14th ANNUAL REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

ON THE APPLICATION

            OF THE EUROPEAN CODE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

GENERAL REPORT

REFERENCE PERIOD:1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019

I.              GENERAL

A.         ADMINISTRATION / ORGANISATION

• Administrative practices

• Organisation, e.g. decentralisation

• Rationalisation

• Payment methods

• Computerisation

• Training of security personnel

• Information and other service to beneficiaries

a)     Changes made during the reference period

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year: /

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated:/

B.         BENEFITS

• Personal and material scope

• Compensation for price increases (as compared to actual price increases)

a)     Changes made during the reference period:

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year

Amendments to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act and Labour Market Regulation Act are being prepared. Both acts are planned to be adopted by the National Assembly by the end of 2019 with their enforcement in 2020.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated

II.            MEDICAL CARE

a)     Changes made during the reference period: /

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

Changes of the key act regulating the field of health care are being prepared. Activities related to the process and design of concrete measures are still in the coordination phase therefore it is not yet possible to describe and comment on the proposed solutions.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

III.           SICKNESS BENEFIT

a)     Changes made during the reference period: /

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

Changes of the key act regulating the field of health care are being prepared. Activities related to the process and design of concrete measures are still in the coordination phase therefore it is not yet possible to describe and comment on the proposed solutions.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

IV.           UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT

a)     Changes made during the reference period: /

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

Some provisions of the Labour Market Regulation Act are currently changing. The Act Amending the Labour Market Regulation Act (ZUTD-E) is in the process of preparation. Inter-ministerial coordination is underway.

The proposed amendments aim at faster activation of the working population, prolonging the employment of the elderly, restriction of precarious employment and providing a higher level of social security to recipients of unemployment benefits.

The main amendments to the law include, inter alia, an increase of the minimum amount of unemployment benefit, an increase of the minimum period of insurance for the entitlement to the unemployment benefit, a change in the conditions of the required age and insurance period in determining the duration of the unemployment benefit for older persons and the introduction of a special measure aimed at activation and integration of foreign unemployed persons without basic knowledge of Slovenian language into the Slovenian labour market.

The proposed changes also set out measures in the area of ​​temporary and occasional work for retired people.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

d)    Additional clarifications regarding point II of the draft resolution on the application of the ECSS by Slovenia (period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018):

II.   concerning Part IV (Unemployment benefit), Article 68 of the Code, Suspension of benefit, to consider: (1) whether appropriate instructions could be issued by the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) to limit the application of the condition subjecting the grant of unemployment benefit to the dismissed employee to the filing of a lawsuit for unlawful dismissal only in cases where the available evidence is deemed insufficient to exclude fraud; and (2) if the case is finally taken to court, what advisory and legal assistance the ESS can make available to claimants;

When a person comes to the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS) before his employment contract has been terminated and explains the situation from which it is evident that the employment contract will not be terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Relations Act (ZDR-1) providing for special protection against dismissal to certain workers, the ESS refers such an employee to the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia. The ESS also informs an employee on the possibility to protect his rights in accordance with the article 200 of the ZDR-1 which provides for the rules on the enforcement of rights with the employer and judicial protection to safeguard his rights.

The ESS informs an employee whose employment contract has been terminated contrary to the provisions of the Employment Relations Act (ZDR-1) on his rights concerning the unlawful termination of the employment contract and refers him to the possibility of a judicial protection to safeguard his rights. This is done already at the time of entering a person in the register of unemployed persons or at the latest in the process of deciding on the eligibility to the unemployment benefit.

V.            OLD AGE BENEFITS

a)     Changes made during the reference period: /

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

An ammendment to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act is being prepared. Negotiations with the social partners on the adjustment of the pension insurance legislation are currently in the final stage. Both, public consultation and inter-ministerial coordination have been concluded during the summer. The act is foreseen to be adopted by the government in September 2019. The act is planned to come into force on 1.1.2020.

Key starting points for the amendments to the legislation are:

-          Higher accrual rate /replacement rate for 40 years of pension period in the amount of 63,5% for men and women as well as an additional accrual rate for child care periods which would contribute to higher and more adequate old-age income. Higher accrual rate will have positive impact on improving social security of persons receiving low old-age, disability and survivors’ pension as well as benefits from the disability insurance.

-          Upgrade of possibilities to combine pension with income from work which would contribute to longer working activity of older workers.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

d)    Rates of payment during the reference period (Art. 65, p.10):

Adjustment of benefits

Pensions were adjusted by 2,7% in January 2019. The minimum pension rating basis thus amounts 858,46 EUR and the maximum pension rating basis is equal to 3.433,84 EUR. The guaranteed pension for 40 years of service if the prescribed conditions are fulfilled amounts 530,57 EUR.

In 2018 yearly bonus was paid out on the basis of Article 69 of the Amendments to the Republic of Slovenia Budget Implementation Act for 2018 and 2019 (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 71/2017, ZIPRS1819-A). Yearly bonus was paid to 645.492 beneficiaries in five different rates. Beneficiaries of prorata pensions (on a basis of EU social security coordination rules or bilateral social security agreements) were entitled to a proportionate part of a yearly bonus. In 2018 yearly bonus was received by 0,4% (2.363) more persons than in 2017.

The amount depends on the amount of the pension and is determined in five different rates. In 2018 the amounts of yearly bonus were 10 EUR higher compared to previous year.

 

BENEFICIARIES OF A YEARLY BONUS, 7/2018
AMOUNT					INDEX
	7/2018		1-7/2018		7/18	7/18	1-7/18	1-7/18
	NUMBER	%	NUMBER	%	6/18	7/17	1-7/17	1-12/17
100,00 EUR	144.260	23,8	144.260	23,8	-	102,7	102,7	99,7
160,00 EUR	84.405	13,9	84.405	13,9	-	96,6	96,6	95,5
210,00 EUR	102.891	16,9	102.891	16,9	-	96,9	96,9	95,7
270,00 EUR	103.470	17,0	103.470	17,0	-	96,3	96,3	94,4
410,00 EUR	83.542	13,8	83.542	13,8	-	99,8	99,8	96,3
PRORATA	88.579	14,6	88.579	14,6	-	107,8	107,8	83,5
TOTAL	607.147	100,0	607.147	100,0	-	100,0	100,0	94,4
	AMOUNT IN 1000 EUR		AMOUNT IN 1000 EUR
100,00 EUR	14.417,2	12,0	14.417,2	12,0	-	114,1	114,1	111,5
160,00 EUR	13.487,7	11,2	13.487,7	11,2	-	103,1	103,1	102,6
210,00 EUR	21.583,7	18,0	21.583,7	18,0	-	101,8	101,8	101,3
270,00 EUR	27.889,8	23,2	27.889,8	23,2	-	100,0	100,0	99,3
410,00 EUR	33.859,2	28,2	33.859,2	28,2	-	102,9	102,9	101,3
PRORATA	8.806,7	7,3	8.806,7	7,3	-	116,9	116,9	103,6
TOTAL	120.044,3	100,0	120.044,3	100,0	-	104,2	104,2	102,3
Source: Pension and Disability Insurance Institute of Slovenia

  

VI.           WORK ACCIDENT AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE BENEFIT

a)     Changes made during the reference period:  /

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year: /

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

d)    Rates of payment during the reference period (Art. 65, p. 10):

Adjustment of benefits: See Old age benefits.

e)     Additional clarifications regarding point III of the draft resolution on the application of the ECSS by Slovenia (period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018):

-     concerning Part VI (Employment injury benefit), Article 68 of the Code, Reasons for the reduction of benefits, to review the relevant provisions of the legislation accordingly so as to ensure conformity with the Code.

Concerning the above-mentioned invitation of the CEARC to review the relevant provisions on the possible reduction of the partial benefit the Government of Slovenia would like to point out the following:

In Slovenia there is a uniform system of disability insurance in place, meaning that both, disabilities related to work and non-work-related causes, are covered. Several rights from the disability insurance are granted by the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (ZPIZ-2). Apart from the disability pension other rights are regulated in the legislation, such as:

-     the Right to Occupational Rehabilitation (and occupational rehabilitation benefit and temporary benefit in the period between the completed occupational rehabilitation and commencement of work at the new job).

-     the Right to a Reassignment (and disability benefit).

-     the Right to work on a part-time basis for no less than four hours daily or twenty hours weekly (and partial benefit).

In case of work-related injuries, the partial benefit is assessed from an amount equal to that of a disability pension a person would have been entitled to for 40 years of pension qualifying period. Disability pensions in case of employment injuries are assessed from a higher base than in case of non-work-related causes of disability.

According to Article 86 of the ZPIZ-2, the partial disability pension has been reclassified as partial wage compensation - partial benefit, because in practice it was confused and equalised with other pension rights, as its nature is that of a compensation and not a pension. A person who is granted partial benefit still has working capacity, though it may be reduced or limited. It is important to emphasise that disability pension and partial benefit are two different rights in the disability insurance system that are mutually exclusive and cannot overlap.

Partial benefit is a benefit closely linked to a remaining working capacity of a person. It is important to distinguish between a right to pension and the right to a partial benefit. In the latter case the beneficiary is not a pensioner but has a status of an active person having or seeking a job (taking into account his/her working capacity and limitations. Although the right to a partial benefit is a part of the disability insurance system the aim and the content of the right is that of an active employment policy. It is a part of the government’s activation policies which aim to encourage and maintain people with reduced working capacity on the labour market be it in the regular labour market, subsidized employment, vocational rehabilitation etc. in order to prevent their social exclusion.

Partial benefit is therefore pursuing a goal of activation policies including the reduction of disability benefit (for 30%) as a temporary measure which applies only if a person with reduced working capacity terminates his/her employment relation by his own will or through his/her own fault. The aim of the measure is to encourage persons with reduced working capacity to remain on the labour market and to improve their social inclusion. If a person with reduced working capacity does not want to remain in the labour market, he/she remains eligible for disability benefit (only it is reduced for 30%) and under certain conditions he/she is also eligible for social assistance; in case of permanent incapacity for indefinite period.

  

VII.         FAMILY BENEFITS

a)     Changes made during the reference period:

The Exercise of Rights from Public Funds Act (Uradni list RS, št. 62/10, 40/11, 40/12 – ZUJF, 57/12 – ZPCP-2D, 14/13, 56/13 – ZŠtip-1, 99/13, 14/15 – ZUUJFO, 57/15, 90/15, 38/16 – odl. US, 51/16 – odl. US, 88/16, 61/17 – ZUPŠ, 77/18 in 47/19) was amended in November 2018. Child benefit is granted without the application, it is granted automatically each year if the conditions are met.

Since January 2019 Large family allowance is no longer means tested (it was means tested from 2012-2018 as a part of austerity measures).

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

The condition of permanent residence for parental benefit, child birth allowance, large family allowance, special childcare allowance and partial payment for loss income will be changed to temporary residence.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

VIII.        MATERNITY BENEFIT

a)     Changes made during the reference period:

Since January 2019 paternity and parental allowance is 100% of the basis (past 12 salaries). It was 90% from 2012-2018 as a part of austerity measures. Maternity allowance is without ceiling, the ceiling for paternity and parental allowance is 2,5 times average salary in Slovenia.

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

Fathers of twins, triplets… will have additional 10 days of paternity leave for each child. Foster parents will have 30 days of parental leave, when the child, who has not finished the first grade of elementary school, will be placed in the family.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated: /

IX.           SURVIVORS’ BENEFITS

a)     Changes made during the reference period: /

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year:

See old-age benefits.

c)     Research (including evaluations), completed or initiated:

d)    Rates of payment during the reference period(Art. 65, p. 10):

Adjustment of benefits: See old-age benefits.

X.            CALCULATION OF PERIODICAL PAYMENTS

a)     Changes made during the reference period:

In April 2018 the Social Assistance Payments Act (Uradni list RS, št. 61/10, 40/11, 14/13, 99/13, 90/15 in 88/16, 31/18) was further amended. The Act Amending the Social Assistance Payments Act (Uradni list RS, št. 73/18) has set the new amount of the basic minimum income based on the new estimates of the minimum costs of living as required by the Article 8 of the Act in force. The basic minimum income was set at 392,75 EUR from the 1st August 2018. In August 2018 (outside the reference period) it has been regularly adjusted to the growth of consumer prices and reached 392,75 EUR.

The minimum income is the basis for determining the amount of the financial social assistance payments to a beneficiary under certain conditions. The weights and the amounts are as follows:

Household member	Weight  for BMI	Amount of payment (in EUR)
Financial social assistance (denarna socialna pomoč) -FSA
Single person (inactive)	1	392, 75
Single person (active from 60 to 128 hours per month)	1+0.26	494,87
Single person (active  more than 128 hours per month)	1+0.51	593,05
Single person (age of 63 (W) or 65 (M) and/or permanently unemployable or/and permanently incapable of work living in a household  in which other members have sufficient means for living)	0.76	298,49
Subsequent adult	0.57	223,87
Subsequent adult (active from 60 to 128 hours per month)	0.57+0.13	274,93
Subsequent adult (active  more than 128 hours per month)	0.57+0.26	325,98
Child	0.59	231,72
Child in the single-parent family	0.59 + 0.18	302,42
Income supplement (varstveni dodatek) - IS
Single person in the family under certain conditions	0.47	184,59
Adult person in the family under certain conditions	0.25	98,19

b)    Changes decided on, planned or proposed for the following year: /