Work

Steps

1. Search on the EURES portal and, once settled, register with the ZRSZ to be supported in your search.
2. Get your tax number and your EMŠO (see SI-NIF-TOUS-001 and SI-ADMINISTRATIONS-TOUS-001).
3. Sign a written contract before you start: it sets in particular the trial period, working time and salary.
4. Regulated profession? Have your qualification recognised by the competent Slovenian authority before practising; for the academic value of a diploma, the Slovenian NARIC centre gives an opinion.
5. If you lose your job, register with the ZRSZ as a jobseeker (without this registration, no benefit), then submit your benefit claim online on PoiščiDelo.si, in person or by post; the entitlement depends on the reason the contract ended.

Documents

• Identity document, residence registration certificate, tax number.
• Diplomas and employment certificates (translations if requested).
• Form U1 to have your periods worked in another EU country counted; U2 to keep your benefit from your former country while searching in Slovenia.

Costs and timelines

• 2026 minimum wage: €1,481.88 gross per month for a full-time job, i.e. about €1,000 net according to the ministry; pro rata for part time. Performance bonuses, expense reimbursements (meals, transport) and the holiday bonus (regres) do not count towards the minimum. It is revised every year in January, at least in line with inflation.
• Working time: generally 40 hours a week, never less than 36 for a full-time job. Overtime: 8 a week, 20 a month and 170 a year at most (up to 230 in certain sectors, such as health, if the collective agreement provides for it).
• Leave: at least 4 weeks a year, full time or part time; if you have worked the whole year, at least 2 weeks must be taken in one go.
• Trial period: 6 months at most.
• Notice for ordinary dismissal: from 15 to 80 days depending on the case.
• 2026 unemployment benefit (since 01/01/2026): at least €1,037.32 and at most €1,926.44 gross per month for a full-time job (70% and 130% of the minimum wage). Declining ceiling: 130% of the minimum wage for the first 3 months, 110% from the 4th to the 6th month, 100% from the 7th to the 9th, 90% from the 10th to the 12th, then 80%; floor of 70%. Condition: having been insured against unemployment for at least 10 months in the last 24 months (6 months in 24 if you are under 30) and not having lost your job through your own fault or by your own choice (ZRSZ, scale in force since 01/01/2026).
• U2: you keep the benefit from your former country for at least 3 months (up to 6 depending on the paying body) if you are fully unemployed, you were registered as a jobseeker for at least 4 weeks (exceptions are possible) and you obtained the U2 before leaving; on arrival, register with the ZRSZ within 7 days and hand in the U2.
• Minimum working age: 15 years.

Common pitfalls

• Starting without a written contract. The law requires writing before work begins.
• Counting bonuses towards the minimum. Meal and transport reimbursements are added to the minimum wage, they do not make it up.
• Paying an agency to find a job. This is prohibited for the jobseeker.
• Not taking your 2 weeks in a row. It is a right, but also a rule: plan them with your employer.
• Resigning without checking your unemployment rights. The reason the contract ended matters for the benefit.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: no work permit; residence registration beyond 3 months (see SI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).
• British citizens (Scots included): third-country national residence and work permit needed, except for rights acquired before 01/01/2021 (see SI-SEJOUR-TOUS-001). For forms U1 and U2, ask the ZRSZ.