No Double Punishment For Illegal Employment In Slovakia: A New Ruling

• Published date: 29 June 2021
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Law Firm: lus Laboris
• Author: Ms Danica Valentova (Nitschneider & Partners)

A ruling by the Slovakian Supreme Court confirms that employers cannot be penalised by two different agencies for one violation of employment law rules.

Illegal employment and its punishment is quite specific in Slovakia, because even one omission by the employer, in the form of late registration of an employee with the Social Insurance Agency, is treated as illegal employment and a violation of several legal regulations.

In this scenario, the employer is sanctioned by both the labour inspectorate and the Social Insurance Agency. In one specific case, the Social Insurance Agency ordered the employer to pay a penalty of up to EUR 10 and the labour inspectorate decided on a fine of up to EUR 2,200. The case came before the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, which considered this procedure to be a violation of the principle of ne bis in idem (the prohibition on double jeopardy) in administrative punishment.

The Labour Inspection Act, as well as the Social Insurance...