Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 12/8/2025; Author: Eva Gračinin
An amendment to the Labour Market Regulation Act that will take effect on 1 January allows workers aged over 58 or with at least 35 years of pensionable service to work 80% of full-time hours while receiving 90% of their salary, with contributions paid in full.
Slovenske Novice ran an article on 5 August headlined From the New Year you can choose: Fridays off, extended weekend, or six hours of work per day. When they posted the article on Facebook, where it was shared by 70 users and received 600 comments, they added that “the Left party has announced ” that workers will be able to opt for shorter working hours next year.
Other outlets including Toti Maribor, Informer and Telegraf also reported on the new system under similar headlines, such as Slovenian workers given a choice: Fridays off or shorter days? Informer and Telegraf republished the Toti Maribor article and credited it as their source.
Slovenske Novice did not refer to the Left party in their article, but rather to a press release from the Ministry of Labour in which State Secretary Dan Juvan announced the possibility for workers aged over 58 or with 35 years of service to agree with their employer on Fridays off, an extended weekend, or six-hour working days. The age requirement for a shorter work week was stated in the subheadline and in the third paragraph of the article.
The Slovenian National Assembly approved the amendment to the Labour Market Regulation Act with 47 votes in favour on 20 June. The new legislation brings higher unemployment benefits, allows shorter working hours for workers nearing retirement, and increases the maximum number of hours pensioners are permitted to work after retiring.
The amendment, which has not yet been published in the Official Gazette and is expected to take effect in January 2026, will put in place the 80/90/100 rule. This allows workers aged over 58 or with at least 35 years of pensionable service to work 80% of full-time hours, receive 90% of their salary, and retain full social security rights as if working full-time.
The provision gives eligible workers the right to propose a change to their employment contract, meaning the arrangement is possible only if both the worker and the employer agree. The age requirement will gradually rise until 2035, when it will apply to workers aged 60-plus.
We have presented our findings to Slovenske Novice and Toti Maribor. Toti Maribor explained that they left the age requirement out of the headline to attract attention, but clearly stated it in the opening of the article. Regarding employer consent, they relied on the information available at the time and emphasised the measure’s purpose and benefits for employees. However, the draft amendment – showing that agreement between worker and employer is a precondition – had already been available on the National Assembly website and on e-Demokracija portal since June.
We will publish Slovenske Novice’s response when we receive it.
Since the headline does not reflect the article’s content, in which the author clarifies that only those meeting the age requirement can use the shorter work week option, we classify it, under Razkrinkavanje.si’s methodology, as clickbait.
We also rate the claim that workers will be able to choose between Fridays off, an extended weekend, or six-hour days from the New Year as false, since shorter hours will only be possible for eligible workers and by mutual agreement with their employer.
