Statutory notice period
The minimum notice an employer must give. Contracts and collective agreements can lengthen it and only rarely shorten it, and the tenure bands are where cross-border assumptions usually go wrong.
Statutory notice periods under the Labour Code. The same periods serve the employee's resignation and the employer's notice-based dismissal grounds.
| Service | Employer notice | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite contract | 30 days | runs from the day after the notice is received; a longer period up to 3 months can be agreed |
| Fixed-term contract | 3 months | but never beyond the remaining term of the contract |
A collective agreement may tie the period for redundancy-type dismissals to length of service. Either side may end the contract without serving the period against compensation of the pay for the unserved part.
Source: чл. 326 КТ, пълен текст, Българското прецедентно право, full statutory text; Прекратяване на трудовия договор с предизвестие, Accounting News. Checked on 2026-07-27.
Minimum paid annual leave
The statutory floor for paid holiday. The counting basis matters as much as the number, since some laws count a six-day week and others count working days or calendar weeks.
20 working days per year.
First-ever leave becomes usable after four months of service, on the labour ministry's current reading of the threshold; older mirrors of the code still show eight. Extended entitlements attach to hazardous work, reduced working capacity and some categories set by the Council of Ministers.
Source: чл. 155 КТ, пълен текст, Българското прецедентно право, full statutory text; Отпуски, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. Checked on 2026-07-27.
Probation limit
The longest trial period the law allows an employer to agree, together with the notice that applies while it runs.
6 months at most, with notice of none for the party in whose favour the trial was agreed, which may end the contract at any moment without notice during it.
A trial clause may be agreed for up to six months, in favour of the employer, the employee or both; during it the parties hold all rights of a final contract.
A shorter trial for fixed-term contracts under a year follows the transparency amendments.
Source: чл. 70, ал. 3 КТ, mywork.bg, quoting the provision; Изпитателен срок и предизвестие, Pravatami.bg. Checked on 2026-07-27.
Employer social contributions
What the employer pays on top of gross salary into statutory schemes. Some countries charge a percentage of pay, others charge flat amounts, and a single headline rate hides caps, regional rules and industry-rated items.
Figures apply for 2026.
| Scheme | Rate, per cent of pay | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Pension fund, employer share (born after 1959) | 8.22 | pay up to 2,111.64 EUR per month |
| Universal pension fund, employer share | 2.8 | pay up to 2,111.64 EUR per month |
| Sickness and maternity, employer share | 2.1 | pay up to 2,111.64 EUR per month |
| Unemployment, employer share | 0.6 | pay up to 2,111.64 EUR per month |
| Health insurance, employer share | 4.8 | pay up to 2,111.64 EUR per month |
| Accident and occupational disease fundSet yearly per economic activity. | varies | between 0.4 and 1.1 per cent by activity class, on the same capped base |
| Sum of the shares aboveFigures of the interim regime carried into 2026 for employees born after 1959 in the ordinary labour category; the guarantee fund charge stands at zero for 2026. The adopted mid-year social budget lifts the ceiling to 2,300 euro from 1 August 2026, so recheck at the switch. | 18.52 |
Employees carry roughly 13.8 per cent themselves, withheld from gross. Bulgaria settles in euro since the start of 2026.
Source: От 01.01.2026: осигуровки, МОД, МРЗ до приемане на бюджета, КиК Инфо; Осигуровки 2026, пълна таблица, Kalkulatora; Осигурителен доход, National Revenue Agency; Максималният осигурителен доход се вдига от 1 август, Mediapool. Checked on 2026-07-27.