As of next year, citizens from countries outside the European Union could be employed in Slovakia according to new rules approved by Cabinet on Tuesday. Parliament will decide on the draft in a fast-tracked procedure. If MPs pass the draft, hiring such employees will become easier and quicker in sectors facing labour shortages. The official list of professions affected will be updated every quarter instead of once per year as it's the case today. The time to process the immigration paperwork for the applicants for these positions is to be reduced to 30 days from the current 90. The same rule will apply for the employees of ITC centres. Employers must report vacancies to labour offices before hiring foreign workers, with fines to be issued for the non-fulfilment of this obligation. The draft clarifies which documents should be submitted to prove the level of education achieved by a job applicant as well as those proving temporary assignment in Slovakia if the employee is sent here by the mother company for a certain period to work on a project at the local branch, for example.
The deadlines for assessing the application for seasonal work permits are being shortened too. Third-country nationals will also now have the possibility to enter the Slovak labour market through temporary employment agencies in the case of labour shortages. The number of supporting documents for the application for temporary residence will be also reduced. An amendment to the Labour Code will ban employers to limit in any way the access of employees to complete information about their wages. This measure aims to help prevent the misuse of citizens of third countries for social dumping on the Slovak market, such as being offered lower salaries and bonuses than their Slovak colleagues.
