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Staff welfare - Bulgaria

Updated 09/2011

Legal requirements

The main requirements for employment relations are laid down in the Labour Code and special regulations on working time, breaks and holidays, on transfer to another job on health grounds and on  the structure and organisation of salaries.

Social security and health insurance in Bulgaria are compulsory, with the option of supplementary voluntary social and health insurance. Contributions for health and social insurance are based on the insurable income of employees, and are paid by the employer.

Employers are obliged to provide healthy and safe working conditions.

The Law on the promotion of employment deals with the rights and obligations of jobseekers and employers who wish to use employment agencies to recruit staff.

Social rules

Non-discrimination, equal opportunities and gender equality

The Discrimination protection law sets the fundamental standards on protecting the right to work. It forbids employers from discriminating when selecting employees; it provides for the mandatory provision of equal working conditions; equal payment for equal or equivalent work; the provision of equal opportunities for training and career development.

The Law on the Integration of Disabled People obliges employers to provide and adapt working places for the needs of disabled persons and provides for measures to stimulate employers who employ disabled persons.

  • Law on the Integration of Disabled People български
  • Agency for Disabled People български

Healthy and safe working conditions

The Law on Healthy and Safe Working Conditions   obliges employers to ensure healthy and safe working conditions. It also outlines general preventive principles and measures to promote workforce health and safety.

  • Law on healthy and safe working conditions български

The minimum requirements   for healthy and safe working conditions are laid down in several ordinances which transpose European directives on health and safety at work.

Control to ensure that health and safety legislation is observed is exercised by the Central Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency.

Labour legislation

Contract law

Employment relations are subject to the Labour Code.          

Employment relations

The Council of Ministers   is responsible for setting the minimum monthly wage and the minimum hourly wage. Working time, breaks and holidays are set by order of the Council of Ministers.

  • Council of Ministers български
  • The Ordinance on Working Time, Breaks and Leave български

Since 1 January 2009 the minimum wage has been BGN 240 for full-time employees, and the minimum hourly pay has been 1.42 BGN.

The Central Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency is responsible for ensuring that employment legislation is complied with.

Labour protection

The Social Security Code   deals with the issues of:

  • state social security provision in general sickness, accidents at work, occupational illness, maternity, unemployment, old age and death;
  • supplementary social insurance.

In Bulgaria, health insurance is dealt with by the Health Insurance Law.

CONCILIATION

The Law on Resolving Collective Labour Disputes lays down methods for resolving collective disputes between employees and employers regarding working and insurance conditions and standards of living. This also applies to foreign or mixed employers or businesses in the country.

In case of a dispute, both parties should look for assistance through mediation and/or voluntary arbitration by trade union and employers' organisations and/or the National Conciliation and Arbitration Institute.          

  • The Bulgarian Law on Resolving Collective Labour Disputes български
  • Confederation of Independent Trade Unions български
  • Podkrepa Bulgarian Labour Confederation български
  • National Conciliation and Arbitration Institute български

Mandatory social rules complete the requirements related to managing staff.

Businesses are free to go beyond the minimum social legal requirements at their own initiative.

Administrative procedures

Non-discrimination, equal opportunities and gender equality

The Discrimination Protection Commission   is an independent specialised government body for preventing discrimination, protecting against discrimination and providing equal opportunities. Cases are brought to the commission by:

  • complaints issued by victims;
  • the commission's own initiative;
  • alerts by private individuals, organisations, state and local authorities.

Employers are obliged to provide information about persons, claiming that their rights have been infringed, and to assist the Commission by producing any documents and information requested and making any clarifications required.

  • Discrimination Protection Commission български

Healthy and safe working conditions

Advice on basic procedures, relating to employers' obligations to ensure healthy and safe working conditions can be obtained from the Labour Inspectorate:        

An employer's main obligations in this respect are to:

  • assess risks to health and safety at work (written procedure);
  • planning measures or programmes to avoid risks and prevention;
  • nominatinga health and safety officer or set up a special department to organise prevention activities and to ensure healthy and safe working conditions;
  • guaranteeingthe participation of employees or their representatives in discussing, planning and implementing healthy and safe working conditions (setting up committees/ working conditions groups);
  • providing workers or their representatives with the necessaryinformation, training and instruction in the field of health & safety at work;
  • declaring working conditions before the regional labour inspectorate;
  • investigating allwork accidents in the workplace;
  • ensuring the provision to employees of the services of aregistered occupational medicine service.

There is a register of work discipline services:

  • occupational medicine services български

Social security

State social security provides compensation, assistance and pensions in the case of:

  • temporary incapacity; temporary inability to work; invalidity because of general sickness; accidents at work or occupational disease;
  • maternity;
  • unemployment;
  • old age;
  • death.

The National Revenue Agency keeps a register of insurers and insured persons and administrates insurance contributions.

The employer/insurer must:

  • regularly provide the National Revenue Agency withdata of insured persons ;
  • issuedocuments   free of charge showing the contribution history and contribution income of insured persons at the end of their employment or at the employee's request;
  • announce any accident at work to the territorial department of the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) within 3 days; a declaration form is available on the NSSI website;
  • in case ofoccupational illness, provide the territorial division of the NSSI all documents related to working conditions and the health of the patient within 30 days of being asked to do so. These documents should include a description of the type of work, his health file, a risk assessment and opinion of the occupational medicine service, laboratory test reports, etc.

Social security in Bulgaria is regulated by the Social Security Code.

  • Social Security Code български

Programmes

The Ministry of Health and Social Policy   runs various programmes and a range of projects to help employers and jobseekers.

To support people who want to rejoin the labour market and in fulfilment of an annually approved National Employment Action Plan, a range of measures and programmes have been implemented to help the unemployed, people in work and employers.

For more information on the options currently available, please apply to:

  • The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy български
  • The Programmes and Measures Employment Agency български
  • The International Activities Employment Agency български

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

  • References

    Legal texts

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Further help

Advice and answers to questions, complaints and reports can be obtained from all main government institutions, involved in the implementation of labour and social security law.

You can also get personalised assistance from the nationally representative employers' organisations.

Nationally representative employers' organisations include:

You will find other useful information at: