Employ in Serbia with ease.

Remote makes employment in Serbia easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.

Facts & Stats

Ranked 64th on the human development index, Serbia is an upper-middle-income economy that provides universal healthcare and free education to its citizens, powered by strong agriculture, petroleum, and IT industries.

  • Capital city

    Belgrade

  • Currency

    Serbian dinar
    (din, RSD)

  • Languages spoken

    Serbian

  • Population size

    6,926,705 (est. 2020)

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $$ (2021)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    20%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    4.2%

Grow your team in Serbia with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Serbia? Companies hiring in Serbia must either own a local legal entity or work with a global employment platform like Remote that can legally provide employment services in the country.

Remote can employ team members in Serbia and keep you compliant at all times. Remote can hire, onboard, and pay your Serbia team so you don't have to set up local HR services in the region. Remote also makes it easy to pay contractors in Serbia. Sign up now to get started or talk to an expert for more details.

Risks of misclassification

Serbia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently and there are risks associated with misclassification.

If you're worried about whether to hire contractors or employees in Serbia or anywhere else around the world, Remote can help. Our Solutions Consulting team are experts in preventing misclassification risks. Download our Contractor Compliance Checklist for a solid overview, then talk to our team about your specific situation.

Employing in Serbia

The Serbian Labor Law of 2005 defines provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights are applicable to Serbia’s workforce of 2.9 million. Employees in Serbia enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Serbia.

Minimum Wage

The Serbian minimum wage is fixed at 31,747.36 Serbian dinars, roughly equivalent to $322.54 per month. The gross minimum hourly wages are:

  • for a month with 160 working hours: 39,370.61 dinars
  • for a month with 168 working hours: 41,469.67 dinars
  • for a month with 176 working hours: 43,568.73 dinars
  • for a month with 184 working hours: 45,667.79 dinars

This is in accordance with the new tax exemption of 18,300 dinars.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Serbia fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 20 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

Competitive benefits package in Serbia

At Remote, we’re passionate about helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in developing globally competitive benefits programs. This means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive, and your company has the localized expertise needed to attract and keep the best global talent.

Our benefits packages in Serbia are tailored to fulfill the local needs of employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Pension or 401(K)
  • Life and Disability Insurance

Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Serbia

Taxes in Serbia

Learn how employment taxes affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Serbia.

  • Employer

    • 11.5% - Pensions and disability contribution

    • 5.15% - Health insurance

    • 0.75% - Unemployment insurance

  • Employee

    • 14% - Pension and disability contribution

    • 5.15% - Health insurance

    • 0.75% - Unemployment insurance

  • Personal income tax rates:

    • 10 – 20%

Types of leave

Paid time off

Employees are entitled to at least 20 days of paid vacation annually. Serbian labor law stipulates that the minimal duration of annual leave has to be increased on the basis of following criteria.

  • Contributions to work
  • Working conditions
  • Working experience
  • Kind and level of education of the employee

The Employer is free to determine the exact number of days of increase for each of the categories above.

Public holidays

Employees are entitled to take the 12 public holidays as paid days off work.

Sick leave

For non-work-related health challenges, employees are entitled to 65% of their wages for the first month of an illness, or even full wages, if an employee’s illness is related to the nature of the job.

For illness exceeding the first month, employees can draw sickness benefits from the Serbian Health Insurance Fund.

Maternity leave

Female employees having their first and second pregnancies are entitled to maternity and childcare, starting 28 days before delivery, and lasting for an entire year, with their full wages paid for the duration of the leave.

Maternity and childcare leave lasts up to two years for the third pregnancy onward, with full wages paid throughout the leave duration.

Paternity/Parental leave

Paternity leave lasts for seven days.

Other leave

  • Bereavement leave: employees are entitled to five days of paid leave in case of the death of a close family member.
  • Health purposes: Employees can take two paid days off work for voluntary blog transfusion.
  • Adoption: Foster and adoptive parents are entitled to at last eight months of leave, starting when the process is finalized, until the child turns 11 months of age.

Employment termination

Termination process

Employee contracts can be terminated if a just cause is established, such as dishonesty, negligence, fraud, or any other work-related offenses, and the grounds for termination must be tendered in advance to the employee or the latter’s trade union.

Notice period

Advance notice is only required if an employer is terminating an employee for inability to carry out tasks related to the employment contract, and in such a case, can be given anywhere from eight to 30 days in advance.

Severance pay

Severance payments are only mandatory if an employee is laid off due to redundancy and are calculated by multiplying a third of the employee’s annual salary by the number of years of employment with the employer.

Probation periods

The Probation Period is maximum of three months. It is common to apply the maximum probation period to senior roles.

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