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The national minimum wage for full-time employees is RSD 308 net per hour.

Income taxes are collected by the Tax Administration according at a flat rate of 10%. 
Taxpayers with annual incomes of 3 or more times the average annual salary are subject to supplementary taxes of between 10 and 15%.
Taxes are offset by a personal tax deduction equal to 40% of the average annual salary. Additional tax relief applies to taxpayers with dependents.

The employer cost is generally estimated at 15.15% of the employee’s salary:

• Pension Insurance - 10% 
• Health Insurance - 5.15%
• Employment Agreement Handling Fee - US$ 80 (one-off)

Pension and health insurance contributions are calculated on a minimum salary of RSD 45,950 per month and are capped at a maximum salary of RSD 656,425 per month.  

After 1 year of service with the same employer, employees are entitled to receive the seniority pay at 0.4% multiplied by their years of service.

These costs are provided as estimates and are intended solely for general informational purposes. To fully comprehend all associated costs and fees related to the terms of any employment agreement for this country, please contact our Sales team for a quote.

Standard working hours are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week from Monday to Friday.
Overtime payment is not mandatory and may be included in the salary. Overtime may also be paid as leave in-lieu. Hours outside of standard work hours are considered overtime. For additional hours, employees are paid:

• 126% of the hourly rate, for work from 22:00-06:00
• 126% of the hourly rate, for work outside of normal hours.
• 210% of the hourly rate, for work on a public holiday.
• For each completed year spent in employment with the Employer in the amount of 0.4% of the base salary.

Pregnancy leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to 30 days of pregnancy leave. The leave can start as early as the beginning of the pregnancy if the employee and the child’s health need to be monitored. Employers pay 100% of the regular salary for the 30 days of leave. If pregnancy leave extends beyond 30 days, the leave will be fully paid by the government and employers will be reimbursed by the government from the 31st day of leave.

Maternity leave

Employees are entitled to maternity leave, which varies in length depending on the number of children: 

• 1st and 2nd child: 1 year 
• 3rd and subsequent children: 2 years 

28 days must be taken before the child's birth.

For the entire period, the employee will be paid their average salary from the 18 months preceding the first day of pregnancy leave. For the first 3 months, the employee cannot be paid less than minimum wage. For the following 9 months or 21 months if it is the employee's third or subsequent child, the minimum wage restriction does not apply.

Sick leave in Serbia is complex. Employees are entitled to paid sick leave for up to 12 months. This leave is paid at different rates and by different payers depending upon length and type of sickness:

Terminations must respect complex rules and the rules of an employee’s employment country. The off-boarding is always handled by the Employer with the primary stakeholders. It may include ad-hoc fees as well as required or recommended steps on specific termination cases.

Terminations in Serbia can be complex. There is no at-will termination in Serbia for employers and termination must be done for just cause.

Compliant terminations include:

• Voluntarily by the employee
• By mutual agreement
• Unilaterally by the employer based on:
  • Probation period
  • Objective grounds
  • Disciplinary dismissal
  • Performance due to unsuitability for the job
• By the expiration of the contract

If an employee is being terminated due to breach of work duty or inability or lack of qualifications, they have the right to continue working for a notice period of between 5 and 30 days (depending on the period of paid pension insurance).
Otherwise, the notice period is as follows:
During probation period: At least 5 days
After probation period: Between 15 and 30 days

There are 7 national public holidays in Serbia, some of which last more than 1 day. There are also multiple religious holidays that are not listed below.

• New Year (2 days)
• Orthodox Christmas
• Statehood Day (2 days)
• Orthodox Easter Friday
• Orthodox Easter Monday
• Labor Day (2 days)
• Armistice Day in World War I

Contracts must be in Serbian and can be bilingual. Bonuses should be noted as an Annex. They must be in writing and signed by both parties.

A contract must include:

• Name and last name of the employee
• Address from the ID
• JMBG (personal Citizen Number)
• Level of education
• Occupation based on education
• Employer's name
• Employers' PIB and MB number
• Employers address
• Name of the employer's legal representative
• Start date
• Length of the employment
• Job description
• Job title in Serbian corresponding to the Serbian codebook of occupations
• Working hours
• Holiday pay
• Bonuses (Annex)
• Termination conditions
• Notice period