In more detail, see, Blanpain R., ed., 2009.
III. Principles
513. The constitutional basis and international obligations regarding employ-

ees’ participation in decision-making processes are providing firm grounds for a
wide range of legislative activities. The basic and most important act regulating the
employees’ participation in decision-making is the Employees’ Participation in
Management Act, which was adopted in the Slovenian parliament in 1993 and has
been amended several times until 2010.
The contents of this Act can be described by stating certain fundamental prin-
ciples of employees’ participation in decision-making.
A. Universality
514. In view of the constitutional values of democracy, equality of employees,

and a direct basis for the employees’ participation in decision-making in the Con-
stitution (Article 75 of the Constitution), the principle of the universality can be
mentioned. This principle requires that the legislature enacts regulations that will

provide all the employees with the right to influence the decision-making processes.
The rights may differ according to the area of work and the type of the works units
of the employers, however, all the employees are entitled to this right to at least to
some extent. The scope of the above-mentioned employees’ right in the public sec-
tor is not as wide as in the private sector of the economy. The scope of the employ-
ees’ right in different areas of the employers’ activities are in general outlined by
the MPMA; however, to some extent they are also regulated by special regulations.
B. Minimum Statutory Regulation and Extended Regulation by Collective

Agreement
515. The right of the employees’ to participate in decision-making is the right

granted by the state to the employees. It enables them to enter in to decision-
making processes regarding the governance of works units in which they work. The
application of this option is not compulsory. The statute does not even provide for
any activity which would give ground for the employees’ decision about the intro-
duction of the employees’ participation in decision-making. According to Slov-
enian legislation the employers are not obliged to call meetings of employees in
order to give them the possibility to express their will about introducing the employ-
ees’ participation in decision-making in works units. The employees themselves
may call such meetings. If they decide to exercise the right to introduce the employ-
ees’ participation in a works unit, they have to inform the employer thereof. From
this moment on the employer has a duty to communicate with the employees’ rep-
resentatives in cases determined by the statute regulating the employees’ participa-
tion in decision-making. The duties mentioned above correspond to the right of the
employees to elect their representatives. These rights of the employees or the duties
of the employers determined by the statute are minimal.
516. The statute provides for the minimum participatory rights of the employ-
ees. However, the employer and the employees’ elected representatives can reach
an agreement on the extension of the participatory rights, which are regulated as
minimum by the statute. With reference to the forms of the employees’ participa-
tion, the agreement concluded between the management, which represents the
employer, and the employees’ elected body may provide for new employees’
elected bodies or joint bodies with specific tasks in works unit. With reference to
modes of the expression of the views of the employees, the list of cases determined
by law can be extended by the agreement. The agreement may also introduce a
broader scope of the competence of the arbitration body, which is according to the
statute the main body that can resolve collective disputes between employers and
employees’ elected representatives.

C. Peaceful Resolution of the Disputes between Employees’ Representatives and

Employers
517. Disagreements or even disputes can arise between employees’ representa-

tives and employers or managers of works units which can have the nature interest
disputes or disputes about law. As participatory rights of the employees are
collective rights, such disputes are in their nature collective disputes. Even in case
of so-called individual participatory rights of employees, such as the right of the
single employee to be informed of the changes in the organization of his or her
working surroundings, the violation of such rights can lead to a collective labour
dispute or an individual labour dispute. Similar as in cases of individual labour dis-
putes also in cases of collective labour disputes the main approach to the prevention
and resolution of such disputes is to find the acceptable solution for both parties
without the intervention of the state bodies, especially courts. The area of the con-
flict prevention and conflict resolution is to a certain extent regulated by the statute;
it is possible, however, to add certain elements to the statutory regulation. This
entails that the agreement between the management and employees’ elected repre-
sentatives on the additional manners of conflict prevention or conflict resolution can
be reached. If there is no additional regulation, the statutory regulation of the con-
flict resolution can be applied. Namely, the statute regulates the body, its structure,
and the procedure conducted before such body. According to the statutory provi-
sions, the conflict about the application of the forms and modes of the employees’
participation can be resolved by an arbitration body, whose structure and procedure
are regulated by the statute. An arbitration body can be instituted as a permanent
body or an ad hoc body in a single works unit. Its competence is to resolve the
majority of possible legal disputes, which may arise between managers and employ-
ees’ elected representatives. There are some exceptions, namely the disputes that are
related to the election of the employees’ representatives. Such disputes are in exclu-
sive competence of labour courts. The legal nature of the arbitration body is such
that the primary objective of its activities is the resolution of the disputes about law.
Taking into account a dispositive nature of the entire legal area of the employees’
participation in decision-making, the conclusion can be made that the parties can
entrust to the arbitration body a wider competence by the agreement, namely the
competence to also resolve interest conflicts that have arisen between the parties.
An arbitration body proceeds in accordance with the autonomous rules respecting
certain basic statutory procedural provisions. The basic procedural rules are deter-
mined by the Employees’ Participation in Management Act. In case that there are
no autonomous procedural rules, an arbitration body can also apply statutory pro-
cedural regulations which are applied by labour courts in cases in which they
resolve collective labour disputes. This area of law is primarily regulated by the act
that regulates labour and social courts and subsidiary by the act that regulates the
procedure in civil disputes conducted by civil courts. The arbitration body’s deci-
sion is final. Normally it cannot be challenged by a legal action before the labour
court. There are some exceptions: civil procedural provisions allow for the possi-
bility to file a legal action against the decision of the arbitration body in some
explicitly determined cases in the statute, namely in cases of certain most grave vio-
lations of the rules of procedural as well as substantive law.

D. Self-protection
518. A relation between an employer and a single employee in a works unit is

a relation of subordination and a relation whose characteristic is economic depen-
dence of the employee on the employer. In order to reach a nearly equal position of
the parties to the employment contract, the legal order has to protect the position of
the weaker party, namely the position of the employees. This principle must be
respected not only in the area of individual employment relations but also in the area
of collective employment relations. The constitutional basis for the equality of the
parties to the employment contract has already been mentioned. The protection of
the employees is further elaborated in the statutory law. The legislature’s
approaches in various areas of the collective employment relations differ signifi-
cantly, namely according to the nature of the various tasks of the employees’ rep-
resentatives. On the one hand, trade unions and trade union representatives are
permitted to exert pressure against the employers in order to achieve acceptable
working conditions. On the other hand, employees’ elected bodies and representa-
tives may not exert pressure against the employers. The legal nature of the employ-
ees’ direct participation in decision-making processes is collaboration and
permanent conciliation which exclude the legality to exert pressure. In order to pro-
tect the employees’ elected representatives, the statute regulates the right of the rep-
resentatives to prohibit the employer from executing of the decision, adopted by
management, ignoring the main duty of the employer to secure the employees’ rep-
resentatives the right to participate in the process of adopting the decision in ques-
tion. In such case the employees’ representatives may prohibit the execution of the
management decisions which are in accordance with the regulations a subject of
previous information of the employees’ representatives or common consultations
with them. The regulations also list the cases which can be adopted only by the con-
sent of both parties, namely the management and the employees’ representatives. If
there is no consent between the parties these kinds of decisions do not exist and the
attempts to execute such imperfect decisions would be unlawful even if the employ-
ees’ elected representatives or their bodies did not protest.
E. The Area of Employees’ Participation
519. The EPMA, as the basic statute in the area of employees’ participation in
decision-making, defines the scope of the participation by defining the demarcation
line between trade union activities and the activities of the employees’ elected rep-
resentatives. With reference to this, the statute underlines that the scope of the
activities of the employees’ elected representatives is in fact the same as the scope
of the activities of the trade union representatives. Both types of the representatives
may legitimately represent employees’ interests in the social dialogue with the
employers. The difference is the mode of their legitimate actions which depends on
the nature of both types of the representation. On the one hand, trade union activi-
ties, observed from the angle of the legitimacy and legality of the trade union
actions, are free. On the other hand, the actions of the employees’ elected represen-
tatives are limited by the explicit statutory rule about the prohibition to exert

pressure against the employers. In the situation when the scope of the activities of
both types of the employees’ representatives is the same, the problem might arise in
the situation in which both types of the employees’ participation would try to regu-
late the same matter by the relevant collective agreements. Statutory provisions
resolved this problem by the following regulation: the matter which has already
been regulated by the collective contract with the general personal applicability may
not be the subject of the regulation by the participatory agreement.
F. The Forms of Employees’ Participation in Decision-making
520. Statutory provisions regulate the meeting of the employees as the main
form of the employees’ participation in decision-making, on one side, and the bod-
ies which are composed of the employees’ elected representatives or bodies in
which the employees’ elected representatives can be members, on the other side.
The meeting of the employees is important, because the employees meet to decide
whether they will introduce the employees’ participation in an individual works unit
by electing their representatives or not. The meetings also have a consultative
importance, namely the views of the employees expressed in the meetings may
facilitate forming the standpoints of the elected bodies regardless of the fact that
these views are not obligatory for them. The result of the employees’ meeting can
therefore be that the employees vote and decide that they will initiate the procedure
for the election of the employees’ representatives. In such meetings employees also
appoint commissions which are authorized to organize and supervise the election.
The election may result in the election of the works council members or employ-
ees’ trustee. A works council is a body, which can be elected according to the stat-
ute in the works units that employ at least 20 employees. An employees’ trustee,
however, can be elected in smaller works units, i.e. works units which employ fewer
employees. In regard to the election of the bodies, mentioned above, certain facts
about the election procedure that are of particular importance must be underlined.
An important right in regard to the procedure is the right to appoint a candidate for
the membership in a works council or for the employees’ trustee. The statute grants
this right to the groups of employees, but also to the most representative trade
unions which are organized in an individual works unit.
521. Works councils or employees’ trustees in private companies are the bodies
of works units that are elected directly by the employees. Direct election may be
held also in public institutes which perform public services. According to the stat-
ute, the employees have the right to elect their representatives in governmental bod-
ies of the public institutions. In addition to the activities of directly elected
representatives, the interests of the employees are also protected by the activities of
indirectly elected or appointed employees’ representatives. These representatives
may be active as members of government bodies of companies in the private sector
of the economy. The statute regulates the most important issues of the indirect elec-
tion or appointment of the employees’ representatives in these bodies. Such are the
employees’ representatives in the supervisory boards in two-tier shareholder com-
panies, in the administrative boards in one-tier shareholder companies, and in the

European works council which may be instituted in trans-national European com-

panies with headquarters in Slovenia. Special attention must be devoted to specific
statutory provisions, which allow the employees to indirectly influence the appoint-
ment of one of the members of the administration or administration board in a share-
holder company. Namely, the statute empowers the works council of the business
works unit to propose the appointment of a member of the administration or admin-
istration board of the company (i.e. an employees’ director). This proposal is not
obligatory for the body that is competent to appoint the members of the adminis-
tration or administrative board. The refusal of the proposal of the works council to
appoint an employees’ director gives ground for the institution of compulsory con-
ciliation procedure. It is possible that such procedure does not result in conciliation.
In such case the appointment may be realized on the basis of a court decision.
G. Modes of Employee Participation in Decision-making
522. The Constitution, statutes, and autonomous sources of law provide for the
employees’ right to influence decision-making processes in different bodies of
works units.
The scope of this right depends on the type of the works unit and on the employ-
ees’ willingness concerning the depth of the involvement in the decision-making
processes in a single works unit. When the employees decide to introduce the sys-
tem of the employees’ participation in decision-making in the works unit and inform
the employer thereof, they gain the statutory protection for their participatory rights
which are regulated by the statute. In addition to this protection, the employees may
acquire additional participatory rights in the processes of the collective bargaining
with the employer, i.e. by negotiating a participatory agreement. In such case the
statutory protection also covers such additional rights. From the point of view of the
legal nature of the legal rights, the participatory rights can be divided into
procedural rights and substantive rights. Procedural rights are those which secure
the employees the possibility to elect their representatives as well as those which
define the manners of the expression of their views on various matters – the employ-
ees have the right to influence decision-making processes. Among the procedural
participatory rights can also be mentioned rights concerning a negotiation of a par-
ticipatory agreement which can be concluded between the management and employ-
ees’ representative body as well as the rights concerning the prevention and
resolution of conflicts between the parties. The right of the employees’ representa-
tive body to suspend the execution of the decision of the employer or management
has a hybrid nature.
523. Substantive rights encompass the scope and the qualities of the employ-
ees’ will which have to be taken into consideration in the process of the creation of
an individual decision of the employer or management. They are of two kinds, first,
collective rights which can be exercised through the activities of the employees’
representatives, and secondly, rights which are secured to an individual
employee. The rights which are exercised through the employees’ representatives’
activities are of three categories. The first right is the right of the employees’

representatives to be informed of the matters which are important for the entire
activity and position of the single works unit (see, Franca, 2009). The non-
exhaustive list of instances, which are considered as such, is determined by the stat-
ute. The statute also determines the narrower circle of instances related to the
position and activity of the works unit which has a special importance for the
employees, therefore, the statute requires that the management of the works unit
informs the employees thereof even prior to deciding on a certain matter.
In cases in which the management has to make a decision which has a greater
importance for the position of the employees it is considered that merely informa-
tion on this decision is not sufficient; therefore, the statute requires that the employer
or manger provide for a more intensive involvement of the employees’ representa-
tives in the decision-making process. In such cases the statute requires from the
employer or management to organize joint consultations with the employees’ rep-
resentative body. The matters that are a subject of this mode of providing influence
of the employees on decision-making processes concern certain areas of human
resource management and certain organizational matters of the works units, which
could influence the legal position of the employees. The precondition for common
consultations is the appropriate prior informing of the employees’ representative
body; therefore, an employer or a manager has to secure the necessary information
to the employees’ representative body within a reasonable period of time, prior to
the meeting with the employees’ representatives.
The third mode of participation of the employees’ representatives in decision-
making in the works units is co-deciding. It means the consent of the employees’
representatives on the employer’s or management’s proposals on decisions which
are by their nature of a vital interest for the employees of the works unit. The
absence of the consent prevents the management from reaching a decision. An
example of such is the autonomous regulation of the criteria for the employees’
work efficiency by managers in a single works unit.
524. The list of the matters which are the subject of the information, prior infor-
mation, common consultation, or co-deciding is determined by the statute and can
be extended by a participatory agreement. All modes of the employees’ participa-
tion are securing collective participatory rights. The statute, however, recognizes
certain participatory rights also to individual employees. They are the employees in
all types of works units in the private sector of the economy as well as in the public
sector including the state entities and the administration. Among these rights are the
right to be informed of the changes in the organizationat the employee’s work place
and the right to give the initiative to introduce certain improvements in the orga-
nization of work. The common characteristic of these rights is that they have their
counterpart in the duty of the employer or management to act so that these rights
are secured to the employees. Ignoring these rights can be considered a violation of
the employer’s or manager’s duties and in some cases also the infringement or even
a criminal offence which is punishable in accordance with the Penal Code.

525–527
Chapter 5. Strikes, Lock-outs and other Legal Forms of

Industrial Action
I. History
525. Slovenian relations between employers and employees’ representatives

have been relatively calm compared to the average situation in other European
countries.1 The absence of the collective bargaining, the socialist social order, and
authoritarian regulation of the employment relations in law and quasi-autonomous
law led to a small number of the industrial conflicts. Strikes and other conflicts were
rare despite the statutory regulation. With the gradua introduction of the market
economy in the 1980s and 1990s collective bargaining became significant in the
regulation of the employment relations, however, these processes because of their
nature brought to light the means of pressure which was exerted by newborn social
partners. The number of strikes has gradually grown. The conflicts between trade
unions and employers and their associations have often arisen at the works unit level
and at the branch level. At the higher level of the social dialogue, namely the
national level, the conflicts have had less austere elements. Tensions between social
partners at this level have been successfully managed by the activities of the Eco-
nomic and Social Council of Slovenia, instituted as the main national body for the
social dialogue at the highest level.
1. See, Blanpain, 1994, Novak, Vodovnik, 1999.
526. In Slovenia the majority of decisions to organize strike are taken by the
employees at the works unit level. The reason for such can be unjust or even unlaw-
ful behaviour of the employers when providing for normal working conditions to
the employees. At the central level there are much fewer decisions that a strike be
called due to more successful social dialogue at the national level; however, trade
union federations or confederations are often threatening with strikes, especially in
cases in which in a dialogue between the employers and employees a strong dis-
agreement about the strategic issues which are highly important for the employees
arises, e.g. such as introducing new systems of social protection or a new employ-
ment legislation, if such novelties could cause that the employees’ legal, social, or
economic position deteriorates.
§1. A STRIKE
527. A strike has been regulated in Slovenian legislation for decades. The statu-
tory regulation regulating strike was an important element of the socialist legal
order regardless of the fact that strikes in the socialist state were rare – at least dur-
ing the first period of the socialist era. When the political situation in the socialist
state deteriorated and weaknesses of the economy because of the absence of the
market economy grew, the position of the employees deteriorated and strikes and
other forms of the employees’ protests became more frequent. In the legal regula-
tion of the socialist state the main characteristic of the statutory regulation of the

528–529 Part II, Ch. 5, Strikes, Lock-outs and other Industrial Action
strike was the possibility that a spontaneous strike was considered lawful. In 1991,
the new legislation concerning strike, which is still in force,1 introduced a different
regulation. According to this regulation, a strike is deemed legal only if it is
announced in advance within a determined time limit (which is different in the pri-
vate sector and in the public sector of the economy). This duty of the employees’ to
announce a strike is one of the formal limitations of the strike, which also has its
substantive importance, namely, the announcement has to contain a decisive and
precise definition of the employees’ demands or claims. The announcement of the
strike and the strike itself are considered legal if demands or claims of the employ-
ees are directed towards enforcing legitimate social and economic interests of the
employees or if their action is based on the attempt to enforce the law regulating
their legal position. The employees who announce the strike have to appoint their
representatives in a mixed consultation committee, which is a compulsory mixed
body of the representatives of the employer and employees. The body’s duty is to
try to find a peaceful solution for the resolution of the collective dispute between
the parties. The statute emphasizes the duty of the parties to collaborate in search of
the peaceful solution of the conflict.
1. The regulation is not up to date with modern national and international regulatory trends, therefore,
it must be amended as soon as possible (see also, Tičar, L., 2005).
528. The main substantive limitation of the strike is based on the blank regu-
lation which is referring to specific regulations of various activities of works units
in cases in which their activities are performed in the wider public interest. Accord-
ing to the statute, special regulations mentioned above must determine the amount
or area of the activities that must be secured and performed even in case of the
strike. Top managers of these works units have the duty to order the employees to
work in vital areas of the activities that are in the wider public interest.
529. Employees who exercise their right to strike may not be the subjects of the
managerial repression or mobbing because of their involvement in the strike. In case
of the violation of strike law, they may bear legal consequences, such as a disci-
plinary responsibility, civil liability for damages, or a dismissal. The violation of the
application of the right to strike is not determined as an individual criminal offence
in the Penal Code; however, certain actions of the employees, which may be iden-
tified as unlawful and damaging, may have elements of various criminal offences,
regulated by penal legislation. The position of the employer in case of the strike is
not extensively regulated by the statute. In addition to the general prohibition of
repression against employees who are on strike, the statute does not impose other
limitations. Slovenian legislation does not contain a general prohibition of replac-
ing the employees who are on strike by employing new employees as strike-
breakers.1 Due to the fact that the law regulates the frameworks of the strike, certain
individual forms of the strike, which would violate the principles mentioned above,
should be considered unlawful. Such forms can be spontaneous or wildcat strikes,
rotating strikes, sit downs, blockades of goods, and similar. In case of such employ-
ees’ behaviour employers do not always use repressive means against the employ-
ees in order to avoid deepening the conflict.

Part II, Ch. 5, Strikes, Lock-outs and other Industrial Action 530–532
1. The regulation of the position of temporary workers is an exception. According to the Employment
Relations Act they may not be employed instead of the employees who are on strike.
530. The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia recognizes employees’ right

to strike. Employees may exercise this right directly or within the framework of
trade union activities. The right to strike is in the Constitution regulated in the chap-
ter on economic and social relations, namely Article 77 of the Constitution deter-
mines that where required by the public interest, the right to strike may be restricted
by law, with due consideration given to the type and nature of activity involved.
The constitutional rule that a strike may be restricted by law gives an impression
of the inconsistency between the right to trade union freedom and the right to strike.
A problem that arises in practice is the question of the admissible extent of the
restriction of the right to strike.
§2. STATUTORY REGULATION OF THE RIGHT TO STRIKE
531. The Strike Act (Official Gazette SFRY, No. 23/1991; Official Gazette RS,
Nos. 17/1991, 66/1993) defines a strike as an organized interruption of work by
employees in order to exercise their economic and social rights and interests arising
from work (Article 1).
The Act determines that a strike may be organized at the employer, in a branch,
activity, or as a general strike. A strike may also be organized only in a part of an
organization , e.g. in a plant or department. A decision on the beginning of the strike
of the employees at the employer is adopted by a trade union body at the employer,
a decision on the beginning of the strike of the employees in an activity is adopted
by a trade union body of an activity, and a decision on the beginning of a general
strike is adopted by the highest national trade union body. A decision on the begin-
ning of the strike can also be adopted by the majority of the employees at the
employer. A decision on the beginning of the strike must contain data on a strike
board, which represents employees’ interests and conducts a strike in their name.
The strike board must announce a strike at least five days before the day determined
for its beginning, whereas in the public sector it must announce a strike at least ten
days before that day.1
1. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia decided that a statutory requirement that
a strike must be announced in advance is not inconsistent with the Constitution and does not
entail an inadmissible limitation of the right to strike, as the announcement of the strike is “absolutely
necessary, the mildest, and the least restrictive measure for the protection of employers’ rights”
(Constitutional Court Decision No. U-I-230/96, http://stari.uusinfo.si/Baze/Usta/B/
USTA66655663.htm, August 2010).
532. A legal definition of a strike is broad enough so that also one of the dis-
putable forms of a strike, i.e. a sympathy strike or a sympathy action, can be
included in its framework. The characteristic of this type of a strike is that employ-
ees who do not directly implement their economic and social interests by means of
a strike take part in it and thereby support others. A sympathy strike is lawful only
if the employees who announce the strike can demonstrate their legal interest for it.
In certain foreign legal orders, this condition is particularly underlined.1 Recognizing

the right to a sympathy strike is important for the employees especially because of the
increasing dynamics of ownership and organizational changes of organizations in
which work is carried out.
The manner of exercising the constitutional right to strike is in the Slovenian
legal order partly regulated also in the rules and strike rules of individual trade
unions, whereas certain trade union rules also determine the conditions for organiz-
ing a sympathy strike.2
1. Some legislation defines a sympathy strike as a criminal offence. A sympathy strike could entail
an abuse of the right to strike, if a legal interest of both groups of the employees who are on
strike, namely those who participate in a main strike and those who participate in a sympathy
strike, does not exist.
2. For instance the Rules of the Metal Products and Electrical Industry Trade Union of Slovenia in
Article 45 define the right to strike as an organized interruption of work in order to achieve
economic and social rights and other interests arising from work; the sixth paragraph of the
same article determines that a strike may be organized as a sympathy strike, which may last no
more than one day. Strike rules adopted on the basis of the Rules in more detail determine a
sympathy strike. ‘A sympathy strike is organized as a sign of solidarity. The participants of the
sympathy strike must act in accordance with the programme of the strike board. A sympathy
strike may be organized on the basis of a decision of a competent body determined in the second
paragraph of Article 44 of the Rules of the Metal Products and Electrical Industry Trade Union
of Slovenia’ (Strike Rules of the Metal Products and Electrical Industry Trade Union of Slovenia,
Article 11).
533. A strike must be announced in a manner such that a decision on the begin-
ning of a strike is served on the employer. A decision on the beginning of a strike
of the employees in an activity and a general strike must be sent to the competent
body of the chambers of commerce or a professional association. It is envisaged that
a strike board and the representatives of the bodies to whom a strike was announced
strive to resolve a dispute by an agreement from the day the strike was announced
and during the strike.
534. A strike ends with an agreement between the subjects, who adopted a deci-
sion on the strike, and the bodies, which were sent such decision, or by a decision
of a trade union or employees who received a decision on the beginning of the
strike. Strikes may cause great economic loss to employers and other persons, there-
fore they are allowed only as the last resort for enforcing employees’ interests and
protecting their rights. A strike may not be disproportional to the legitimate goals
and employees’ demands. When reviewing the lawfulness of the strike, the test of
proportionality on the basis of the third paragraph of Article 15 of the Constitution
is possible, in accordance with which human rights and fundamental freedoms shall
be limited only by the rights of others. A disproportional strike could namely entail
interference with the constitutional right to property and with the constitutional right
to free economic initiative. The restrictions of the strike are, as it follows from the
above-mentioned statutory provisions, of procedural or substantive nature.
535. Fundamental procedural restrictions refer to the question of the bodies,

which participate in procedure, and of the course of proceedings with reference to
strike. A strike must be announced in a certain time limit and an employer or com-
petent official in the public sector must be informed thereof. An employer is

informed thereof in a manner such that a decision on the beginning of the strike,
which was adopted by the majority of the employees or the governing bodies of the
trade union, is sent to them. A decision on the beginning of the strike of the employ-
ees in an activity or a general strike must also be sent to a competent body of the
chamber of commerce or a professional association.
536. A decision on the strike determines:
– employees’ demands;
– the time and place of the strike;
– a strike board;
– the manner of ensuring minimum working process (in the service part of the
public sector) or that the operation of state bodies is not significantly impeded
(in the state administration).
A strike must be organized and conducted in a manner such that the security and
health of people and property are not endangered and that it allows the continuation
of work after the strike is concluded.
Fundamental substantive restrictions: in the state administration and in activities
which are of particular importance for the society or state (e.g. police, defence, traf-
fic, health services) a strike may begin in accordance with the applicable statutory
regulation only if the following are ensured:
– minimum working process which ensures safety of people and property or a part
of the working process which is an indispensable condition for life and work of
people or for work of other organizations;
– fulfilling international obligations;
– determining the rules on performing urgent tasks in the public sector in regulations
or autonomous acts;
The right to strike of the employees in the state administration is restricted. The
Civil Servants Act (2007 and subsequent amendments), which applies for the pub-
lic sector, in Article 19 ensures also civil servants the right to strike. The regulations
on the state administration in more detail regulate that a strike in this field is allowed
under the condition that it does not significantly endanger the performing of the
tasks of state bodies and organizations.1 Attempts that special statutory regulations
would in more detail regulate the ‘type and nature’ of activities in the state admin-
istration that may not be endangered by strikes caused great problems in practice.2
In addition to the statutory restrictions of the right to strike, contained in regu-
lations regulating the functioning of state bodies, the restrictions can also be found
in regulations regulating the functioning of public services. An example of such
statutory regulation is restrictions of the right to strike in regulations regulating gen-
eral practitioners services. The General Practitioners Services Act3 determines that
during a strike general practitioners must perform general practitioners services,
which are listed in the Act, the omission of which could in a short period of time
lead to irreparable severe injury to health or death.4

1. Certain authors are of the opinion that the regulation according to which all civil servants in the
state administration are defined as a unique category, for which it applies that they may organise
a strike only if ‘they do not significantly endanger carrying out of the tasks of a state body’ is
not appropriate. In their opinion, a law should precisely determine for ‘which types and what
nature of activities’ such restrictions should apply (e.g. Debelak, 2005, pp. 546 and 547). These
requirements are exaggerated, as the activities of the state bodies that could be defined as insignificant
for the public, cannot be imagined.
2. The regulations regulating national defence prohibit members of the armed forces from organizing
to organise a strike during performance of their service, whereas other persons who perform
expert and administrative tasks in the field of national defence have the right to strike under the
conditions determined in the law regulating the position of the employees in the state administration.
In addition, this law determines tasks that must be carried out during a strike. Nevertheless, an
exhaustive list of such tasks cannot be complete regarding the nature of their work. In accordance
with the regulations regulating police services, police officers must perform tasks during a strike,
which are exhaustively listed by law. The regulations on customs services exhaustively list the
tasks that customs officers must perform during a strike. Similar applies for the restriction of a
strike for court personnel.
3. The General Practitioners Services Act, Official Gazette RS, Nos. 98/1999, 67/2002, 15/2003,
2/2004, 47/2006, 58/2008.
4. These are especially the following:
– treatment of fever conditions and infections;
– treatment of injuries and poisonings;
– treatment of chronic illnesses if the omission of the treatment would directly and in a short
time cause deterioration in health, disability, other permanent injuries to health, or death;
– other urgent medical treatment;
– carrying out first medical examinations without patient waiting times at least in the scope
that confirms or rules out the conditions, mentioned in the above indents (i.e. triage); and
– prescribing medicinal products and medicinal devices for treatment of conditions.
– In addition to the above-mentioned, during a strike doctors must also perform the following:
– all medical services for children up to 18 years and patients older than 65 years;
– all medical services related to pregnancy and childbirth; and
– measures for the prevention and controlling of infectious diseases.
537. In Slovenia in recent years there were a few noticeable strikes in the state
administration and in the service part of the public sector; there were, however, even
more strikes announced which never took place. In 2008 a general warning strike in
the public sector was announced due to a standstill in the harmonization of the sala-
ries and in the implementation of already adopted regulations, however, the strike
was later cancelled. Also strikes of customs officers, police officers, doctors, and
dentists were announced. Particularly interesting was a so-called white strike of
judges, who are state officials, because of their salaries.
§3. LEGAL POSITION OF EMPLOYEES ON STRIKE
538. In case of strike an employment relation between the contracting parties

does not terminate. The majority of the rights and obligations of the parties to the
employment contract is not exercised during a strike, therefore the employment con-
tract can be deemed suspended (see, Dobrin, 1990).

Employees who legally cease to perform their duties because of a work stoppage
are not entitled to certain rights that depend on their work. Such rights are the right
to a wage or salary and other property rights. This principle has an exception.
Namely, a strike may be organized end executed with the aim to force the employer
to secure the employees their existing rights. In such case the statute guarantees the
employees the right to a wage or salary for the period of strike. Such solution is
based on the fact that the employer in such case violates the law. Therefore, the
nature of strike is a legally approved self-defence activity of the employees and the
paid wage or salary is considered a pay for damages in the amount determined by
the statute. During a strike employees may be entitled to salary compensation, if
such is envisaged by a relevant legal instrument (Article 13 of the Strike Act). Col-
lective contracts with reference to such usually determine that employees are
entitled to compensation if it is manifested that a strike was a consequence of
employer’s violations of the employees’ rights. A strike cannot be treated as vis
major, which would ensure employees who do not work the right to a part of the
salary in form of a compensation, which is determined by the Employment Rela-
tions Act in cases in which employees do not work because of vis major.1
1. Slovenian branch collective contracts determine a different scope of the employers’ obligation
to recognize employees’ salary compensation in case of a strike. The contracts usually determine
conditions, the duration of receiving compensation, and the amount of the compensation.
539. In accordance with pension and disability insurance regulations, during a

strike and the suspension of the employment contract also obligatory insurance is
suspended for the period for which employers are not obliged to pay insurance con-
tributions. The regulations that regulate pension and disability insurance determine
in more detail the rules on the employers’ obligation to pay contributions in cases
of strike, when such obligation exists.
540. Other rights of the employees that are not connected to remuneration may
not be limited in case of strike. Such rights are for example the right to annual leave,
rights related safety and health at the work, and the right to elect the representatives
or to be elected. The employees who are not on strike and are willing to work but
the strike blocks the working process so that they are not able to work have the right
to a wage or salary if they report to work and are at the employer’s disposal for
work. The strike can namely not be considered vis maior or force majeure which
could partially relieve the employer from their duty to remunerate the employees
for the time they cannot work because of the strike. Relative rareness of strike in
Slovenian practice of the industrial relations is the main reason why trade unions in
many cases have no special funds for the compensation of wages or salaries in cases
of strike.
541. Upon the announcement of a strike and when a strike is carried out numer-
ous unlawful acts of the subjects participating in the strike may take place. Minor
irregularities do not entail that a strike is unlawful and various sanctions may be
imposed for such, whereas grave violations entail that a strike is unlawful. In
Slovenian case-law a position was adopted for a while that in a dispute on the law-
fulness of the strike a partial or complete unlawfulness of the strike may be

established; later the case-law changed and labour courts adopted a position that
only either lawfulness or unlawfulness of the strike may be established.1
1. In Judgment Pdp 1606/98, dated 5 October 2000, the court decided that organizers of a strike or
participants in a strike, which was organized contrary to the Strike Act, do not enjoy protection
against disciplinary and financial responsibility; however, it also adopted a position that also in
cases of an unlawful strike a procedure for the termination of the employment contract may be
conducted lawfully (in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Relations Act).
542. If a strike is lawful, it is not admissible to impose any sanction on employ-

ees who are on strike due to their participation in the strike. It must be particularly
underlined that it is not admissible to terminate an employment contract to employ-
ees merely because they take part in the strike (Blanpain, 1994, p. 60). If a strike is
organized in another country and an employer must respect the public order of this
country when treating employees, both parties to the employment contract must
respect the legal rules regulating strike in this country, as such rules are in their
nature a part of the public order (Dorssemont, 2007, p. 304). Unlawful conduct of
the employees during a lawful strike may be sanctioned if unlawfulness of their con-
duct is grave or intensive enough.
In accordance with Article 5 of the Strike Act, a strike board and the employees
who participate in the strike may not prevent the employees who do not participate
in the strike, from working.1 In accordance with Article 14 of the Strike Act employ-
ers may not employ new workers who would replace the participants in the strike;
however, the Act allows certain exceptions. It is admissible to employ new or sub-
stitute workers if a strike is unlawful.
1. By actively preventing other workers, who were not on strike, from working, the plaintiffs violated
the provisions of the Strike Act, which prohibit a strike board and workers, who participate in
a strike, to prevent other workers from working. Supreme Court Decision VIII Ips 119/2006,
dated 13 March 2007.
§4. LOCK-OUT
543. Lock-out is an institution by which employers may limit harmful conse-

quences of a strike so that they temporarily, during a strike, do not provide work to
the employees who announced the strike. It is thus admissible temporary failure to
fulfil the employers’ duty, provided for by law, to provide work and remuneration
to their workers. Slovenian legislation does not regulate a lock-out; nevertheless,
this institution is a part of the Slovenian legal order on the basis of the ratified Euro-
pean Social Charter. As the law and international law do not regulate this institution
in more detail, in accordance with the principle of proportionality this institution
must be treated in a manner such that the statutory restrictions, which apply to a
strike, apply, mutatis mutandis, also to a lock-out. A lock-out must be distinguished
from cases in which employers during a strike stop the working process and do not
provide workers with work, although they do not intend to impede workers from
working. This concerns especially stopping of the working process, which can be a
consequence of the fact that a strike causes various distractions in the working pro-
cess or that work is no longer safe, because of which the employers are forced

to stop the working process or a part of the working process, and consequently
workers can no longer work. A dispute between the social partners regarding a lock-
out is possible, namely whether in an individual case a lock-out was lawful or not.
Such disputes must be resolved in accordance with the same procedure as applies
for disputes with reference to strike. The nature of such disputes requires that they
be decided by labour courts in regular proceedings and in proceedings for issuing
temporary injunctions. Certain authors are of the opinion that the Slovenian legal
regulation does not recognize a lock-out, which is not true. A lock-out is an insti-
tution of law, which is an element of the ratified treaty that may in Slovenia be
applied directly, i.e. without a special additional regulation in the legislation.1
1. A lock-out as an industrial action is recognized to employers in the fourth paragraph of Article
6 of the European Social Charter. Due to the fact that this right of the employers is not regulated
in more detail in the Slovenian legislation, certain authors are of the opinion that Slovenia ‘did
not introduce this right in its legal order.’

544–546
Chapter 6. Sanctions
§1. CRIMINAL OFFENCES
544. Unlawful conduct of individuals and legal entities in the field of collective
labour relations is sanctioned in criminal law. Serious acts are determined as crimi-
nal offences in the Penal Code, whereas less serious acts are regulated as minor
offences determined by laws regulating collective labour relations.
The Penal Code,1 in the part regulating individual offences, in separate chapters
regulates numerous groups of related criminal offences. One of such groups is also
a group which includes criminal offences against employment and social security.2
This group of criminal offences includes criminal offences against individual labour
relations and against collective labour relations (see, Vodovnik, 1992, Bele, 1999,
Cvetko, 1999, Deisinger, 2002, Jakulin, 2007). Article 200 of the Penal Code regu-
lates a criminal offence of the violation of rights to participation in management and
violation of trade union rights. If the violation of the above-mentioned rights was
committed with intent, it is allowed to determine not only the perpetrator’s criminal
liability but also criminal liability of an employer as a legal entity.3
1. The Penal Code, Official Gazette RS, No, 55/2008, 66/2008, 39/2009, 55/2009.
2. The territory of Slovenia a special chapter on criminal offences against employment was introduced
in criminal law already by the Penal Code of the FPRY of 1951 and has stayed in force in the
similar scope until today.
3. Conditions for criminal liability of legal entities are regulated in the Criminal Liability of Legal
Entities Act, Official Gazette RS, Nos. 98/2004, 65/2008.
545. Pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 200 of the Penal Code a criminal
offence is based on the above-mentioned provision of the Constitution of the Repub-
lic of Slovenia, which determines that employees shall participate in the manage-
ment of commercial organizations and institutions in a manner and under conditions
provided by law. The first violation is to prevent or hinder employees from exer-
cising their rights to participation in management. Hindering employees from exer-
cising their rights may take various forms, e.g. by allowing participation in
management only to certain persons or by delaying procedures. A criminal offence
in accordance with the first paragraph of this article is completed only when a per-
petrator, within the framework of a legal entity, in fact prevents or hinders employ-
ees from exercising their rights to participation in management or when a
perpetrator in fact abuses or obstructs the implementation of such rights.1
1. Vodovnik, 1992, pp. 2-3.
546. Trade union activities are supported by regulations, especially ILO con-
ventions. Hindering trade unions from exercising trade union rights may take
numerous forms. Hindering entails that a perpetrator, for instance, allows the imple-
mentation only of the part of trade union rights or that by extending procedures and
imposing conditions prevents trade unions from comprehensively exercising trade
union rights. One of the most common examples of the violation of employees’
rights is the right to strike, which is ensured in Article 77 of the Constitution of the

Part II, Ch. 6, Sanctions 547–548
Republic of Slovenia and is regulated in the Strike Act. If a perpetrator on behalf of

a legal entity prevents a strike by violating the above-mentioned act or general acts
which determine conditions for a strike on the basis of a law, a criminal offence in
accordance with the second paragraph of this article may be committed.1
1. Deisinger, 2007, pp. 116, 117.
§2. MINOR OFFENCES
547. Inadmissible and unlawful conduct that is less serious than criminal
offences is in the legal order regulated as minor offences. In Slovenian legal order
minor offences law comprises general provisions, provisions regulating individual
offences, and procedural provisions. General and procedural provisions are regu-
lated in a systemic law, i.e. the Minor Offences Act.1 Provisions regulating indi-
vidual minor offences include numerous provisions that are dispersed in various
statutory regulations. Individual minor offences are usually regulated in a special
chapter entitled ‘Penal provisions’.
The Slovenian legal order a minor offence is defined as any act violating the law,
Government decree, or local government ordinance, which is, as such, determined
as a minor offence the committing of which is followed by sanctions. The Act deter-
mines that especially the following sanctions may be imposed for minor offences,
i.e. a fine, warning, alien deportation, seizure of objects.
1. The Minor Offences Act, Official Gazette RS, Nos. 17/2008 and 21/2008.
548. The Act regulates two types of minor offence proceedings in first instance,
namely:
– expedited proceedings, which also include proceedings for issuing a fixed penalty
notice; and
– regular judicial proceedings, within the framework of which so-called summary
minor offence proceedings can be conducted.
The majority of minor offences against employment are in first instance decided
in expedited proceedings, conducted by the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of
Slovenia. The Labour Inspectorate is a minor offence body, whereas inspectors have
a status of authorized officials of the minor offence body. The Labour Inspectorate
in addition to its primary task, i.e. carrying out inspection in its field of work, also
performs the tasks of a minor offence body in expedited proceedings, which are ini-
tiated either ex offıcio or upon a proposal of the subjects determined by law.
Under the conditions laid down in the Minor Offences Act a prescribed sanction
is imposed on the offender for the committed minor offence. An authorized official
may impose on an offender an oral warning, if the offender committed a minor
offence of minor significance and if the authorized official decides that in view of
the significance of the offence a warning is a sufficient measure. A request for judi-
cial protection may be filed against a minor offence decision and a fixed penalty
notice.

549–551 Part II, Ch. 6, Sanctions
In regular judicial proceedings minor offences are decided by minor offence

courts of first instance, whereas higher minor offence courts decide in second
instance. Regular judicial proceedings are envisaged to hearing minor offences that
require thorough examination of all circumstances in which a minor offence was
committed.
§3. LIABILITY FOR THE DAMAGES OF THE SOCIAL PARTNERS
549. In Slovenian legal order a universal principle is applied in accordance with

which everyone is entitled to the compensation for damages. Fundamental rules on
liability for damages are determined in the Code of Obligations. In the field of
labour law also apply special rules laid down in the Employment Relations Act,
which define different degrees of guilt, shared liability and joint and several liabil-
ity, flat rate damages, and the possibility of partial or complete exemption from pay-
ment of damages. The Code of Obligations defines damage as the diminution of
property (ordinary damage), prevention of the appreciation of property (lost prof-
its), the infliction of physical or mental distress or fear on another person, and
encroachment upon the reputation of a legal entity (non-material damage). The gen-
eral civil-law definition of damage is too narrow for the needs in the field of
employment relations, therefore labour-law regulations in individual instances
determine certain additional conducts which must be deemed as conducts by which
damage can be inflicted, although they do not contain the elements of the definition
of damage in accordance with civil-law regulations. An instance of such damage is
discrimination of an employee.
550. When determining liability for damages general civil-law rules on the ele-
ments of such liability must be taken into consideration also within the framework
of labour law. Liability for damages of employers is thus determined in accordance
with the general rules of civil law. Employers are liable for damages that employees
suffer at work or with reference to work, if they inflicted such damage, which is
most often a consequence of not respecting the regulations on health and safety at
work. Employers are liable also in cases in which inflicted damage is a result of a
dangerous object or dangerous activities, which are carried out by the employers.
551. In addition to general rules on liability for damages in accordance with the
provisions of the Code of Obligations and special rules on liability for damages of
the parties and participants within the framework of a systematic legal regulation of
employment relations (i.e. the ERA), when analysing the question of liability for
damages also other regulations which do not regulate liability for damages system-
atically, but touch upon this subject only partially, must be taken into consideration.
This concern for instance a question of liability for damages of employees’ repre-
sentatives with reference to their activities in bodies of commercial companies,
which is determined in accordance with the rules on liability for damages contained
in corporate-law regulations.1

Part II, Ch. 6, Sanctions 552–552
In Slovenian case-law there are not many cases in which social partners required
compensation for damage from others that were incurred in their mutual commu-
nication. In this field damage was usually incurred in cases of unlawful strike. Such
strikes do take place; however, employers avoid seeking damages in such cases.
Case-law is favourable to employers especially by defining a strike as conduct from
which an increased risk for damage results, therefore in cases of unlawful strike
organizers are liable for damages pursuant to the principles of strict liability
(Supreme Court Judgment, VII Ips 48/2003).
1. Pursuant to the provisions of corporate legislation, members of the supervisory board or members
of the board of directors of the commercial company are liable to the company and shareholders
or stakeholders for damage which was a result of the violation of their duty to act with due skill,
care and diligence or their duty to protect business secrets of the company. Liability for damages
of employees’ representatives in the supervisory board or board of directors is regulated by labour-
law as well as corporate regulations.
552. In view of the legal regulation on liability for damages in cases in which
damage is inflicted in the field of collective labour relations, where great damage
can occur, the question arises whether there is a need for additional legal limitation
of liability for damages of social partners which would be preferably introduced by
a statutory regulation of civil sanctions (i.e. a special fine), which would be limited
and would not endanger financial existence of social partners, and consequently
trade union freedom.

552–552 Part II, Ch. 6, Sanctions

Index
Numbers refer to paragraphs.
Ability, 161, 199 Branch collective contract, 170, 174, 178

Absence, 165, 275 Break, 226, 367
Absent worker, 172 Breast feeding break, 367
Abuse, 207 Burden of proof, 321, 322
Accommodation, 271 Business performance, 257
Accountability, 41 Business results, 57
Active employment policy, 172, 188 Business secrets, 206
Active politics of employment, 48
Additional employment, 217 Calendar year, 127
Additional work, 200 Candidate, 520
Administrative boards, 521 Categories of the employees, 361
Administrative courts, 389 Central personnel records, 104
Administrative law, 39, 45, 446 Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Advanced training, 244 Slovenia, 454
Alien, 162, 172 Chamber of Craft and Small Business of
Allowances, 293 Slovenia, 454
Annual leave, 124, 136, 180, 184, 230 Change of an employer, 374, 419
Appeal, 386 Changed circumstances, 156
Appellate commission, 167, 200, 386, 395 Children, 126 ,280
Applicant, 387 Civil law, 40, 127, 248, 320
Appointment, 141 Civil liability, 248, 252, 253, 354
Apprenticeship, 130, 133 Civil servants, 39, 45, 104, 200, 313
Arbitration, 83, 166, 306, 388, 472, 484, Civil Servants Act, 121
489, 492, 497, 501 Civil-law contract, 99
Arbitration body, 166, 386 Civil-law liability, 100
Assessment of job performance, 204 Code of ethics, 203
Association of the Employers of Slovenia, Code of Obligations, 549
454 Co-deciding, 523
Atypical employment contracts, 168 Codes of ethics, 427
Atypical workers, 438, 452 Codex, 117
Authorized clerks, 191 Collective agreements, 54, 65, 113, 121,
Autonomous legal resources, 113 164, 182, 195, 228, 255, 263, 380, 391,
Autonomous legal sources, 101 418, 420, 425, 433, 438, 449, 455, 456,
Awards, 199, 304 460, 464, 467, 469
Collective bargaining, 65, 242, 401
Bankruptcy proceedings, 319, 328 Collective complains, 111
Basic wage, 260 Collective contract, 75, 98
Blood donation, 240 Collective dispute, 472, 474
Branch collective agreement, 131, 212, Collective labour dispute, 384
216, 229, 250, 262, 264, 267, 327, 330 Collective labour law, 39

Index
Commissions, 501 Disciplinary responsibility, 100, 250

Communication, 66 Disciplinary sanction, 250
Company, 248 Discrimination, 111, 112, 204, 270,
Company law, 189 361–362
Compensation, 133, 179, 237, 254, 255, Dismissal, 115, 156, 180, 307, 324,
274, 332 334–344, 351
Compensation for damages, 549 Dispute, 383
Competition clause, 207, 377 Duties of the employer, 150
Competition commission, 153
Compulsory composition, 212, 327 Economic and Social Council, 70, 241,
Concession, 178 303, 448
Conciliation, 83, 492, 501, 503, 518, 521 Education, 143, 172, 188, 242, 244–246,
Conditions, 150, 154 275
Confidentiality, 121 Effective working time, 214
Consent by the labour inspector, 224 Efficiency, 257, 261
Constitution36, 65, 95–98, 107, 197, 244, Election,241, 453
278, 306, 349, 380, 401, 466, 474 Emergency court proceedings, 465
Constitutional complaint, 96 Emergency ordinance, 472
Constitutional Court, 389 Employability, 295, 297
Consultation, 68, 224, 301, 344, 393, 437, Employee, 59
496 Employees’ representatives, 355
Contract for the temporary work, 178 Employer, 59
Contractual freedom, 120 Employers’ associations, 438
Contributions, 272 Employment, 39
Cooperative society, 510 Employment booklet, 106
Corporative law, 42 Employment contract, 102, 118, 123, 137,
Council of Europe, 82 141, 146, 148, 244
Councils of workers, 165 Employment contract on home work, 186
Court decision, 259 Employment law, 39, 61, 127
Court judgement, 313 Employment policy, 188
Court of Audit, 167 Employment rehabilitation, 287
Creativity, 380 Employment Service, 61, 125, 281, 289,
Criminal offence, 41, 313, 340, 396, 524, 353
529 Equal opportunities, 112
Criminal responsibility, 396 Equality, 108
erga omnes, 274
Daily rest, 136, 226 European Employment Strategy, 93
Damages, 180, 252 European Social Dialogue, 93
Death of the worker, 316 European Trade Union Confederation, 90,
Decision-making, 58 459
Defence, 250, 323 European works council, 478
Definition of the employment relation, 40 European Works Councils Act, 478
Democracy, 65, 91, 401 Examination, 115, 151
Deputies, 122 Exceptional circumstances, 200
Difficult working surroundings, 363 Expenses, 266
Dignity, 49, 150 Extension, 483
Directive power, 355 Extraordinary termination of the
Directives, 85 employment contract, 322
Disabled person, 148, 231, 295, 298, 300,
358 Family, 103, 233, 357
Disasters, 200 Family needs, 236
Disciplinary proceedings, 395 Fault, 323

Index
Financial participation, 507 Industrial conflicts, 525

Fine, 397 Industrial or post-industrial relations, 61
Fixed-term employment, 169, 174, 315 Inform, 205
Flexibility, 168, 479 Information, 89, 244, 295, 425, 426
Flexible employment contract, 43 Information and consultation, 301
Flexicurity, 48 Injury, 275
Food, 220 Injury at work, 275
Forced labour, 108 Inspector, 104
Foreign employers, 110 Inspector for civil servants system, 394
Free will, 256 Institute of Pension and Disability
Freedom of association, 79, 82 Insurance of Slovenia, 319
Freedom of work, 49, 108, 139, 147, 330 Institutional clauses, 491
Freedom to work, 330 Intent, 41
Full-time job, 255 Internal competition, 152, 245
Full-time work, 215 Internal labour market, 104, 346
Fund, 305,l, 343 Internal rules, 413
International law, 39, 416
General act, 115 International Trade Union Confederation,
General enactment, 485 91
Globalization, 258 Inventions, 380
Grave fault, 351 Irregular dismissal, 310
Guilt, 249, 250 Irregular distribution of working time, 177
Irregular termination of the employment
Harassment, 59 contract, 322, 329
Head of personnel management, 51, 104
Health, 221 Job description, 200
Health and safety, 197, 227 Job performance, 204, 261
Health capacity, 151 Job requirements, 115, 151
Health insurance, 240 Job security, 305, 307, 312, 320
Hearing, 250 Job systemiatzation, 115
Hiring procedure, 150 Joint consultations, 523
Holiday allowance, 267 Joint opinions, 85
Holiday leave, 238
Holidays, 231 Labour and social courts, 326, 502
Human resource management, 39, 48, 50, Labour courts, 176, 321, 390, 396, 432,
150, 246, 364, 380, 453, 523 496, 502
Human resources, 48 Labour dispute, 383
Human rights, 211, 380 Labour inspection, 391
Human rights and fundamental freedoms, Labour inspector, 127, 224, 225, 353
96, 108, 109, 111, 138, 183, 354 Labour inspectorate, 396
Labour law, 270
Illness, 197, 231, 359 Labour market, 161
ILO, 68, 401 Labour relations, 165
ILO Convention, 321 Legal entity, 161, 342
Incapacity, 279, 280, 298, 323 Legal system, 35
Incompetence, 115 Liability for damages, 40, 130
Increased volume of work, 172 Lifelong learning, 244
Increased workload, 57 Limitation period, 251
Indemnity, 113, 253, 318 Liquidation, 328
Independent professionals, 427 Liquidation proceedings, 328
Individual labour law, 39 Lisbon Treaty, 86
Individual participatory rights, 517 Lockout, 543

Index
Lump-sum amount, 254 Participatory agreement, 484

Part-time employment contract, 181
Management, 50, 77, 92, 510 Penal law, 39
Managers, 41, 355 Pension and disability insurance, 280, 298
Massive dismissals, 344 Pension disability system, 280
Maternity, 357 Period of notice, 309, 322
Mediation, 83, 387, 437, 472, 475, 46, Personal circumstances, 361
500, 503 Personal data, 211
Medical certificate, 357 Personal integrity, 108
Medical examination, 151 Personal life, 238
Meeting, 467 Personnel management, 104
Members of the works councils, 471 Personnel plans, 116, 339
Mini-jobs, 163 Plan, 227
Minimum wage, 179, 255 Position, 189
Minister, 302 Posted employee, 118, 123
Minor offence, 126 Pregnancy, 341, 347
Misfortune, 279 Principal, 51, 68, 104, 116, 145, 153, 173,
Mobbing, 59, 354 207, 395
Molestation, 112 Principle of democracy, 138
Principle of equality, 54
National Assembly, 122 Principle of the minimum
National Council of the Republic of statutory regulation and the extended
Slovenia, 69 regulation by the collective agreement,
Natural person, 102 515
Negligence, 41, 252 Principle of the peaceful resolution of the
Night work, 220–225, 227, 262 disputes between employees’
Notice board, 329 representatives and employers, 517
Notice period, 330, 338 Privacy, 108, 211
Notify, 352 Private life, 217, 218
Nullity, 166 Private sector, 39
Privatization, 336
Obligations Code, 137 Probation period, 213, 351
Obligatory part of the collective agreement, Procedural rules, 306
488 Productivity, 214
Occupational illness, 197, 275, 283 Programme, 245
Occupational injury, 283 Prohibition of competition, 207
Officials, 172 Prohibition of discrimination, 270
Officials Council, 153 Project, 174
Older employees, 356, 372 Project work, 57
Open competition, 121, 134, 152, 167, 190 Promotion, 204
Open Competition Commissions, 117 Promotion periods, 55
Opinion, 292, 323 Promotion system, 55
Organizational changes, 339 Property rights, 182
Outstanding achievements, 204 Protected employment, 300
Overtime work, 136, 216, 262, 366, 398, Protection, 339
Public advertisement, 147
Paid absences, 238 Public holidays, 239
Parental leave, 357, 367 Public interest, 344, 405
Parenthood, 341, 364 Public limited liability company, 510
Participation, 58, 311, 341, 348, 423, 426, Public order, 75, 320, 542
431, 450 Public sector, 39
Participative management, 479 Public works, 172, 188

Index
Quota, 303 Social partners, 430

Social property, 113
Ratified treaties, 47 Social security, 119, 216, 267
Records, 103 Social security contributions, 119
Redistribution of working time, 226 Social state, 66, 107
Redundancy, 115, 268, 298, 299, 333, 344 Special regulations, 46
Redundant employees, 306 State regulations, 247
Reemploy, 338 Statutorily determined duties, 194
Reemployment, 349 Strike, 79, 341, 403, 428
Referendum, 469 Strike board, 536
Register, 192 Students, 128
Regular termination of the employment Subordination, 249
contract, 322 Subventions, 304
Regulation, 121 Suitable jobs, 143
Rehabilitation, 279, 284, 286 Sunday work, 261
Reimbursement of expenses, 266 Supervision, 342
Remuneration, 191, 209, 255, 256, 261, Supervisory boards, 521
354 Supplements, 261, 265
Reorganization , 336 Supportive employment, 297
Replacement of workers, 178 Suspension of the employment contract,
Representative trade union, 114 141
Representative unions, 57 Systematization, 256
Responsibilities, 197
Rest, 129 Telework, 186
Retirement, 268 Temporary injunction, 325
Retraining, 246 Temporary or occasional work, 135
Right to work, 306 Termination, 310
Rule of law, 65, 107 Termination of contracts, 312
Termination of the employment contract,
Safety, 160 146, 190, 245, 268, 314
Safety and health at work, 151, 203 Time limitations, 175
Safety and health at work places, 393 Title, 115
Salary, 124 Titles, 245
Salary bracket, 260 Top managers, 43, 50, 172, 189, 191
Sanction, 169, 398 Trade union, 324, 374, 397, 398, 403
Sanctions, 194, 247, 307, 353, 396, 432 Trade union freedom, 354, 401
Scholarships, 242 Trade union representative, 355, 374
Seafarers, 136 Trade Union Representativeness Act, 407
Seasonal work, 169 Trade union representatives, 418, 426
Seasonal workers, 177 Trainee, 131, 212
Self Employed Persons, 119 Traineeship, 131
Self-defence, 41 Training, 121, 242, 468
Self-management, 474 Transfer, 104, 115, 309–311, 333, 464
Severance pay, 268, 309, 327, 333, 339 Transfer of the undertaking, 309
Sexual harassment, 59 Trial period, 136
Shifts, 220 Tripartite social dialogue, 68
Sick leave, 351 Trust, 173
Small employers, 171 Typical employment contract, 168
Social agreement, 71
Social dialogue, 47, 54, 66, 403, 432, 453, Underground work, 263
463, 476, 508 Uneven distribution of working time, 177
Social inclusion, 297 union density, 449

Index
Union des Industries de la Communauté Work efficiency, 54

européenne, 92 Work permit, 172
Union freedom, 401, 403, 407 Work requirements, 145
Union representatives, 418 Work results, 199
Unions, 410 Workers’ participation, 198
United Nations, 79 Workers’ representatives, 224
unlawful strike, 551 Working accidents, 134
Working conditions, 63, 86, 101, 112, 210,
Valid reason, 322 212, 220, 224, 244, 261, 262, 354, 365,
Values, 380 398
Values of the society, 166 Working experience, 50
Violations, 431 Working hours, 177
Vocational training, 130, 172 Working process, 49, 99, 426
Void contract, 166 Working tasks, 220, 227, 261
Voluntary traineeship, 129, 212 Working time, 129, 132, 156, 177, 181,
191, 214, 215, 218
Wage, 54, 99, 193, 240, 255–265, 340, Workload, 200
354, 367, 399, 400 Workplace injury, 197
Wage compensation, 179, 271, 274, 332 Works councils, 373
Warning, 323 Written agreement, 317
Weekly rest, 226, 370 Written charge, 250
Women, 221
Work at night, 370 Years of service, 264
Work council, 355 Young employees, 368

Slovenia Radno Pravo

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Slovenia Radno Pravo

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Zvone Vodovnik (1952), Ph.D., is a full professor of law

ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011) Slovenia – 3

4 – Slovenia ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011)

Chapter 1. General Background 19

§1. GEOGRAPHY, LOCATION, SIZE AND BOUNDARIES 19

§2. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 21

§3. VITAL STATISTICS 22

§4. OTHER IMPORTANT DATA 26

§5. UNDERLYING SOCIAL AND CULTURAL VALUES 31

ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011) Slovenia – 5

Chapter 2. Deﬁnitions and Notions 33

§1. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND ITS RELATION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES 33

§2. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND OTHER LEGAL SUBSYSTEMS 33

§3. THE STRUCTURE AND OBJECTIVES OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION, 36

§4. THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF THE GOALS OF EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION 39

§5. MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS, DUTIES, AND

§6. DECIDING ON PROMOTION AND REMUNERATION 41

§7. OTHER FORMAL RULES REGARDING BODIES AND PROCEDURES FOR

§8. HARASSMENT AND MOBBING 43

Chapter 3. Historical Background 45

§1. THE BIRTH OF SLOVENIA AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS 46

§2. THE CONSTITUTION AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 46

§3. INTERNATIONAL LAW AS THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE NATIONAL

Chapter 4. Role of Government Institutions in the Shaping

§1. DEFINITION AND MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EMPLOYMENT

§2. PARTICIPANTS IN THE EMPLOYMENT RELATION 64

§3. RECORDS AND REGISTERED DATA 64

6 – Slovenia ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011)

§4. EVIDENCE OF THE EMPLOYEE’S WORKING LIFE 66

§5. AN EMPLOYMENT BOOKLET 66

Chapter 5. Sources of Labour Law 67

§1. EMPLOYMENT LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION 67

§2. THE COVERAGE OF NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW 68

§3. HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLE OF PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION 68

§4. AUTONOMOUS LEGAL RESOURCES AND EMPLOYER’S GENERAL ACT 70

§5. THE ACT OF JOB SYSTEMATIZATION AS A CENTRAL EMPLOYER’S

§6. INFLUENCE OF THE OFFICERS’ REPRESENTATIVES ON LEGAL

Part I. The Individual Employment Relation 81

Chapter 1. Deﬁnition and Concepts 81

§1. THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE 81

§2. INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT 90

ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011) Slovenia – 7

D. Procedure in the Case of Transfers due to Work Requirements 93

8 – Slovenia ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011)

Chapter 2. Rights and Duties of the Parties during

§1. DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYEE 118

§2. DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER 122

Chapter 3. Working Conditions 125

§1. WORKING TIME 126

§2. BREAKS AND RESTS 132

§3. THE PARTICULARITIES OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF WORKING TIME

§4. ANNUAL LEAVE 134

ELL – Suppl. 379 (August 2011) Slovenia – 9

§5. PAID ABSENCES FROM WORK 136

§6. EDUCATION AND TRAINING 137

§7. LIABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 140

Chapter 4. Remuneration and Beneﬁts 146

§1. WAGES, SALARIES, REMUNERATION AND COMPENSATION 146

§2. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES RELATED TO WORK 151

§3. HOLIDAY ALLOWANCE 152

§4. RETIREMENT SEVERANCE PAY 152

§5. EQUAL REMUNERATION OF WOMEN AND MEN 153