Working life country profile for Bulgaria
This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Bulgaria. It aims to provide the relevant background information on the structures, institutions, actors and relevant regulations regarding working life.
This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are systematically updated every two years.
‘Individual employment relations’ refers to the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over terms and conditions. This section looks at the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in Bulgaria.
Requirements regarding an employment contract
The start of the employment relationship should be marked by the signature of a written employment contract (Labour Code, Article 61).
The minimum working age is 18 years. For those aged 16 or 17 years, an employment contract must be authorised by the General Labour Inspectorate. A work permit for a minor (below 18 years of age) must be applied for from the General Labour Inspectorate. The formal requirements (documents and certificates) for entering into an employment relationship are listed in Regulation No. 4 (SG No. 44 of 25 May 1993, amended and supplemented SG 99 of 12 December 2017) and relate to the documents required to conclude an employment contract.
The employment contract has to be issued before the start of the employment relationship. Within three days of the conclusion or modification of the employment contract and within seven days of its termination, the employer or authorised person is obliged to notify the relevant territorial directorate of the National Revenue Agency. Upon conclusion of the employment contract, the employer informs the employee about the specific obligations arising from their work site or work performed.
Short-term employment contracts for short-term seasonal agricultural work were introduced into the Labour Code in July 2015 (Article 114a:1), especially for seasonal agricultural work on a day-to-day basis as agreed between the worker and the registered farmer, for work that does not qualify as work experience.
Dismissal and termination procedures
The Labour Code allows for the termination of the employment contract by mutual agreement without notice and without compensation (Labour Code, Article 325:1, item 1), termination initiated by the employee with notice (Article 326:2, item 1), termination initiated by the employer during the probationary period (Article 71:1), termination initiated by the employer with agreed compensation (Article 331) and job cuts. The reasons for terminating the labour relationship could be expiry of the agreed period or completion of the work specified in the contract (Labour Code, Article 325:4). An employment contract could also be terminated if a job is to be reassigned to someone who has the right to take it, such as someone returning from parental leave, or if an employee is unable to perform assigned work because of illness resulting in permanent disability, or because of medical contraindications based on the conclusion of an expert medical committee. However, termination is not allowed based on this last criterion if the employer has other work suited to the health of the employee and the employee is willing to take it.
Some categories of employees are protected from dismissal (Labour Code, Article 333), such as mothers of children under three years of age, reassigned employees, employees suffering from a disease specified by the Minister for Health, employees who have begun a period of permitted leave, employees who are elected employee representatives, employees who are elected to represent workers on health and safety at work, and employees who are members of the special negotiating body of a European works council or a representative body in the European commercial or cooperative sector while performing its functions.
Parental, maternity and paternity leave
The calculation of maternity leave compensation changed on 1 January 2015 with the introduction of the Law on the Budget of the State Social Security for 2015. The compensation for maternity leave is calculated on the basis of 90% of the average income for the 24 calendar months before the start of maternity leave (18 months prior to 1 January 2015). People eligible for these contributions should have a 12-month total insurance record for this social security risk.
The National Social Security Institute (NSSI) publishes quarterly and annual data on short-term cash benefits, including maternity and paternity/parental leave. Data on leave for fathers have been collected since 2008. The uptake is only published as a ratio between the number of benefits (per person per month) for men and women. The latest data (2019) show a decline in paternity benefits after a slight increase in 2015 and 2016. This may be because both the maternity and the paternity leave benefits for raising a child are BGN 380 per month, and men still have generally higher wages than women, which makes it more logical for the woman to raise the child.
Number of childcare benefits by sex, 2012–2021
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Number of childcare benefits* | 91,678 | 86,463 | 85,420 | 88,212 | 90,773 | 92,048 | 92,976 | 92,569 | 87,833 | 86,083 |
Women | 90,547 | 85,370 | 84,246 | 87,011 | 89,623 | 90,933 | 92,037 | 91,750 | 87,098 | 85,356 |
Men | 1,131 | 1,093 | 1,174 | 1,201 | 1,150 | 1,115 | 939 | 819 | 735 | 727 |
Women (% of total) | 98.8 | 98.6 | 98.6 | 98.6 | 98.7 | 98.8 | 99.0 | 99.1 | 99.2 | 99.2 |
Men (% of total) | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
Note: * The data refer to the number of people with paid benefits from the National Social Security Institute for parenting a child up to two years of age.
Source: NSSI, 2021a.
Statutory leave arrangements
Maternity leave | |
Maximum duration | 410 calendar days, of which 45 days should be taken before the child’s birth. The father, instead of the mother, could use the remainder of the 410 days parental leave with the consent of the mother after the child is over six months of age |
Reimbursement | 90% of the average gross salary or the average daily insurance contribution on which contributions are paid or payable to insurance; or, for self-employed people, fully paid insurance contributions for a period of 24 calendar months (as of 2015) |
Who pays? | Social security contributions are paid by the employer and the insured person to the General Illness and Maternity Fund (ratio of 60/40). Maternity leave compensation is paid by the fund |
Legal basis | Labour Code, Social Security Code |
Parental leave | |
Maximum duration | Leave for children up to two years old (two years and six months for every additional child). It can be transferred to the father, grandmother or grandfather |
Reimbursement | The cash benefit for raising a child up to two years is fixed annually in the state budget. For 2022, it was fixed at BGN 650 (January–March 2022; €332), then increased to BGN 710 (April–December 2022; €363) |
Who pays? | Social Security Fund |
Legal basis | Labour Code, Social Security Code |
Paternity leave | |
Maximum duration | (1) Where the mother and the father are married or living in the same household, the father of a newborn child acquires the right to use 15 calendar days of leave immediately after the birth of the baby and leaving the hospital (2) The father can use the rest of the 410 days of parental leave with the consent of the mother after the child is over six months |
Reimbursement | (1) 90% of the average gross wage or average daily contributory income for up to 15 calendar days if there are 12 months of social security contributions (2) 90% of the average gross salary |
Who pays? | Social Security Fund |
Legal basis | Labour Code, Social Security Code |
Sick leave
According to Articles 40:5 and 41 of the Social Security Code, the general principle for people insured for general illness and maternity is that the daily cash benefit for temporary disability due to sickness is calculated at 80% of the average gross salary. For temporary disability due to accident or occupational disease, it is calculated at 90% of the average gross salary or the average daily insurance income on which social security contributions have been paid or are payable.
For the first three days of the temporary disability, the insurer (employer) pays the insured person 70% of the average daily gross remuneration for the month in which temporary disability occurred, but not less than 70% of the average daily wage agreed.
Where general illness, occupational disease or an accident at work arises 30 calendar days after the termination of an employment contract, or social security contributions, compensation can be paid for temporary disability, but for no longer than 30 calendar days (Social Security Code, Article 42(3)).
Retirement age
The conditions for retirement on the basis of social security contributions and age are regulated in the Social Security Code (Article 68(1) and (2); in force since 2000). The retirement age is 60 years and 10 months for women and 63 years and 10 months for men, with a pensionable service of 35 years and 2 months for women and 38 years and 2 months for men.
As of 31 December 2016, the retirement age will increase from the first day of each calendar year as follows.
Until 31 December 2029, the retirement age of women will increase by two months each calendar year; from 1 January 2030, it will increase by three months for each calendar year, up to the age of 65.
Until 31 December 2017, the retirement age of men will increase by two months each calendar year; from 1 January 2018, it will increase by one month for each calendar year, up to the age of 65.
From 31 December 2016, the length of pensionable service under Article 68 of Social Security Code(provided above) increases from the first day of each calendar year by two months, up to a pensionable service length of 37 years for women and 40 years for men. After 31 December 2037, the retirement age shall be linked to the increase of the average life expectancy.
For people not entitled to a pension under the above provisions, before 31 December 2016 they were entitled to a pension at the age of 65 years and 10 months, for women and men, if they had at least 15 years of actual pensionable service. As of 31 December 2016, the age will increase from the first day of each calendar year by two months, up to the age of 67. In 2021, the weight of a year of contributory service in the pension formula increased from 1.169% to 1.35%. Since 1 July 2019, this percentage has been applied (for each year of service) when calculating the amount of pension for length of service and age and other employment pensions granted with a starting date after 31 December 2018 (Social Security Code, Article 70).
