On 22 March 2022, the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted Act No. 92/2022 Coll. on related to the on-going situation in Ukraine (the so-called Lex Ukraine), which amends a number of laws and entered into force on 30 March 2022.

One of the amended laws is Act No. 480/2002 on Asylum, by which the Government of the Slovak Republic approved the declaration of granting temporary refuge status to citizens of Ukraine and their family members in connection with the armed conflict in Ukraine. A citizen who proves his/her identity with a passport or ID card will be granted temporary shelter immediately after registration, instead of having to await a decision will be made within 30 days.

The temporary refugee regime will start on 1.3.2022. For the time being it is provided until 4.3.2023.

The document granting tolerated stay will now no longer bear the designation "Refugee" but "Temporary Refuge".

Form of employment of a Ukrainian with temporary refuge

Under the Employment Services Act, an employer may employ a third-country national who has been granted temporary shelter. In the case of employment of such a third-country national, neither a certificate of the possibility of filling a vacancy corresponding to a highly qualified job, nor a certificate of the possibility of filling a vacancy, nor an employment permit is required.

Employment can be in the form of:

• Employment contract - fixed-term, permanent, full-time or part-time
• Agreement to perform work
• Agreement on employment
• Temporary student work agreement

Such an employee may also be assigned to work for a user employer.

Employer's obligations towards the competent institutions

Social Affairs and Family Labour Office

Pursuant to Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on employment services, the employer is obliged to send to the competent labour office the so-called information card within 7 working days from the date of commencement of employment and also within 7 working days upon termination of employment.

The employer is obliged to submit the following documents with the information card:

• A copy of the document on the concluded employment relationship (employment contract, agreement)
• A copy of the proof of residence - the so-called grant of temporary refuge

Social Insurance

If an employer employs a citizen of Ukraine with temporary refuge status, the employer fulfils the same reporting obligations to the Social Insurance Institution as if employing a Slovak employee.

The employer registers the employee on the Registration List of Natural Persons (RLFO) under the birth number which is indicated on the temporary refuge document. If the citizen of Ukraine does not have an assigned birth number, the employer shall submit the RLFO to the relevant branch of the Social Insurance Institution in paper form. The social insurance office will then generate a Social Insurance identification number for the citizen of Ukraine for social insurance purposes.

When completing the RLFO, the employer shall not list the following:

• In Section I. "natural person without residence in the SR" - to be entered only in the case of a natural person without residence in the territory of the SR
• In Section II. "address of residence" - to be entered only in the case of a natural person without residence in the SR.

Health Insurance

If an employer employs a citizen of Ukraine with temporary refuge status with an income of at least the monthly minimum wage, i.e. €646, he/she becomes insured for the purposes of health insurance and is publicly insured for health purposes, the same as a citizen of a third country.

The employer is obliged to register such an employee with the health insurance company no later than 8 working days after the beginning of the employment relationship.

The insured person shall enclose with the registration form:

• a copy of the employment contract (or, where applicable, the contract of employment),
• a copy of the information card sent by the employer to the Labour Office,
• a copy of the proof of residence (proof of temporary shelter).

However, if a citizen from Ukraine with the status of temporary refuge does not achieve an income of at least the minimum wage (e.g. because he/she has an agreed part-time job), he/she does not enter the public health insurance system in Slovakia and will only be entitled to urgent health care. In such a case, the employer will not register him as an employee in the health insurance company or make health insurance contributions on his behalf on such income.

If the citizen of Ukraine does not have an assigned birth number, he/she shall not indicate it on the application form. The health insurance company will issue him with an insurance card bearing an identification number, which will replace the birth number

Tax office

The salary or remuneration paid to a citizen of Ukraine with the status of temporary refuge is income from dependent activity for the purposes of taxation and the employer is obliged to collect advance income tax payments in accordance with Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income Tax.

After the end of the taxable period, the citizen of Ukraine will be able to ask the employer to make an annual tax settlement, or the employer will issue him/her a certificate of taxable income and settle the tax liability by filing a tax return himself/herself.

When employing such a citizen, the employer follows a similar procedure as when employing a Slovak citizen.

Non-taxable part per taxpayer

A citizen of Ukraine can claim the tax-free part on a monthly basis by using the form "Declaration for claiming the tax-free part" or once a year, when processing the annual tax settlement or filing a tax return.

Child tax credit

A citizen of Ukraine cannot claim the child tax bonus on a monthly basis, but only as part of the annual tax settlement or tax return.

In the annual tax settlement, it is necessary to follow the same procedure as for non-residents, i.e. in order to claim the tax bonus, it is required to meet the condition of at least 90% of the aggregate taxable income in the territory of the Slovak Republic, which the employee declares by an affidavit in the application for the annual tax settlement.

The application must also be accompanied by relevant documents, such as birth certificates of children and school attendance certificates, which will need to be officially translated into Slovak.