Text file: 10872.txt
author: Plohl
downvotes: 1
end consideration date: 2020-03-14
id: '10872'
number comments: 4
number views: 2801
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: 'Response by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

  As regards the legal regulation of the wage system, we would like to start by clarifying
  that the Labour Relations Act, Official Journal of the Republic of Slovenia, No
  21/13, 78/13 - corrected, 47/15 - ZZSDT, 33/16 - PZ-F, 52/16, 15/17 - Decree of
  the US, 22/19 - ZposS and 81/19; hereinafter referred to as ''ZDR-1''), Article
  126(2) provides that the salary shall consist of the basic salary, a performance
  component, allowances and performance pay, if agreed in a collective agreement or
  employment contract. However, Article 127 of the ZDR-1 provides that the basic salary
  is to be determined taking into account the complexity of the work for which the
  employee has concluded an employment contract. The ZDR-1 does not specify the amount
  of basic salaries, but Article 31(8) of the ZDR-1 provides that the employment contract
  must also contain a provision on the amount of the employee''s basic salary in euros
  to which he is entitled for the performance of the work under the employment contract
  and on any other remuneration. Of course, starting salaries or minimum basic salaries
  are set by the social partners in collective bargaining and in the tariff part of
  collective agreements. We would add that it follows from Article 126 of the ZDR-1
  that the employer must comply with the minimum wage laid down by law or by a collective
  agreement directly binding on the employer.

  In the Republic of Slovenia, wages are thus regulated by collective agreements and
  laws. Collective agreements are negotiated between employers or their representatives
  and trade unions, which also freely agree at different levels (national, sectoral,
  company) on the level of the starting or minimum basic wages for different levels
  of job complexity. In accordance with the principle of free collective bargaining,
  the Government may not interfere in the content of collective agreements, except
  when, as the direct employer, it concludes collective agreements with trade unions
  representing workers employed in the public sector.

  At the national level, the minimum remuneration for work is set by the Minimum Wage
  Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 13/10, 92/15 and 83/18; hereinafter:
  ZMinP), whereby workers are entitled to remuneration for work at least in the amount
  of the minimum wage if they work full time for an employer in the Republic of Slovenia,
  and in the case of part-time work, the worker is entitled to a pro rata share of
  the minimum wage. The amount of the minimum wage represents the lowest possible
  monthly gross salary due to a full-time employee, even if his or her salary would
  otherwise be lower under a collective agreement or employment contract. In such
  cases, the employer must add the difference up to the minimum wage.

  The specific basic salary of each worker is therefore determined by the employment
  contract, and the employer must take account of the basic or starting salary arrangements
  in the collective agreement by which it is directly bound. In addition to the basic
  salary, an employee''s salary consists of a performance component, bonuses and performance-related
  pay, if this is agreed in the collective agreement or employment contract. However,
  the employer must take into account the legal minimum wage when making specific
  wage payments.

  The ZDR-1 also does not specify the amount of individual bonuses, but refers to
  the amount of bonuses being determined by collective agreement, either as a nominal
  amount or as a percentage of the full-time basic salary or the relevant hourly rate.
  In the event of dilemmas regarding the implementation of individual collective agreements,
  it is up to the individual interpretation committees of the specific collective
  agreements to provide the appropriate interpretation. It should be stressed that
  the allowances provided for in the ZDR-1 are statutory rights which cannot be waived.
  The scope of these rights, as well as of any other allowances, is further defined
  in other acts.

  Taking into account the latest amendments to the ZMinP, the minimum wage for full-time
  work in 2020 is EUR 940.58 (gross). As of 1 January 2020, the definition of the
  minimum wage has also been amended so that all allowances provided for by laws and
  regulations and collective agreements, the performance component of the wage and
  the performance-related remuneration agreed by collective agreement or employment
  contract are not counted as part of the minimum wage. In addition, reimbursements
  of expenses which the employer is obliged to pay to the employee (e.g. reimbursement
  of meals during work, transport to and from work, travel expenses), as well as other
  remuneration arising from the employment relationship (e.g. annual leave allowance,
  severance payments, jubilee awards), cannot be included in the minimum wage. Employers
  are therefore obliged to pay full-time workers at least the minimum wage, with all
  allowances provided for by laws, regulations and collective agreements, the performance
  and merit component of the wage, and reimbursements of expenses and other employment
  benefits being exempt from the minimum wage.

  It should be pointed out once again that the ZMinP regulates the minimum wage, and
  thus does not interfere with the regulation of minimum basic salaries under collective
  agreements or basic salaries under employment contracts, nor does it interfere with
  the regulation of the determination of the level of allowances. The ZDR-1 leaves
  it to the social partners to agree on the level of individual allowances and to
  regulate them in collective agreements. As a result, the minimum wage was increased
  as of 1 January 2020, and the definition of the minimum wage was changed (excluding
  all bonuses and performance and merit payments), thus further increasing the effective
  minimum remuneration for the work done. However, the system for determining the
  starting or basic wages and the basis for determining the level of individual allowances
  has remained unchanged, so that the increase in basic wages or the setting of the
  minimum basic wage at the level of the statutory minimum wage or the different determination
  of the basis for calculating allowances remains a matter for agreement between the
  social partners, where the participants on the workers'' and employers'' side can
  have a significant influence on the concrete determination of allowances.'
response date: 2020-04-21
response due date: null
sent date: 2020-02-13
title: Minimum wage supplement
upvotes: 26
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/10872
