AmCham Slovakia

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Business & Educatio, Labor Market & HR

Linking education with practice is a must!

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Letter to members by Štefan Chudoba, State Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.

The knowledge-based society has been one of the long-standing essential starting points for the Slovak economy. Because of this, it is increasingly important that businesses employ skilled, educated employees. However, an employee who is a university graduate but possesses merely academic knowledge is not enough. It is important that graduates bring value to the company as soon as they begin their first job. This requires an intensification of the links between business and academia. This is also one of the reasons why the Government of the Slovak Republic has committed to “…promoting the development of an educational system directly linked with practice, with a focus on social and technological modernization.“

The Best Employer 2012

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Philip Morris Slovakia

On 11 September 2012, Aon Hewitt, a global HR consulting and outsourcing company, announced winners of the eighth year of its annual study Best Employers. 42 companies participated in this study and the results reflect the opinions of almost 9,200 employees from all over Slovakia. This year’s winner is Philip Morris Slovakia. The company upheld its leading position from 2011 not only in Slovakia, but also in Central & Eastern Europe.

A tradition of excellence: Bratislava’s leading international school celebrates its 15th anniversary

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: The British International School Bratislava

In fifteen years The British International School Bratislava has transformed itself from the smallest and newest international school in Bratislava in 1997 to the city’s largest and arguably most successful school with a waiting list.

What´s hot on the labor market?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: TARGET Executive Search CEE

Headhunters, like all recruiters, spend much time interviewing candidates. Naturally, we all come across things that may be not so obvious for those sitting on the other side. Here are the latest trends: LinkedIn. Yes or No?

Zero labor turnover rates – mission possible

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: ACCA

Labor turnover is a process intensive on cost, time and energy, not just for those working in HR, but for the whole company. The least welcome is labor turnover in a finance department, which is the essential guardian of cash and a key contributor to company success. ACCA members and students in top finance positions in Slovakia share their views how to reach zero or very low labor turnover rates in finance departments.

Managing or sponsoring language training?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Educational Testing Service (ETS)

The language audit is a new idea in language training management in Slovakia. Nowadays everyone is looking carefully at expenses and return on investment is a key parameter in budgeting for training courses. A language audit allows precise information to be obtained on the results of foreign language learning at a firm.

Rethinking English language training

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Class Language School

Corporations seeking to implement language training are often left to sort through an array of methods, tools, and providers that may or may not help them achieve even a portion of their goals. As a result, they may prefer to leave things as they are, offering English as a benefit in the hope that the company will benefit too (wishful thinking), or cancel English altogether (ostrich thinking). This article explores a third alternative: having a strategic plan for English training.

Community works: QSI International School of Bratislava partnership in education

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: QSI International School of Bratislava

Astute scholars make the best mentors. The ideal leaders for Slovak curriculum expansion are the students themselves.

Why does HRO make business sense?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: GIT Consult Slovakia

Companies today pay more attention to the question of cost cutting than ever before. Many times top management must impose hiring freezes and use employee downsizing to manage costs. However, a company’s volume of work often increases over the time and the reduced staff is not able to deal with the greater workload. Many foreign HR Managers have opted for Human Resources Outsourcing in such a situation. Slovak companies, in contrast, often do not even consider this option.

Parallel run of notice period and severance pay is back

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Accace

The Amendment to the Labor Code, which should go into effect on January 1, 2013, has advanced to the second reading. The final decision about the parallel run of notice and severance pay, one of the most controversial regulations, should be known by the end of October 2012.

In cloud we trust Top ways to securely implement BYOD

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Citrix

Cloud services, consumerization and bring-your-own device (BYOD) have forever changed the notion of information security. End-to-end IT control allows workers to make decisions about resources and how they’re used. The arrival of the cloud era presents both risks and opportunities for the IT field.

Human capital management: What is most effective?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: PwC

Effective Human Capital (HC) management has became one of the top priorities for businesses during the current time of economic uncertainty. Business leaders worldwide are aware that having the best talent on board provides them with a priceless competitive advantage. The optimization of HC effectiveness is now a key component for businesses who want to stay competitive.

New limits for flexibility of employment

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: ČERNEJOVÁ & HRBEK

The draft amendment to the Labor Code is currently being discussed by the Slovak parliament and should go into effect on January 1, 2013. The draft law will limit contractual autonomy of employers and employees with respect to some terms of employment contracts and scheduling of working hours.

Directors as employees?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Salans Europe LLP

In the Slovak Republic it is still a quite common practice for the members of companies’ statutory bodies to perform their function as employees based on the employment contract concluded pursuant to the Labor Code.

HR: Expectations versus reality of head-hunting in Europe and Russia

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Arthur Hunt

Benchmarking in human resources, “cross border cooperation”, and movement of managers are always hot topics. Therefore, we use the knowledge of the Arthur Hunt Group, which includes experience from the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Romania, Russia and Slovakia, to gain better perspectives on the European territory.

Monitoring employees? Do not take justice into your own hands!

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Squire Sanders

In today’s world of highly sophisticated information and communication technologies, it is much easier for employers to monitor the work of their employees than it ever was before. There is no doubt that employers can find plenty of important and justifiable reasons to justify monitoring their employees. Since there is always a “but”, this will not be an exception. There is one thing they should always bear in mind – the employee’s right to privacy.

Your workplace can attract, engage and retain knowledge workers

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Steelcase

With unemployment at a 25-year high, one might think that attracting, engaging, and retaining talent could justifiably be last on the list of an organization’s priorities. However, that is far from the reality. Now that nearly every business is operating lean , rapid innovation is more important than ever to differentiate and stay competitive.

Mobility of the workforce

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Allen & Overy Bratislava

The globalization of the economy brings along the greater mobility of the workforce. Recently, migration of the workforce within corporations has increased significantly and has become an effective tool for preserving and building the corporation’s knowledge. Below we address a few legal issues one should be aware of before sending an employee abroad or accepting a posted employee of another employer.

Will you still prefer to employ a student?

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: Čarnogurský ULC

Until now, employing students using temporary agreements has been very beneficial for both students and employers. However, changes in the law on social insurance, as well as proposed changes to the Labor Code, will restrict the benefits of such agreements outside of regular employment. The accepted and planned changes affect not only the agreements themselves, but also the employment of students by employers who have trained them and tested them in the workplace.

Whistleblowing: Reporting unfair practices or rule violations in the workplace

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: bnt attorneys-at-law

Blow the whistle, employees and business partners, and make your employer or business partner aware of violations of ethical, moral or legal rules in the workplace. This term, relatively unknown in Slovakia, applies to reporting unfair or unethical practices to a superior, director or person in authority at the corporate group level. In this way whistleblowing helps to keep a high standard of corporate culture and the good name of the company, especially valued by large corporate groups and highly important in business.

The new labor law: Wake-up call to employers!

(by Patrik Tomeš)

Prepared by AmCham member: DLA Piper Bratislava

On August 23, 2012, the latest amendment to the Labor Code was presented to the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Several provisions of this amendment reflect the legal status before September 1, 2011, when the major amendment to the Labor Code became effective. The proposed changes to the Labor Code mainly effect employers.