According to Labour Minister Anja Kopač Mrak, the amendments to the employment, self-employment and work of foreigners act should help Slovenian businesses to get faster the foreign labour force they need.
The amendments introduce shortened procedure for the employment of foreigners for entities in the register of high-value-added companies or in the register of innovative start-ups.
The two registers were set up by the Slovenian Entrepreneurship Fund under amendments to the investment promotion act.
In issuing or extending a single residence and employment permit for a foreigner hired by such companies, the national Employment Service will no longer have to check compliance with certain requirements.
The condition for this is that the employer guarantees the foreigner monthly earnings no less than the average gross monthly pay in Slovenia.
Minister Mrak said the amendments were in the country's economic interest and responded to the shortage of staff in the Slovenian labour market.
"The goal is to enable such companies to fill the staff shortages by employing foreigners in a simpler and faster way while at the same time guaranteeing the same level of protection rights and legal certainty to migrant workers," said the minister.
The amendments were backed in Thursday's vote by all deputy factions bar the Left, whose MP Miha Kordiš has argued that Slovenia's "problem is not a shortage of skilled staff but rather low wages and high costs of living".
