Amendments to the taxation of the apprentice allowance
As we already announced in May 2017, the new Apprenticeship Act (Zakon o vajeništvu; ZVaj) , the primary objective of which is the professional education and inclusion of scholars over 15 years of age in the labour market, took effect on 3 December 2017. In addition, the ZVaj also provides for apprenticeships for unemployed or employed persons who undergo part-time education in order to acquire secondary vocational qualifications for the purpose of retraining or additional vocational and professional education.
Pursuant to the ZVaj, an apprentice, despite not being classed as an employee, is placed in an equal position with regard to certain rights compared to other employees at the employer. An apprentice (except for the prescribed exceptions) is therefore entitled to the minimum apprentice allowance as set down in the ZVaj, and is equal to the employer’s employees regarding the reimbursement of meal and transport costs, costs relating to business trips and the field work allowance.
During on-the-job-training the apprentice is entitled to a monthly apprentice allowance in cash, the amount of which depends on the duration of the on-the-job training and the apprentice’s school year. The ZVaj provides that the minimum apprentice allowance for 36 hours of on-the-job-training per week may not fall below EUR 250 for the first school year, EUR 300 for the second school year and 400 EUR for the third school year, unless sectoral collective agreements provide for higher amounts.
With the amendment of the Decree on the Tax Treatment of Reimbursement of Costs and Other Income from Employment (Decree) the Government of the Republic of Slovenia significantly increased the valid apprentice allowance amounts that are not included in the tax base of income generated from employment. In that respect the Decree is aligned with the new ZVaj by ensuring that the lowest monthly apprentice allowances are not subject to taxation. Any amounts exceeding the allowance, as well as remuneration will continue to be, as is the case for wages, subject to taxation.
