Bulgaria is a country in Eastern Europe and part of the Balkans, neighbors include Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, and the Black Sea. Bulgaria is considered a developing country with an upper-middle-income economy. The worker-employer relationship is governed by the Bulgarian Labour Code, regardless of nationality.
As of 2022, the minimum wage in Bulgaria is BGN 710 per month. Standard working hours are 40 hours per week and 8 hours per day. Overtime is allowed at a maximum of 3 hours per day and 6 hours per week, and is paid at 150% of the regular rate. Work during the weekend is paid at 175% of the regular rate and for holidays it’s 200%.
Pregnant employees in Bulgaria are entitled to 410 days of maternity leave, of which 45 days need to be used before the birth. Fathers receive 15 day of paid paternity leave. Once the child reaches 6 months of age it’s also possible to transfer leave days to the father. The leave is paid for by the National Health Insurance Fund at 90% of the salary.
Employees in Bulgaria can take sick leave for up to 18 months. The first 3 days are paid by the employer at 70% of the employee's salary, and the rest is paid by social security at 80%-90% of the salary.
Bulgaria has 15 public holidays, and employees are entitled to a minimum of 20 days per year of paid time off after working at the company for 4 months. Employees are also entitled to 2 days of paid time off in the event of their marriage, and 2 days of paid time off for bereavement.
Employment contracts in Bulgaria can be terminated with or without notice from either side, or if there is mutual agreement.
If an indefinite employment contract is terminated with notice, 30 days notice is required. For a fixed contract, 3 months notice is customary, but not if that is more time than the remaining period of the contract.
While there is no statutory severance pay requirement, employees who are terminated due to redundancy should receive payment equal to 1 month salary in the case of individual or collective dismissal. If the termination is without cause, the severance payment is commonly 4 months salary.
Bulgaria does not require a 13th-month bonus to be paid out, but it is common for employers to offer based on their own internal rules.
★ 7.66% - Social Security
★ 2.8% - Pension
★ 2.1% - Sickness and Maternity
★ 0.6% - Unemployment Insurance
★ 4.8% - Health Insurance
★ 0.4% - Accident Insurance
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Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
