During his work at a higher education institution in the status of a university teacher or scientific worker the above mentioned workers are expected professional development which is manifested in acquisition of academic degrees (scientific-pedagogical degrees) of docent and “profesor“. According to the Act on higher education (SK); the specialist who is active as a researcher and teacher at a university and meets certain criteria, may apply at the university which has been assigned the corresponding rights, for scientific-pedagogical degree or artistic-pedagogical degree of “docent“ or “profesor“ in the given field of study. These rights are vested to the higher education institutions by the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (SK).
Higher education institutions manage their employees’ professional development by their internal regulations.
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.
Entry to the profession
The way of filling the posts of university teachers is set by the on higher education. The filling of posts of university teachers and filling the posts of profesors and docents is performed by selection procedure. Each higher education institution or university has prepared ´Principles of selection procedure for filling posts of university teachers, posts of research workers, posts of profesors and docents and posts of head workers´, which it follows.
The selection procedure for filling the post of profesor and the post of docent is, at the same time, a selection procedure for filling post of a university teacher.
The announcement of selection procedure must be publicised on an official board of the university or faculty, in case that it is concerned with an employment or post to be filled at a faculty, and provided to the ministry for publication on its special website. The announcement of the selection procedure for filling a post of profesor must be also publicised in periodical daily press with nation-wide competence.
Activities of higher education institutions are governed by the Act on higher education (SK) and the valid Labour Code (SK).
Professional status
Higher education institutions are legal entities. The labour-legal relations of employees of the public higher education institutions and the State higher education institutions with an employer are regulated by a special provision.
The academic community is composed of university teachers and research workers who are employed in the higher education institution as public employees for a set-up weekly working time, the other university staff, if stipulated by the university statute (employee part of the academic community of the higher education institution), and students of the higher education institution (student part of the academic community of the higher education institutions).
Salaries
University teachers are remunerated according to a special scale of salary brackets. The employees of higher education institutions are remunerated by a special scale of salary brackets of university teachers, research and development workers. The tariff salary is made up of two parts, it consists of salary brackets of educational employee, the increase of salary brackets depending on the length of included experience.
Salary conditions of higher education teachers are defined by Act No. 553/2003 on the remuneration of pedagogical employees (SK), which defines the salary schedules 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 demands of work and it increases with the years of experience. The minimum tariff salary in class 6 and salary grade 1 is 734 €. Tariff salary in class 11 and salary grade 1 is 1136 €. With the experience of over 40 years added to salary class 6 and salary grade 14, the tariff salary is 998 €; for class 11 and salary grade 14 it is 1550.5 €.
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.
The very tasks concerning content of the work are a part of the working load, creating an annex to the labour contract.
The length of a university teacher leave is nine weeks.
Promotion, advancement
By acquisition of scientific-pedagogical degrees of “docent” and “professor” the university teacher also secures an advancement in employment. The posts of “docents” and “profesors” are, however, declared selection procedures by higher education institutions to be applied by the university teachers who had achieved one of the above academic degrees. The post of “docent” or “profesor” is given to the applicant after successful completing of the selection procedure only.
In higher education institutions, the prerequisite of acquisition of the scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of Associate Professor is a successful habilitation on the basis of a habilitation thesis. The prerequisite of acquisition of the scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of Professor is the preceding 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 outwardly a distinguished scientific (artistic) personality in an appropriate branch of science (art). The scientific-pedagogical or artistic-pedagogical degree of 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 manifestly achieved significant scientific results or created artistic masterpieces.
Retirement and pensions
The employment of university teachers, research workers and artistic workers finishes at the end of the academic year in which they have reached the age of 70 years, unless their employment was terminated earlier on a substantial reason. With the approval of the Academic Senate of the faculty (university) the Dean (Rector) can extend the employment also upon having reached the above age.
Legislative references
National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2002. Act No. 131/2002 on higher education and on the change and supplement to some acts as amended by subsequent provisions (Zákon č. 131/2002 Z.z. o vysokých školách a zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov v znení neskorších predpisov) (last accessed 07/01/2020).
National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2019. Act No. 138/2019 on pedagogical employees and professional employees and on the change and supplement to some acts (Zákon č. 138/2019 Z.z. o pedagogických zamestnancoch a odborných zamestnancoch a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov) (last accessed 25/10/2019).
National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2001. Act No. 311/2001 Labour Code (Zákon č. 311/2001 Z.z., Zákonník práce) last accessed 16/04/2020).
National Council of the Slovak Republic, 2003. Act No. 553/2003 on remuneration of some employees at the work performance in public interest and on the change and supplement to some acts as amended by subsequent provisions (Zákon č. 553/2003 Z.z. o odmeňovaní niektorých zamestnancov pri výkone práce vo verejnom záujme a o zmene a doplnení niektorých zákonov v znení neskorších predpisov) (last accessed 07/01/2020).
Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, 2019. Decree No. 246/2019 on the procedure of acquisition of scientific pedagogical and artistic-pedagogical degrees of „docent“ and „professor“ ( Vyhláška č. 246/2019 Z.z. o postupe získavania vedecko-pedagogických titulov alebo umelecko-pedagogických titulov docent a profesor v znení neskorších predpisov) (last accessed 03/10/2019).