North Macedonia is a landlocked country in Europe, bordered by Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania. The country used to be known simply as “Macedonia” until 2019 when it became “North Macedonia”.

The use of the country name had been disputed with Greece from 1991-2019, due to ambiguity in nomenclature between the Republic of Macedonia, the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia, and the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

The minimum wage is MKD 18,000 MKD per month, and a standard workweek is 40 hours at 8 hours per day. Overtime work has a maximum of 190 hours per year, and is paid at between 135%-150% of the regular rate.

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Types of Contracts

• Fixed-term contracts have a maximum duration of 5 years. Employees under a fixed-term contract have the same protection as those under an indefinite contract.
• Indefinite/permanent.

Job Title Restrictions

There are no job title restrictions when hiring under the EOR model in North Macedonia.

Working Hours

The maximum standard working hours per week in North Macedonia is 40. Overtime is restricted to a total of 190 hours per year or not more than an average of 8 hours per week over 3 weeks.

Overtime performed during during normal working hours (between Monday and Saturday) is paid using the standard rate. Overtime worked during the night shift is compensated at 135% of the standard rate, while overtime on Sundays or holidays is compensated at 150% of the standard rate.

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is MKD 22,567 per month in 2024.

Probation Period

In North Macedonia, probation periods are optional; they typically range from 1 to 6 months in duration.

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Taxes & Local Employment Costs

Employee Taxes

Income Tax: A flat 10% income tax is levied on an individual’s salary after deducting social security contributions.

Social security: The employer is obliged to calculate, withhold from the employee’s gross salary, and forward to relevant funds the mandatory social insurance contributions as follows:

• Pension and disability insurance: 18.8%
• Health insurance: 7.5%
• Insurance against unemployment: 1.2%
• Additional Health insurance: 0.5%

Social security contribution is capped at the equivalent of 16 average basic salaries paid in the country, beyond 16 salaries, a personal tax of 11.11% is paid only for the difference.

Employer Taxes & Contributions

The employer does not contribute towards mandatory social insurance.

Annual Leave

Employees in Macedonia are entitled to a minimum of 20 days annual leave, and a maximum of 26 based on years of service with the same employer. The entitlement is granted after 6 months of service.

12 days of annual leave have to be used by the 31st of December, the rest can be carried over to the next year but must be used by 30 June. This is mandatory by law.

Annual leave compensation (recourse for vacation) is mandatory for all employers in the private sector. Annual leave compensation is paid once during the year, 6 months after the start of employment and at the latest, no later than the end of the current year.

The amount payable is 40% of the average net salary.

Sick Leave

Employees are entitled to unlimited paid sick leave. The employer pays for the first 30 days at the following rates:

• Up to 2 weeks: 70%
• 2 weeks to 30 days: 90%
• Above 30 days the leave is paid at 100% by social security

Maternity Leave

After completing 6 months of service with the same employer, employees are eligible for 9 months of maternity leave (or 1 year for multiple births), which is funded by the State Fund for Health and Insurance.

Paternity Leave

There is no paternity leave in the North Macedonia labor regulations. An employee who has become a father is entitled to up to 7 days of paid paternity leave only if the mother does not take maternity leave for the same days.

Other Leave

Employees are also entitled to paid leave of up to 7 working days under the following circumstances:

• death of a family member;
• marriage;
• relocation;
• taking a specialization exam.

Unpaid Leave

Employees can take up to 3 months of unpaid leave per year. To take unpaid leave, the employee must submit a request to the employer and then receive approval for the leave from the employer.

Public Holidays

Please refer to the Remofirst platform for up-to-date information on Public Holidays.

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Benefits

To qualify for statutory benefits an employee has to have served 6 months.

Statutory Benefits

Statutory benefits include general working conditions benefits, Social Security benefits, and severance pay.

Social Security benefits:

• Pension and disability insurance;
• Health insurance;
• Unemployment insurance.

Severance pay: If the contract of employment is terminated due to economic reasons, the employee is entitled to severance pay.

Non Statutory Benefits

Non-statutory benefits typically provided by employers include:

• Private medical insurance;
• A bonus or 13th cheque is customary, typically given at the end of the year based on some criteria.

Process

There is no at-will termination for employers, and terminations of employment contracts must be done with just cause.

Notice Period

The statutory minimum notice period in North Macedonia is 1 month. In exceptional cases (i.e. serious employee misconduct), no notice period is required.

During probation, the minimum notice period is 3 days.

Severance Pay

There are no mandatory severance payments for terminated employees in North Macedonia, except where employees are terminated for economic reasons. The pay is granted only for the years of service accrued in the company where the employee is currently working  based on years of service as follows:

• 0-5 years = 1 month of salary
• 5-10 years = 2 months of salary
• 10-15 years = 3 months of salary
• 15-20 years = 4 months of salary
• 20-25 years = 5 months of salary
• 25+ years = 6 months of salary

Employers must give the employee the right to use up their annual leave during their notice period.

It is common to pay a 13th-month salary bonus in North Macedonia. Additionally, any employee who works 150+ hours of overtime per year, and has less than 21 days of absence, is due a mandatory bonus equal to 1 month of average national wages.