Planning policy

The planning policy indicating filling the posts of university teachers is not managed centrally. Staff management is performed by each university and vocational higher education institution itself. To improve higher education quality, the ministry introduced a new model of higher education institution funding. In so-called performance agreements, higher education institutions commit to meeting certain parameters that increase quality. One of the optional measurable indicators is also the proportion of higher education teachers with citizenship other than that of the Slovak Republic or the Czech Republic.  

Entry to the profession

The way of filling the posts of university teachers is set by the higher education institutions. The filling of posts of university teachers and filling the posts of professors and docents is performed by selection procedure. Each higher education institution or university has prepared ´Principles of the selection procedure for filling posts of university teachers, posts of research workers, posts of professors and docents and posts of head workers´, which it follows. The selection procedure for filling the post of professor and the post of docent is, at the same time, a selection procedure for filling the position of a university teacher. Selection procedure notice must be published on an official board of the university or faculty if it concerns a position to be filled at a faculty, and provided to the ministry to publish on its website. The notice on the selection procedure for filling a post of professor must also be published in daily press with a nationwide scope. Activities of higher education institutions are governed by the Act on higher education (Zákon o vysokých školách) and the valid Labour Code (Zákonník práce). 

Professional status

Higher education institutions are legal entities. The labour-legal relations of public higher education institution employees and the state higher education institution employees with their employers are regulated by a special provision. Higher education institution employees include higher education teachers, research employees, artistic employees, and other employees who are employed in the higher education institution as public employees for a set-up weekly working time. Employment of higher education teachers is governed by the Act on higher education and the Labour Code. 

An employment contract with a higher education teacher can be concluded based on a selection procedure for a maximum of 5 years. The employment contract is concluded for a fixed term. The rector or the dean can hire a higher education teacher without a selection procedure for a maximum of one year for a shorter working time or conclude an agreement on work performed outside employment. A higher education teacher, research, and artistic employee can have at most three employment contracts with higher education institutions registered in the Slovak Republic or operating in the territory of the Slovak Republic, while only in one of them can work in a defined weekly working time.

Higher education institution employees follow a Code of Conduct created by each higher education institution independently in their internal regulations. In their Codes of Conduct, higher education institutions declare compliance with rules set by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.

Salaries

Salary conditions of higher education teachers are defined by the act on the remuneration of pedagogical employees (Zákon o odmeňovaní pedagogických zamestnancov), which defines the salary scales according to salary grades from 1 to 14 and salary classes 6-11. The salary depends on the classification into salary classes and salary grades according to the work difficulty and increases with the years of experience. 

Characteristics of salary classes for occupations with predominantly mental work in the public interest are defined by Act no. 553/2003 on the remuneration of certain employees performing work in the public interest. As of 1 September 2023, the special salary scale of higher education teachers and research and development employees (Osobitná stupnice platových taríf učiteľov vysokých škôl a výskumných a vývojových zamestnancov) sets the minimum statutory salary in class 6 and salary grade 1 at €1025.5. The statutory salary in class 11 and salary grade 1 is €1586.5. With the experience of over 40 years added to salary class 6 and salary grade 14, the tariff salary is €1394.5; for class 11 and salary grade 14 it is €2166. 

Working time and holidays

Higher education institutions represent scientific and educational institutions, providing teaching and research in a certain proportion. This proportion is regulated by the higher education institutions themselves in their worku rules. The length of weekly working time is defined in compliance with the Labour Code, the Act on Higher Education, and the collective agreement. Organisation of working time, its beginning and end, teaching schedule, as well as breaks, are set by the employer upon agreement with employees’ representatives or in the collective agreement. Higher education teachers’ working time is primarily defined by the teaching schedule, consultation schedule, and examination schedule. The work activities and tasks are defined in the annex to the employment contract.

The length of a higher education teacher's leave is nine weeks.

Promotion, advancement

By acquiring scientific-pedagogical degrees of “docent” and “professor” the higher education teacher also secures an advancement in employment. However, the posts of “docents” and “professors” are filled in through selection procedures by higher education institutions to be applied for by the higher education teachers who have achieved one of the above academic degrees. The post of “docent” or “professor” is given to the applicant only after the successful completion of the selection procedure.

In higher education institutions, the prerequisite for the acquisition of the scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of Associate Professor is a successful habilitation based on a habilitation thesis. The prerequisite for the acquisition of the scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of a Professor is the prior acquisition of the degree of Associate Professor. The scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of Visiting Professor is awarded by the Chancellor following a proposal of the Scientific Council of the higher education institution to such an external worker who is a distinguished scientific (artistic) personality in the respective branch of science (art). The scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of a Visiting Associate Professor is awarded by the Dean following a proposal of the Scientific Council of the faculty to such an external worker who has demonstrably achieved significant scientific results or created artistic masterpieces. 

Retirement and pensions

Slovak citizens can retire and are entitled to a pension upon reaching the retirement age of 64. The retirement age of both men and women decreases in relation to the number of raised children. However, it only applies to men provided that their children’s mothers have not claimed the retirement age decrease.

The employment of higher education teachers, research workers, and artistic workers terminates at the end of the academic year when they have reached the age of 70 years unless their employment was terminated earlier for a substantial reason. With the approval of the Academic Senate of the faculty (higher education institution) the Dean (Rector) can extend the employment contract also after the employee reaches the above age.

Employees who terminated their employment after they reached retirement age are entitled to a severance grant of at least their average monthly salary, provided they apply for a pension before or within 10 days from the termination.

All citizens of the Slovak Republic can terminate their employment by reaching the retirement age or they can retire early if they meet the defined requirements. If they retire early, their pension will be lowered based on the early pension formula