Bulgaria

• New Year’s Day
• New Year’s Day holiday
• Liberation Day
• Orthodox Good Friday
• Orthodox Easter Saturday
• Orthodox Easter Sunday
• Orthodox Easter Monday
• St George’s Day/Army Day
• St George’s Day/Army Day holiday
• Culture & Literacy Day
• Unification Day
• Independence Day
• Day of the Bulgarian Enlighteners
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
• Second day of Christmas
• Christmas holiday

Working Hours

The standard working week is 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.

Minimum Wage

Effective 1 January 2025, the minimum wage is set at BGN 1077.

Employee Tax

Tax rate	10%
Social security contribution	10.58%
Health insurance contribution	3.2%

Bonuses

There are no statutory bonus schemes in Bulgaria. Some schemes, like the 13th month payment, are common but not mandatory.

Employment contracts in Bulgaria must be written. They should include:

• A job description
• Workplace description
• Contract duration
• Notice period
• Wages and other benefits

Fixed-term contracts are permitted up to three years.

Annual Leave

Minimum of 20 working days’ paid holiday per year, based on a five-day working week.

Sick Leave

Up to 18 months' sick leave. The first three days are paid by the employer at 70% of the employee's wage. Further sick leave is paid for by the National Social Security fund at 80-90%.

Parental Leave

• Maternity leave: Up to one year and 45 days' paid leave at 90% of the mother's wage. After the first year, a further year is available at the national minimum wage.
• Paternity leave: 15 days' paid leave at 90% of the father's wage.
• Parental leave: when the child is 6 months old, any remaining maternity leave can be shared between both parents.

Termination Process

Employers and employees in Bulgaria can terminate a contract with notice under certain conditions (such as redundancy and retirement).

Grounds for termination without notice include:

• Mutual agreement
• End of a fixed-term contract
• Changes to the contract without the employee's consent
• Employee acts against the interests of the company.

Severance Pay

Severance pay depends on the reason for termination. Redundancy pay usually equals one month’s salary. Retirement severance is usually equal to 2 monthly salaries, or 6 monthly salaries if the employee has 10 years of service.

Under a Mauve Group Employer of Record solution, clients and workers can reap the benefits of Mauve’s Global Master Insurance Programme – a market-leading unified corporate insurance programme that connects all Mauve entities to its two preferred providers.

The insurance provides coverage in overseas locations through a combination of the master policy and its linked local policies, where required by law in certain jurisdictions.  The policies include:

• Employer’s Liability and Public Liability - £10,000,000 combined limit.
• Professional Indemnity - £5,000,000 limit.
• Worker’s Compensation – Limit is dependent on location of work.

For specific information about statutory and recommended insurances in your chosen country, get in touch with Mauve.