The most recent governmental decree setting the minimum wage is the Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 13 November 2025 (setting the statutory minimum wage from 1 January 2026).

• Labour Codeopens in new tab

• Wage Negotiation Ordinanceopens in new tab of 1991

• Amendment approved by Parliament on 1 February 2023opens in new tab

• Decree No. 193 of 12 October 2023PDFopens in new tab

• Decree No 244 of 23 October 2024opens in new tab

• Decree No. 243 of 13 November 2025opens in new tab

The competence to the formal determination of the minimum wage relies with the Council of Ministers, that sets the rate by decree.

Key actors involved in establishing the minimum wage (MW) in Bulgaria are the members of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC), whose legal basis is art. 3 of the Labour Code and which is composed of two representatives each from the Council of Ministers, from the representative organisations of workers and employees, and from representative organisations of employers. The NCTC:

• Discusses and provides opinions on draft regulations concerning various matters: This includes labour relations and associated issues, occupational health and safety, employment and unemployment, vocational training, public and health insurance, income and living standards, as well as budgetary policy, and the social consequences of restructuring and privatisation.

• Conducts consultations and fosters cooperation at the national level: This focuses on labour relations, directly associated labour relations, social security relations, and living standards issues.

• Coordinates national-level efforts on programmes pertaining to social dialogue issues: This involves programmes funded both nationally and internationally, and includes all parties represented in the National Tripartite Council.

The members of the NCTC are the following:

• The Government of the Republic of Bulgariaopens in new tab

• Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB)opens in new tab

• Confederation of Labour Podkrepa (Cl Podkrepa)opens in new tab

• Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA)opens in new tab

• Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI)opens in new tab

• Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA)opens in new tab

• Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIB)opens in new tab

• Union for Private Economic Enterprise (UPEE)opens in new tab

• See National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) for more detailed information on its compositionopens in new tab.

The determination of the minimum wage in Bulgaria is not regulated in depth by legislation. According to art. 244 of the Labour Code, the minimum wage is determined by the Council of Ministers for each calendar year.

The government proposes the minimum wage, which is then discussed within the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. The final decision regarding the rate relies on the government, which sets the rate by decree. According to Article 244 of the Labour Code, dated 1 February 2023, the minimum wage for the following year must be established by 1 September of the current year and it must be determined in the amount of 50 percent of the average gross wage calculated over a period of 12 months including the last two quarters of the previous year and the first two quarters of the current year. This was explicitly done (according to the premise to the amendment provided in the amending bill) in the effort to comply with the obligation to use 'indicative reference values to guide the assessment of the adequacy of statutory minimum wages' provided by the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, by employing one of the indicators provided by the Directive as a potential indicative reference value.

This last update to the law seems to reduce the role of negotiations, as 50% of the average rate is calculated based on statistical information about the average wage.

The Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 13 November 2025 established that as of 1 January 2026 the minimum monthly wage will increase to 1213 BGN (€620), while the minimum hourly wage will be 7.31 BGN (approximately €3.74).

According to the Wage Negotiation Ordinance (art. 10(2)), factors that shall be considered in setting the minimum wage include the needs of workers and their families, the cost of living and its changes, the general level of wages in the country, the social assistance system, the standard of living of other social groups, and economic factors such as the requirements for the country's economic development, the level of labour productivity, and the maintenance of an appropriate level of employment.

As the minimum wage is now provided to be in the amount of 50% of the gross average wage (calculated over a period of 12 months including the last two quarters of the previous year and the first two quarters of the current year) with the recent amendment of 1 February 2023, the ratio to the average wage seems to remain the sole valid criterion for the annual adjustment of the minimum wage in Bulgaria (operationalised on the basis of the Annual statistics on employment and labour cost).

• Annual statistics on employment and labour costopens in new tab

The 2025 minimum wage increase was determined by applying the rule that it should equal 50% of the average gross wage, which mainly reflects the relative criteria. The absolute criteria, related to ensuring a decent standard of living, were considered only indirectly, through references to purchasing power, living standards and poverty reduction, without a formal assessment based on cost-of-living indicators or a defined basket of goods. Compared with the period before the transposition of the Directive, the approach is more transparent, but a full and systematic assessment of these criteria remains limited.

For the minimum wage uprates related to 2025 and 2026, no separate or detailed adequacy assessment was published in Bulgaria. Adequacy was mainly addressed through the legal rule in the Labour Code and the government explanation linked to the decree. The 2025 increase followed the rule that the minimum wage should be set at 50% of the average gross wage, which reflects the relative dimension of adequacy. The absolute dimension, related to ensuring a decent standard of living, was considered indirectly through references to purchasing power, living standards and poverty reduction, but without a formal assessment based on cost-of-living indicators or a basket of goods. Compared to the period before the transposition of the Directive, the current approach is more transparent, but a full and systematic adequacy assessment is still limited.

A draft law to amend the Labour Code was introduced for public discussion by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy on 26 September 2025. The aim was to transpose Directive (EU) 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages. The proposed changes focused mainly on promoting collective bargaining, especially at sectoral and branch level, in order to increase coverage and improve working conditions. The draft allowed the government, together with the social partners, to adopt a plan to support collective bargaining, clarified how sectoral and branch collective agreements apply, and gave the Labour Inspectorate powers to monitor compliance. Although the government presented the draft as meeting the requirements of Article 4 of the Directive, trade unions criticised it for not fully addressing minimum wage adequacy and living standards. By the end of 2025, the law had not been adopted, and discussions were still ongoing.

• Public consultation on the draft lawopens in new tab

• Draft law amending and supplementing the Labour Codeopens in new tab

The minimum wage in Bulgaria applies universally to all employees. Subminima are permissible only in case of on-the-job training, and this will be detailed in the next section 'Subminima and higher rates'.

A distinct, lower, rate applies to workers undergoing on-the-job training, particularly within a dual vocational education and training (VET) system. Under an on-the-job training contract, the employer must provide practical training in a designated occupation or speciality. The employee, in turn, undertakes to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge. Throughout their training period, these employees are entitled to compensation based on their work, ensuring they receive no less than 90% of the national minimum wage in Bulgaria (Art. 230(5), Labour Code).

The minimum wage in Bulgaria is divided into 12 equal monthly payments, regardless of the type of employment contract. The most recent Decree setting the minimum wage rate from 1 January 2024 (Decree 193/2023) provides both the monthly rate and the hourly rate, 'for a normal working time of 8 hours and 5-day work week'.

There are no other components contributing to the minimum wage, which represents, according to art. 10(1) of the Wage Negotiation Ordinance, 'the lowest remuneration for time worked or for work performed'. Additional bonus payments, such as a 13th wage or bonuses, are not included.

There is no national report specifically dedicated to the minimum wage in Bulgaria. However, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy regularly prepares a preliminary impact assessment of the proposed amount.

This assessment is carried out before each increase in the minimum wage. Given that the latest amendment stipulates that the minimum wage should be set before 1 September, these assessments could be viewed as regular occurrences. No assessment was published for the minimum wage increase from 1 January 2026.

• Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Preliminary impact assessmentopens in new tab

• Preliminary assessment for the minimum wage increase from 1 January 2025PDFopens in new tab

Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AIKB). (2025) AIKB position on the Plan for promoting collective bargainingopens in new tab.

Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria KNSB (CITUB). (2025) KNSB insists on real transposition of the Directive on adequate minimum wagesopens in new tab [Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria KNSB (CITUB). (2025) Position of KNSB on the draft Council of Ministers decree determining the minimum wage for 2026opens in new tab Confederation of Labour 'Podkrepa.' (2025) Statement of KT 'Podkrepa' on the draft minimum wage lawopens in new tab Confederation of Labour 'Podkrepa.' (2025) Position of KT 'Podkrepa' on the minimum wage determination for 2026opens in new tab Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP). (2025) Minister Gutsanov: We propose increasing the minimum wage to 1,213 leva — freezing incomes is unacceptableopens in new tab

Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP). (2025) Draft law amending and supplementing the Labour Code in connection with the transposition of Directive (EU) 2022/2041opens in new tab

Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP). (2025) MLSP proposes BGN 1,213 minimum wage from 2026; the increase will raise incomes of nearly 600,000 peopleopens in new tab Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP). (2025) Plan for the promotion of collective bargaining and collective labour agreements 2026–2030PDFopens in new tab

National Statistical Institute (NSI). (2025) Employees and average wages and salariesopens in new tab

National Statistical Institute (NSI). (2025) Statistical data: key labour market indicatorsopens in new tab

National Statistical Institute (NSI). (2025) Statistical data: average monthly gross wages and salariesopens in new tab National Statistical Institute (NSI). (2025) Statistical data: employees and labour market indicatorsopens in new tab

State Gazette (Darzhaven Vestnik). (2025) Decree No. 243 of 13 November 2025 on determining the minimum wage for 2026opens in new tab