Reduced Working Hours Scheme Activated

A while ago, our law firm presented the legal mechanisms introduced in 2025 to help companies overcome liquidity difficulties. Among them, we also presented the reduced working hours measure with partial reimbursement of salary compensation, regulated by the Act on the Enforcement of Partial Reimbursement of Salary Compensation for Reduced Working Hours (ZUDPNP). At the time, we pointed out that the Government of the Republic of Slovenia had not yet adopted a decision establishing temporary circumstances, which is a prerequisite for reimbursement of salary compensation.

Following up on this, on 4 December 2025, the Government adopted the Decision on the Enforcement of Partial Reimbursement of Salary Compensation, which entered into force on the following day, i.e. on 5 December 2025. In line with the Standard Classification of Activities (SKD 2025), the Government defined the business sectors in which circumstances have arisen that employers in these sectors could not reasonably influence or prevent, and whose temporary negative impact on business volume has resulted in the temporary inability to provide sufficient work to their employees, namely:

• C.14 Manufacture of clothing products;
• C.15 Manufacture of leather, leather products and related products made from other materials;
• C.17 Manufacture of paper and paper products;
• C.18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media;
• C.23 Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products;
• C.24 Manufacture of metals;
• C.25 Manufacture of metal products, except machinery and equipment;
• C.29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers;
• C.30 Manufacture of other vehicles and vessels; and
• C.31 Manufacture of furniture.

The period during which an employee may be ordered to work on a reduced working time basis, and during which the employer may claim partial reimbursement of salary compensation, is currently limited to 5 December 2025 to 5 March 2026. This period may be extended by a new Government decision.

In the reasoning of the decision, the Government explained that the events leading to the temporary circumstances were: (i) reduced export and increased import demand in 2025; (ii) rapidly changing and unpredictable economic policy of the United States of America; (iii) the energy crisis in 2022–2023; (iv) the war in Ukraine beginning in 2022; (v) floods in August 2023; and (vi) high inflation and rising interest rates in 2022–2024.

Not all employers from the above business sectors are eligible for the reduced working hours measure with partial reimbursement of salary compensation; they must also meet the other conditions set out in ZUDPNP, which we briefly outlined in our previous publication.

The adopted decision and the reduced working hours scheme will significantly contribute to improving the liquidity position of affected companies and to preserving jobs, thereby eliminating the costs associated with potential redundancies and strengthening workforce stability.