Overview of legislative changes in payroll and personnel agenda as of 01 January 2025

As it usually goes, the end of the year means new legislative changes to the payroll and personnel agenda have been adopted by National Council of the Slovak Republic, coming into effect from 01.01.2025. In this article we will give you an overview of the most important ones.

I. Changes to the Labour Code

The sport activity allowance for children of employees will be obligatory for employers.

From January 2025, employers will have a new obligation in relation to the provision of sport activity allowance for children of employees. Same as with recreation allowance, it is linked to the number of employees. Only employers who employ more than 49 employees are obliged to provide the allowance. The amount of the allowance is 55 % of the eligible expenses, up to a maximum of EUR 275 per year in total for all children. For an employee that does not work full-time, the allowance will be reduced proportionately.

The employee must apply for the allowance and must have been continuously employed by the employer for at least 24 months.

Employers with fewer employees can provide the allowance voluntarily.

Subject to the conditions set out in the Labour Code, the sport activity allowance for children of employees is exempt from tax and health and social insurance contributions.

The recreation voucher will now be transferable to the employee's parent.

In the summer of this year, an amendment to the Labour Code was approved in order to promote domestic tourism by extending the forms of application of the employee's recreation voucher (recreation allowance), thus ensuring that it can be utilised to the fullest extent.

The change relates to the ability to transfer the recreation voucher to the employee's parent. Not only will the employee's expenses be considered eligible, but also the employee's parent's expenses.

According to the explanatory memorandum, this change would allow the employee's parent to participate in at least one recreation activity during the year, to which they would also be able to take their spouse in order to regenerate their physical and mental strength to improve their quality of life.

However, it should be noted that at the same time, employers will have new obligations, in particular with the set-up of a new internal process in relation to the verification of whether and on what basis was the voucher used by the employee's parent and the parent's spouse.

Seasonal employment contract - elimination of ambiguity in the concept of seasonal work in the tourism sector

Effective from 01 January 2025, Annex No. 1b of the Labour Code is amended in order to eliminate ambiguity in the interpretation of the legal regulation of seasonal work for the purposes of the seasonal employment contract in regard to the tourism industry.

As of January 2025, a seasonal employment contract may be concluded in the tourism industry for the operation of restaurants and catering establishments and for the operation of accommodation establishments, regardless of whether they operate passenger transport on rivers, lakes, etc., operating cable cars, land cableways, ski lifts, camps, etc.

As stated in the explanatory memorandum, the condition of direct dependence of the performance of the employment activity on the operation of the activities referred to in points one to five of the Annex for the operation of restaurants and catering establishments and for the operation of accommodation establishments has introduced an unclear interpretation of that condition into the application practice. Removing this condition will result in an unambiguous interpretation of the legislation.

II. Changes to the Social Insurance Act

Increase to the maximum assessment base for contributions to the Social Insurance Agency

One of the significant changes adopted by the amendment to the Social Insurance Act coming into force on 1 January 2025 (starting with the processing of wages for the month of January 2025) is a significant increase in the maximum assessment base for sickness insurance, unemployment insurance, pension insurance, guarantee insurance, financing of support during short-time work, and insurance premiums to the solidarity reserve fund.

The maximum monthly assessment base for the payment of insurance premiums is increased from the average wage in the economy of the Slovak Republic multiplied by 7 to being multiplied by 11. The average wage was determined by the Statistical Office for the calendar year two years preceding the reference period.

The amount of the maximum monthly assessment base for 2025 will therefore be EUR 15,730 (until the end of 2024 the assessment base is EUR 9,128).

Change to pay-out of parental pension

From January 2025, there will be a complete overhaul of pay-out of parental pension. Until now, children have been able to contribute to their parents' pensions through social security contributions.

Children will now be able to remit a percentage of the tax paid to their parents who are pensioners, namely 2 % to the mother and 2 % to the father, up to a total of 4% of the tax paid. This will be possible for the first time in the year 2026, i.e. for the 2025 tax year.

III. Changes to the Income Tax Act

Changes to the child tax bonus in the year 2025

The age limit of the child for whom the taxpayer can claim the tax bonus, the percentage limit of the tax base when calculating the entitlement to the tax bonus as well as the income criteria on which the maximum amount of the tax bonus for children is calculated have been changed.

For more information on the child tax bonus, see the article here: https://www.grantthornton.sk/en/news/konsolidacia-verejnych-financii-2025-zvysenie-dph-na-23-nova-24-dan-z-prijmov-pre-velke-firmy-a-dalsie-novinky