Moldova
Min. wage
(x12 payments)
MDL 6,300 /mo
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
Annual leave
28 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
1-2 months (by cause)
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
The open-ended (indefinite-term) individual employment contract is the default and most common form of employment in Moldova, continuing until terminated by either party in accordance with the Labor Code.
Fixed-term contracts may only be used for circumstances defined by the Labor Code (temporary replacement, seasonal work, a specific project, temporary increase in business volume, etc.) and cannot exceed 5 years total. If employment continues after expiry without a new contract, it automatically converts to indefinite.
Standard working time is 8 hours/day, 5 days/week (40 hours/week). Overtime capped at 120 hours/year (240 with a CBA), paid at 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% thereafter on a working day.
General probation may not exceed 6 months. Unskilled workers limited to 30 calendar days, seasonal workers to 2 weeks, fixed-term employees to 15-30 calendar days. Only one probation period may be set per contract.
Moldovan law does not require a 13th- or 14th-month salary. Discretionary year-end bonuses are common in the IT sector but are not a statutory entitlement.
Employment contracts must state a job title corresponding to an occupation code in the Classifier of Occupations of the Republic of Moldova (CORM). Certain professions require licensing/certification independent of the contract. No broad nationality-based job-title quota system.
Employers pay a single mandatory state social insurance contribution (CNAS) of 24% of gross salary for standard private-sector contracts (higher rates up to 32-39% for special/hazardous conditions). Employers pay 0% toward mandatory health insurance (CNAM) — shifted fully to employees.
Employees contribute 9% of gross salary to mandatory health insurance (CNAM/AOAM). Employees do not pay a separate CNAS percentage under standard contracts. Personal income tax (12% flat) is withheld separately.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Moldova operates two separate mandatory schemes: state social insurance (CNAS) and mandatory health insurance (CNAM/AOAM).
No separate workers' compensation premium — occupational accident/disease cover is bundled into the employer's 24% CNAS contribution.
Statutory severance under Article 186 of the Labor Code applies to dismissals due to liquidation or staff/structure reduction.
Moldova has no statutory requirement for a 13th- or 14th-month salary.
P.S. our team speaks multiple languages and we'd love to chat in your preferred language if requested.
Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
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.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
