Bulgaria PEO Services

Global PEO Services (GPS) helps companies hire employees in Bulgaria without establishing a legal entity. All human resources, benefits, payroll, and tax needs for the employees are managed by the Global PEO, while the new hires and headquarter teams focus on your business goals.

When hiring employees in Bulgaria, establishing a subsidiary or branch office is not always the best route, as it’s often a lengthy and expensive process. Hiring via a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), or Employer of Record (EOR), is a faster and often more effective option – especially when starting up in a new country.

Global PEO Services hires the employees on your behalf, legally contracting them through our subsidiary in accordance with Bulgaria labor laws. As a result, the burden of compliance is on us and the employees can begin work for your company in a matter of days. PEOs/EORs provide you with a streamlined option for hiring employees, testing markets, and responding to growing business needs in Bulgaria. With Global PEO Services, you get control without taking on legal entity liabilities, contractor risks, or sacrificing on talent or speed to market.

Employment agreements must be in writing and must be registered with the local office of the National Revenue Agency. The employment agreement may be executed for an indefinite period or for a fixed term. Generally, fixed term contracts are for periods of not less than 1 year and not longer than 3 years.

Employers can hire workers for a trial period of up to 6 months. The contract should expressly state in favor of which party the probation period has been agreed to, as this party is entitled to freely terminate the contract without notice.

Fixed-term contracts may be signed for seasonal or temporary activities or under certain conditions. Fixed-term employment agreements become agreements for an indefinite duration if after the expiration of the term, the position is still vacant, the employee continues to work for more than 5 days and the employer does not object to this in writing.

The Labor Code provides for other types of employment relationships such as the performance of work at home, remote jobs and work performed through companies providing temporary projects.

Holidays

Bulgaria observes the following holidays:

• Jan. 1: New Year
• March 3: Day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman Domination
• Good Friday
• Holy Saturday
• Easter
• Easter Monday
• May 1: Labor and International Workers’ Solidarity Day
• May 6: St. George’s Day
• May 24: Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture
• Sept. 6: Bulgaria-Rumelia Union Day
• Sept. 22: Bulgaria Independence Day
• Dec. 24: Christmas Eve
• Dec. 25 and 26: Christmas.

Public holidays that take place on a weekend are not carried over to the following Monday. When a public holiday takes place on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, the Monday or Friday is sometimes taken as an official holiday to make a long weekend. Employees who are required to work on a public holiday are entitled to be paid double time.

The Council of Ministers has the right to announce other days as public holidays or holidays for the commemoration of certain professions. The employer is obliged to allow the use of the leave on these specific dates, if the employee so requests.

Annual Leave

An employee who has worked for an employer at least 8 months is entitled to paid annual leave of a minimum 20 working days. Collective and individual employment agreements may provide for additional leave. Employees who work under specific conditions and certain categories of personnel listed in the Ordinance of the Councils of Ministers (mainly in education and science) also have the right to additional paid leave. Under the Labor Code, paid annual leave should generally be used during the year earned, although up to half can be postponed.

An employer can require an employee to take annual leave under certain circumstances such as a work stoppage of more than 5 days. If all paid annual leave has not been used within 2 years of the year earned regardless of the reason, the employee’s right to the leave ends. Upon termination of employment, the employee is entitled to compensation for unused annual leave.

Sick Leave 

Employees who have contributed to the social security fund for at least 6 months are entitled to up to 18 months’ paid sick leave. The employer must pay the employee 70% of average daily remuneration during the first 3 days of missed work, after which compensation is paid by the National Social Security Institute.

The sick pay benefit from the National Social Security Institute is 80% of average daily remuneration if the temporary disability is due to general sickness, 90% in the case of an employment injury or occupational disease.

Maternity Leave 

Female employees are entitled to 410 days of paid maternity leave for each child, of which 45 days must be used before the expected delivery. When the child’s birth occurs before the 45th day, the unused time is added to postnatal leave. During this period, the mother receives compensation from public social security funds in an amount equal to 90% of her average daily gross salary. Following maternity leave, a female employee is entitled to an additional 2 years’ leave provided that the child is not in a child-care establishment.

Paternity Leave

Fathers who have completed 12 months of employment are entitled to 15 days’ leave after the newborn child is discharged from the hospital. During this period, the father receives compensation from public social security funds in an amount equal to 90% of his average daily gross salary or the average daily income on which social security contributions have been calculated. After the child turns 6 months old, the father can use maternity leave until the expiration of the 410-day period. In addition, the mother’s statutory leave entitlement covering the first 2 years of a child’s life can be transferred to the father with the mother’s consent.

Other Leaves

• Adoption Leave
  In cases of adoption, the adoptive mother is entitled to maternity leave of 410 days minus the child’s age on the day it was given up for adoption. An adoptive mother of a child aged 2 to 5 years is entitled to 365 days of leave, which can be used no later than the child’s fifth birthday. After the child turns 6 months old, the adoptive father can use maternity leave until the expiration of the 410-day period. Adoptive fathers of children who are older than 2 years at the time of adoption are entitled to 365 days’ leave.
• Personal Leave
  Employees are entitled to 2 days of paid leave for their wedding, for bereavement, for blood donation, and to paid leave to perform certain civic duties (e.g., being a witness or a juror).
• At the employee’s request, an employer may grant unpaid leave whether or not the employee has exhausted paid annual leave or worked sufficiently long to qualify for paid leave. 30 days of annual unpaid leave are taken into consideration when calculating length of service.
• Education Leave
  With the prior consent of the employer, employees studying at high school or university are entitled to 25 days’ paid leave per academic year, 30 days’ during the graduation year to prepare for final exams and fulfill other graduation requirements.