Employers face some of the EU’s highest non-wage labour costs.
Slovakia has the third-highest non-wage labour costs in the EU, trailing only France and Sweden — countries with highly developed social systems, high living standards and significantly higher net wages.
Non-wage labour costs represent all expenses employers pay on top of an employee’s gross salary, primarily social and health contributions, which workers never see on their pay slips.
According to Eurostat data, non-wage costs accounted for 28.2 percent of total labour costs per employee in Slovakia last year. Italy and Austria, despite offering considerably higher social standards, ranked behind Slovakia.
Among neighbouring countries, Hungary ranked 23rd with non-wage costs at 13.8 percent, Poland 19th with 18 percent, and Czechia 8th with 24.5 percent.
