Perks for employees’ parents: unwrapping the new rules on holiday vouchers

From the start of 2025, an amendment to Slovakia’s Labour Code and its Tourism Promotion Act means that for the first time, Slovakia’s recreation allowance can be used by an eligible employee’s parent (or the employee parent’s spouse). The government in Slovakia hopes the change will further boost the effect of the allowance on domestic tourism, increasing the pool of people that can make use of it.   

Importantly for employers, they will soon be tasked with processing the personal data of not just their employees, but also of their employee’s parents. We consider how employers should prepare for the new legislation and explore what steps they can take to ensure compliance with the GDPR.    

The new legislation in Slovakia comes five years after the allowance for recreation was first introduced within the territory. Since 1 January 2019, and where specific conditions are met, employers in Slovakia have been required to offer employees an allowance for domestic recreational activities which include overnight stays or organised multi-day activities for the employee’s child (or children) during the school holidays. Employees may claim recreational expenses for their spouse, their own child, a child entrusted to them, or another person living with the employee in the same household, who participates in a recreation together with the employee. 

The conditions that need to be fulfilled before an employee can receive a recreation allowance are as follows: 

• the employer must employ 50 or more employees (employers with a smaller number of employees can also offer the allowance voluntarily);
• the employee’s employment has lasted continuously for at least 24 months; 
• the employee asks their employer for a recreation allowance; 
• the contribution is in the amount of 55% of eligible proven expenses, but no more than EUR 275 per calendar year; and 
• an employee can request a contribution from a maximum of one employer per calendar year. 

At present, employers can provide an allowance for recreation in the form of either a recreation voucher (which until now was non-transferable), or reimburse the employee after they have provided evidence of the authorised expenses.  

After the change comes into force next year however, it will be possible for employees to either transfer the recreation voucher to their parents, or simply submit the eligible expenses that their parents have incurred to their employer in the usual way. 

So how should employers prepare for the change? Firstly, employers will need to revise their current internal guidelines and rules regarding the provision of the recreation allowance, ensuring that these adequately cover use of the allowance by the parents of employees. Particular thought will need to be given to how the parents will be reimbursed for using the allowance (e.g. will the allowance be transferred to the employee’s bank account first, or directly to the employee’s parents?), as well as how the identity of the parents are going to be verified. 

The new rules are also likely to give rise to challenges and possible risks regarding compliance with the GDPR. Despite the fact that parents of employees are not in an employment relationship with the employer, their personal data may now be processed in connection with the provision of the recreation allowance as a result of the new rules. Employers will therefore need to think carefully about how they process this new personal data.  

Depending on the outcome of the employer’s own internal assessment, the most likely legal basis for processing the personal data of the employee’s parents under the GDPR will be that the processing is necessary for either:  

• the legitimate interests of the employer; or  
• the fulfilment of the employer’s legal obligation.  

As a result, employers will not be obliged to obtain express consent from the employee’s parents to process their data.  

Employers will also need to comply with the principles of personal data processing, as well as the obligations arising from this, including the duty to provide information to the employee’s parents as data subjects.  

In this context, employers should take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with personal data protection rules, which will involve updating their internal documentation relating to data privacy in the workplace and the processing of personal data so that these comply with the new legislation. We also recommend handing over this updated documentation on the processing of personal data to the relevant employee when providing recreation vouchers or collecting evidence of eligible expenses. It is advisable to confirm receipt of this document by requesting the signature of the employee’s parents.  

Employers who make use of the recreation allowance in Slovakia will need to ensure they are ready for when the change comes into force at the start of next year.  

In particular, internal policies on the recreation allowance, together with any relevant data privacy documentation, should be reviewed and updated so that these cover the use of the allowance by the parents of employees, and the new need for employers to process the data of these individuals in accordance with the GDPR.