Slovenia’s Constitutional Court has upheld the constitutionality of a mandatory Christmas bonus for workers, ruling that protecting employees’ financial security can justify restrictions on employers’ freedom of enterprise. However, the court found that the rules governing payments to private-sector employees in 2025 were unconstitutional because they applied retroactively without sufficient justification.
Employees who worked for only part of the year were also entitled to a proportional payment. In an 8–1 decision released on 21 October, the court ruled that the bonus itself did not violate the Constitution, emphasising the need to protect workers as the weaker party in employment relationships.
The legal challenge was led by leather goods manufacturer Boxmark Leather and supported by several other companies, which argued that the compulsory payment infringed on their economic freedom.
Boxmark Leather CEO Marjan Trobiš welcomed the court’s consideration of retroactivity but criticised the decision for not addressing what businesses viewed as the fundamental issue: whether the bonus should have been made mandatory in the first place. The Financial Administration estimated that the measure cost the public and private sectors approximately €520 million combined.
Trade unions, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling as confirmation that the bonus represents a legitimate workers’ right. Andrej Zorko, head of the ZSSS trade union association, said the decision should put an end to the dispute and shift attention towards ensuring decent wages.
Although the court found the retroactive rules unconstitutional, it declined to overturn them, arguing that doing so would unfairly undermine workers’ expectations of keeping payments already received. The bonus amounted to €639 last year and is set to increase to €740 this year following a rise in the minimum wage.
