Croatia is a country in Europe bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It boasts a long coastline filled with 1,244 idyllic islands (only about 47 are inhabited).

Croatia has free education, universal healthcare, and a high income per capita, —which makes it an attractive location for remote workers.

The minimum wage in Croatia is HRK 4,687.50 per month. The standard workweek is 40 hours, and employers need written permission from their employees to increase working hours. Any work past 40 hours is overtime, and the rate is stipulated in the contract (with a maximum of 180 hours per year).

Parental Leave

Pregnant employees in Croatia are entitled to 28 days of paid maternity leave before the due date, and 70 days after the birth. After the 70 days are complete the maternity leave can be continued unpaid until the child is 6 months old (although most employers pay this extra time), or choose the share the rest of the leave with the other parent.

There is no provision for statutory paternity leave in Croatia. Each parent also is also entitled to 120 days of parental leave per child, to be taken before the child is 8 years old.

Sick Leave

An employee in Croatia can receive up to 42 days of sick leave each year that is paid by the employer at a rate of 70% of the regular wages. Any days past the first 42 days are paid by the employer but then reimbursed by Croatia’s health insurance fund.

Paid Leave

Croatia has 14 public holidays, and employees are generally entitled to between 15-20 days of paid time off each year (depending on how long they have worked at the company). Employees can also request adoption leave, marriage leave, or bereavement leave.

Process

Terminations in Croatia require a notice period unless there is cause for dismissal without notice, due to misconduct, negligence, and other reasons. If misconduct is the reason for termination there must be written notice and documented discussions and meetings with the employee before the final decision to terminate the contract.

Notice Period

The notice period required depends on the employee’s length of time at the company, with 2 weeks of additional notice required for employees 50-55, and 4 weeks for those 55+.

• 1 year = 2 weeks
• 2 years = 6 weeks
• 5 years = 8 weeks
• 10 years = 10 weeks
• 20 years = 12 weeks

Severance Pay

Severance pay owed also depends on the length of employment at the company. Employees who have worked at a company for 2+ years are paid 1/3 of their monthly salary for each year worked (with a maximum of 6 months of salary).

If an employee is working from home full time or more than 7 days per month, their employer must provide, install, and maintain work equipment and reimburse the expenses of working from home in the amount defined in the employment agreement.