We realize that the changes brought by the coronovirus pandemic are constantly changing, updating and supplementing, what can be unclear and confusing for you. Last week, we published an article summarizing all measures taken by government (read HERE). Today, we bring you the most frequently asked questions and, of course, answers to questions that may interest you in your business.

LABOUR LAW

1. Can I send my employees pre-emptive home out of precaution?

Yes, you can.  But then this is considered to be an obstacle on the side of the employer, and the employees are entitled to their full salary.  In case there are employee representatives elected, this can be reduced to 60%.

If your company was closed as a result of a measure taken by the Public Health Authority, the state will reimburse you for 80% of the employee's salary.

If your company wasn´t closed as a result of a measure taken by the Public Health Authority, but your income decreased due to for example for the closure of other companies, you can apply to the State for an allowance per employee as follows:

• decrease of company income by more than 20% you can get allowance per employee in the amount 180,-€;
• decrease of company income by more than 40% you can get allowance per employee in the amount 300,-€;
• decrease of company income by more than 60% you can get allowance per employee in the amount 420,-€;
• decrease of company income by more than 80% you can get allowance per employee in the amount 540-€.

2. Is there a system of temporarily technical unemployment in Slovakia?

No, as of today there is no such possibility. No, such a system does not exist for everyone as in other EU Member States, for example “Kurzarbeit” in Germany. However, yesterday the Slovak government adopted measures that are focused on specific cases and can be compared with for example “Kurzarbeit”. You can see it in point before.

3. My employees have still holiday from previous year, can I oblige them to use these now?

Employees should agree when they take holiday.  As employer you can allocate up to 2 weeks of the annual leave, but you need to inform the employees at least 2 weeks beforehand, unless they agree with a shorter period.

4. Can I oblige my employees to use first their overtime?

No, there is no obligation.  Employees can decide to take time-off for overtime, but you cannot oblige them.

5. What should my employee do if I have to stay at home to take care of the kids?

In that case they can claim so called ‘OCR’ and get a compensation from the social insurance.

6. My employees are working from home, is this covered by the accident insurance?

Difficult to say. Yu would need to check this with your consultant for the Safety at work.

7. One of my employees is on holiday and cannot return (on time).  What can I do?

The possibilities to return back home are reducing by the hour.  Staff that is still stuck abroad has an obstacle on their side that prevents them to come to work and in that case they will have to take a holiday, take up overtimes, or use the system of unpaid leave.

8. I cannot guarantee the measures of social distancing within my company.  What should I do?

In that case you will have to reduce the number of employees, or close entirely.

9. How can I organise the elections for employee representations?

Procedure for election employee representations is regulated in Labour Code. Our law office can help you with this issue.

10. Is the economic crisis a valid reason to lay-off employees?

Yes it is, a business restructuring is a valid reason to lay-off employees.  But the rules and conditions have to be applied and followed, also during this pandemic situation.

 

11. What are the costs associated with laying off employees?

That depends a lot on the reason for the dismissal and how long the employee is working for you.  It can run up to 3 months’ notice period and 3 months’ severance payment.

TAXATION

1. Is there a general extension and postponement of payments to the Tax office?

No, this is not automatically and will depend on the different types of taxes.

2. Should I continue to pay my tax advances?

Yes, you have to continue to pay the tax advances as these were calculated based on your previous tax return.  So maybe it makes sense to file now the new tax return and have then lower future advances based on this new tax return.

3. Can I pay lower tax advances?

Yes, you can require the tax office to approve lower tax advances and no extra documentation is required, just mention as reason the current crisis.  Note that the Tax Office does not have to agree automatically with this request, although they indicated that they will be taking into account the current situation.

4. Do I still have to file my corporate income tax returns on time?

You can file your tax return until 30. June 2020 and the tax authority will not charge any sanctions to you. But, keep in mind that remission of sanctions is not the same thing as an extension of the deadline. Best to check with your tax specialist.  We still recommend to complete the work on time or to postpone the deadline officially with an announcement submitted till 31.3.2020.

5. What about the deadlines for the VAT filing?

Currently there is no possibility to postpone the deadline for the filing of the VAT statement.  However, if you don’t manage because of the current pandemic, you can ask for a waiver for missing the deadline, but you should do this within 30 days after the day when you have been able to file the VAT return and/or to pay VAT.

6. I missed some deadlines, will there be sanctions?

If you missed certain deadlines, you should file for a waiver for the missed deadline this within 30 days after the day when the obstacles disappeared.  The Tax Office indicated that they will be taking into account the current situation.

7. The tax office announced a tax control.  Will this take place?

Currently there is only an intention to extend the periods for all tax controls. We presume that nowadays all procedures that do not require visit of Tax Office will continue.

The above answer are actual as of 29-3-2020 and are of a general nature only.  They do not contain all the details and specific situations that you might be in.  We therefor recommend you to contact our advisors before taking any specific actions.

Do you have another questions? We will answer you. Contact us! More information can be found on our website, Facebook or Linked-In.