Hire in Serbia

A job applicant is required to present documents and evidence to the employer demonstrating their qualifications for the position. According to the law, an employer is prohibited from inquiring about a job applicant’s family, marital status, family planning intentions, or any information unrelated to the job.

The current Serbian data protection law, effective since August 2019 and largely aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation, prohibits employers from requesting a certificate of criminal history from candidates. In general, employers can review publicly accessible information about candidates, including information available on public social media profiles. However, it is mandatory for the employer to notify the candidate before collecting and processing any information, even if it is publicly available.

When initiating a new employment arrangement, the employer has the option to establish a probationary period with the employee. This probationary duration may extend for a maximum of six months. Within this trial period, either party, be it the employer or the employee, possesses the authority to terminate the contract, provided a minimum notice period of five days is given.

A full-time employee is limited to working up to 40 hours per week. Typically, there are five working days in a week, and the employer has the discretion to determine the distribution of these hours. Generally, a standard workday consists of eight hours.

Full-time workers are entitled to a daily break of at least 30 minutes, and this break is considered a part of their regular work hours.

According to the law, employees may work overtime at the employer’s request in the following cases:

• In the occurrence of force majeure;
• In the case of an abrupt expansion in the scope of work; and
• When there is a need to complete the work by a specified deadline.

Overtime is capped at four hours per day or eight hours per week. When an employee exceeds regular working hours, compensation is provided at a rate of at least 126% of the base salary.

Employers must furnish employees with comprehensive training on health and safety regulations, a prerequisite before commencing work. This proactive measure ensures that workers possess the essential qualifications and skills to perform their duties safely, mitigating the risk of workplace accidents or injuries. The training encompasses imparting sufficient knowledge about the relevant health and safety regulations and workplace rules.

Payout of bonuses is discretionary, and employers are not obligated to provide them. The taxation of bonuses mirrors the taxation structure applied to salaries.

For voluntary resignations, employees are required to submit written notice at least 15 days prior to the effective date, with the stipulation not exceeding 30 days.

When an employer terminates an employee without specific cause, the notice period is contingent on the grounds for termination.

• In instances where an employee is terminated due to performance deficiencies or a lack of requisite knowledge and skills, the mandated notice period ranges from one to three months, depending on the duration of the employee’s contribution to social insurance.
• In cases of unilateral termination, such as breaches of work duties or rules, or redundancy, there is no prescribed notice period unless otherwise stated in the employment contract.

During the probationary period, both the employer and the employee are required to provide a minimum of five working days’ notice if either party intends to terminate the employment relationship.

When an employer terminates an employee without just cause, the procedural steps will be contingent upon the grounds for termination. The employer has the authority to terminate the employment contract based on reasons outlined in the Labor Law, encompassing the following situations:

• Reasons related to the employee’s work ability and conduct (e.g., failure to achieve work results or lacking necessary knowledge and skills for duties).
• Breach of work duty by the employee (e.g., negligence or recklessness in performing duties).
• Non-compliance with work discipline requirements (e.g., refusal to perform work or execute employer’s orders).
• Changes in the employer’s needs (e.g., technological, economic, or organizational changes leading to the cessation of a specific job) or a decrease in workload (redundancy).

Notice Period: If termination is based on the employee’s failure to achieve specific work results, the employer must adhere to notice period requirements, ranging from eight to 30 days. The specific duration is determined by work rules or the individual employment agreement, contingent on the length of social insurance coverage. Other legal grounds for termination do not mandate specific notice periods.

Payments: Upon termination of the employment relationship, the employer must settle all outstanding salary and earnings, including compensation for unused annual vacation, within 30 days. Severance payment is obligatory only in cases of termination or retirement.

Employee Protection: Termination is prohibited when employees are

• pregnant,
• on maternity leave,
• on childcare leave, or
• on special childcare leave.

The employer has the ability to contractually limit the employee’s utilization of confidential information post-employment termination. The Serbian law on business secrets safeguards a company’s confidential information for the duration that the pertinent data remains undisclosed.

Employers are obligated to provide severance payments to all employees affected by redundancy, regardless of whether it results from a collective or individual decision.

The specific amount of the redundancy severance payment is typically determined by the employer or outlined in the employment contract. However, there exists a legal minimum requirement equivalent to one-third of the employee’s monthly salary for each complete year of service with the current employer (including its affiliates and predecessors). The calculation is based on the average monthly salary the employee received in the three months preceding the redundancy.

The Labor Law guarantees that the minimum severance pay is exempt from taxation.

Fixed-term employment contracts can endure for a maximum of 24 months, with or without intervals. These contracts are permissible in various scenarios, such as seasonal employment, project-based tasks, and increased workloads slated for a specific duration.

Extensions of fixed-term contracts can occur under the following circumstances:

• Substituting for a temporarily absent employee until their return.
• Engaging in project work with a predetermined duration until project completion.
• In the case of a foreign national holding a work permit, the term extends until the permit expiration.
• For newly established businesses (e.g., registered with the business registry within the last 12 months), the term can be extended up to 36 months.
• If the employee is an unemployed individual with less than five years left until meeting retirement conditions.

Employees under fixed-term contracts enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as those under indefinite-term contracts.

Serbian law does not have explicit regulations regarding workplace monitoring. The rules on data protection within the Law on Personal Data Protection (LPDP) are applicable to such monitoring practices and define the legal boundaries.

For employee monitoring to be lawful, it is imperative to inform employees in advance about the intended utilization of their personal information. Furthermore, a valid legal justification must exist for this purpose.

The employer is required to distribute payslips containing the salary breakdown for the preceding month before the month concludes. Additionally, the employer is obligated to maintain a record of monthly salary and compensation.

Employers must maintain daily records of their employees’ overtime hours, which should be accessible for scrutiny during labor inspection visits.

Additionally, mandatory salary records documenting the employee’s anticipated working hours, the actual hours worked, and both compensated and uncompensated non-performed hours must be retained permanently.

In Serbia, employees are entitled to a minimum annual leave of 20 working days per calendar year. The duration of annual leave can be extended based on factors such as work performance, work conditions, work experience, educational level, and other criteria specified in the employment contract.

Employees accrue one-twelfth of their annual leave entitlement for each month worked in the calendar year.

Annual leave can be taken either in a continuous period or split into two shorter periods. If taken in parts, the initial segment should be no less than three working weeks within a calendar year, and the second part should conclude no later than June 30th of the following year.

Employees unable to utilize their annual leave in the current calendar year (e.g., due to maternity or childcare leave) have the right to carry it over to the following year, expiring before June 30.

During annual leave, employees are entitled to compensation equivalent to their average salary in the preceding 12 months.

Employers are obligated to notify their employees 15 days prior to the commencement of annual leave.

Upon termination, the employer must furnish the employee with a certificate detailing the number of annual leave days utilized.

There are 10 nationally recognized public holidays, and employees may also be entitled to time off on specific religious holidays, contingent upon their religion and the relevant religious calendar.

If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the subsequent working day is considered a non-working day. During public holidays, employees have the right to paid leave, calculated based on their average salary from the preceding 12 months.

Employees are generally eligible for sick pay whenever they are unwell or injured, without any specific restrictions. An employee is mandated to submit a medical certificate issued by a physician, certifying their temporary inability to work, no later than three days from the onset of the incapacity. The certificate should also specify the anticipated duration of the sick leave. For the initial 30 days of sick leave, the employee receives sick pay as follows:

• 65% of their average salary from the preceding 12 months for non-work-related sickness or injury
• 100% of their average salary from the preceding 12 months for work-related sickness or injury

During the initial 30 days of sick leave, the employer covers the sick pay. After this period, the employer continues to provide sick pay, but it becomes recoverable from the state.

There are no constraints on the overall duration of sick leave or the total amount of sick pay a employee can claim, as long as the employer is furnished with a medical certificate covering the relevant period.

A female employee is eligible for maternity and childcare leave totaling 365 days. Maternity leave can commence up to 45 days before, but no later than 28 days before the expected due date, lasting up to three months from childbirth.

Following the conclusion of maternity leave, the female employee is entitled to childcare leave, extending until the completion of 365 days from the initiation of maternity leave.

For the third child onwards, a female employee is entitled to a combined maternity and childcare leave lasting two years.

In the event of a miscarriage or stillbirth, the employee is granted three months of paid leave.

Should the employee decide to return to work before the maternity leave ends, the employer must provide a 90-minute paid lactation break during the workday.

Employees with three or more children are entitled to up to two years of paid maternity leave.

Paternity leave allows a male employee five days of leave following the child’s birth.

Parental Leave permits employees with a child with a disability or a serious medical condition to take paid leave for care after the conclusion of maternity or paternity leave. This provision applies until the child reaches five years of age. Employees have the option to work part-time instead of taking leave to care for their children.

For Foster and adoptive parents, Adoption Leave spans up to eight months of paid leave, starting when the child is officially placed with the family. If the child is under three months old, parents can avail paid leave until the child reaches 11 months of age.

Casual leave can be taken for a minimum of a half day and up to three days. If leave extends beyond three days, it should be considered as annual leave, and advance permission is necessary for taking three consecutive days of leave.

According to The Shops and Establishment Act, employees are entitled to eight days of casual leave annually. However, casual leave cannot be carried forward, and any unused days will automatically lapse at the end of the year without the option for encashment.

Casual leave cannot be combined with annual leave or sick leave.

Employees are granted five days of paid leave in the case of the demise of a close family member.

Marriage Leave: Employees have the right to enjoy five days of paid leave for marriage.

Blood Donation Leave: Employees can avail themselves of up to two days of paid leave for voluntary blood donation, encompassing the day of donation.

An employer has the authority to authorize unpaid leave for the employee, during which all rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship shall persist.