Planning to hire employees in Bulgaria? Here’s a quick guide

Hiring employees in Bulgaria starts and ends with one document: the Bulgarian Labor Code (Кодекс на труда, Labor Code). Every contract you sign, every payroll filing you submit, every statutory benefit, and every employment regulation in Bulgaria traces back to it.

Moreover, two recent developments have boosted employment in Bulgaria. The Balkan nation joined the eurozone on January 1, 2026, so payroll is now run in euros. And the country still posts one of the lowest flat income tax rates in the European Union (EU). 

These two facts, more than anything else, are why U.S. companies continue to look to the city of Sofia for engineering, finance, and tech hires.

Here’s what hiring in Bulgaria actually involves.

How to hire in Bulgaria

You can choose from one of the three ways to engage talent in Bulgaria. The right fit depends on how committed you are to the country.

1. Set up an OOD in Bulgaria

You incorporate, usually as a limited liability company (дружество с ограничена отговорност, OOD). You hire and pay directly, register with the National Revenue Agency (NRA) and the National Social Security Institute (NSSI), and run statutory filings in-house.

However, incorporation, local accounting, payroll, and tax filings all need on-the-ground capacity, which usually means lawyers, accountants, and probably a local HR lead. 

It is advisable for a long-term commitment and could prove costly for a few hires in Bulgaria. 

2. Engage independent contractors

Bulgarian freelancers work under civil contracts (граждански договори, civil agreements), which sit under the Obligations and Contracts Act, not the Labor Code. It allows for more flexible workforce management in Bulgaria. 

However, the real concern is misclassification. If found to set fixed hours, supply equipment, and fold the contractor into your team’s day-to-day, the Bulgarian labor inspector can re-characterize the arrangement as employment. It may result in back taxes, social security contributions, and penalties on top. 

3. Partner with a workforce management platform

Globally, the standard play is an Employer of Record (EOR). It is a third party that engages talent on your behalf without requiring a local entity.

However, the EOR concept is not specifically regulated under Bulgarian law. 

A workforce management platform like Payoneer Workforce Management helps you engage Bulgarian talent through a compliant local structure. It supports the post-hiring process in Bulgaria, including contracts, payroll, social security registration, and benefits administration, all on one platform.

Where to find employees in Bulgaria

Recruiting employees in Bulgaria starts with advertising openings on Bulgarian job boards and, in many cases, offering local language support. Here are the main routes worth knowing.

1) Popular job boards in Bulgaria

Bulgarian candidates look at the following for job openings:

• jobs.bg
• rabota.bg
• zaplata.bg
• Karieri.bg
• LinkedIn
• Indeed Bulgaria
• Glassdoor

2) Work with local recruitment agencies

Even when Bulgarian employees will mainly work in English, having local language support during recruitment makes the process smoother. Particularly for salary negotiations, contract signing, and onboarding paperwork. 

One way to handle that is by working with a recruitment agency licensed by the Bulgarian Employment Agency.

Agencies can support shortlisting for niche roles, particularly in tech and life sciences. It adds to your costs and shifts some of the candidate selection control over to the agency, but the local expertise can pay off. 

For temporary placements specifically, the public register of licensed temporary work agencies maintained by the Bulgarian Employment Agency is a useful starting point.

3) Workforce management platform support

A workforce management platform can take care of more than payroll. It can also help with drafting employment contracts, registering them with the NRA, and onboarding new hires in Bulgaria. 

That leaves you free to handle resume screening and interviews on your end, while local compliance gets handled by someone on the ground. For a similar regional context, see our Romania hiring guide.

Onboarding employees in Bulgaria

Here are the recommended steps to onboard employees in Bulgaria:

1. Register the contract with the NRA: Every contract must be submitted to the National Revenue Agency before work starts.
2. Issue a written contract: You must list job title, salary, working hours, leave entitlement, probation, notice period, and applicable collective agreement.
3. Register for social and health insurance. Every employee gets enrolled with the NSSI for social security and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for healthcare.
4. Open a personnel file: Bulgarian employers keep an employment file record holding the contract, ID copies, qualifications, and any annexes.
5. Use the electronic workbook: An electronic system run by the General Labor Inspectorate replaced the paper work record book from June 1, 2025. 
6. Run a health and safety briefing: Required for every new hire under the Health and Safety at Work Act. There is no exception for remote roles, too. 

Key employment laws and requirements in Bulgaria

When hiring in Bulgaria, it’s important to understand the rules employers must follow and the entitlements employees receive. Here are the main requirements to keep in mind.

Employment contracts

Two main contract types apply in Bulgaria: 

1. An indefinite-term (безсрочен трудов договор, open-ended contract) is typically the default. 
2. Fixed-term (срочен трудов договор) is allowed only for the purposes set out in the labor code: a specific project, seasonal work, or replacing an absent employee. 

Probation can run up to six months for candidates on an indefinite contract. Moreover, you must list the following mandatory contract elements:

• Names and addresses of the parties
• Place of work
• Job title and job description
• Commencement date and contract duration
• Working hours
• Base salary and pay frequency
• Annual paid leave entitlement
• Notice period
• Any applicable collective agreement

Employment benefits

Bulgarian employees are entitled to a set of statutory benefits employers must honor:

• Minimum wage: You must pay at least BGN 1,077 per month and BGN 6.49 per hour
• Annual leave: Minimum 20 working days after four months of service. Unused leave carries over but must be used within six months of the year-end.
• Sick leave: Employees may get up to 180 days, and extendable by a Special Medical Commission (ТЕЛК). Moreover, the first two days are paid by the employer at the average gross wage. The rest of the days are by the NSSI.
• Maternity leave: 410 working days per child, with typically 45 days before the expected delivery date. The NSSI funds the salary during this period.
• Paternity leave: 15 days, starting the day the mother and child are discharged from the medical institution.
• Child-raising leave: Up to two years after maternity leave, plus six months of unpaid leave until the child turns eight.
• Health insurance: Mandatory enrollment with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
• Compassionate leave: Two working days of paid leave in the event of a bereavement.
• Wedding leave: Two working days of paid leave upon the employee’s marriage.

Working hours and holidays

As per the Labor Code:

• Standard workweek: 40 hours over five days
• Overtime: max 150 hours per year, with sub-limits of 30 hours/month, 6 hours/week (daytime), and 3 hours/day over two consecutive days. 

Bulgaria observes 15 public holidays each year as follows:

• New Year’s Day
• Liberation Day of Bulgaria
• Easter Holidays 
• Labor Day
• St. George’s Day, Day of Courage and the Bulgarian Army
• Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and of Slavic Literature
• Non-working day in honor of the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and of Slavic Literature
• Day of the Unification of Bulgaria
• Non-working day in honor of the Day of the Unification of Bulgaria
• Independence Day
• Christmas Holidays 

Tax obligations

Employers withhold income tax monthly and remit it to the National Revenue Agency (NRA).

Personal income tax in Bulgaria is a flat 10% on employment income, one of the lowest rates in the EU.

Employers also make monthly Social Security contributions to the NSSI. 

To estimate the all-in cost of a Bulgarian hire, our employee cost calculator runs the numbers.

Termination and severance

Employer-initiated terminations require a valid statutory ground and written notice. Without one, the dismissal can be challenged as unfair.

The employer can legally terminate an employment relationship in the following scenarios:

1. Mutual agreement between the employer and the employee
2. Employee resignation with proper notice
3. End of the probation period
4. Misconduct, poor performance, or absence without leave
5. Redundancy or closure of the enterprise
6. Health-related reasons after at least five years of service
7. Retirement

Moreover, notice periods in Bulgaria can be 30 days for indefinite contracts, three months for fixed-term, and 30 days during probation. 

Further, statutory severance varies per the following conditions: 

• One month for closure or staff reduction, 
• Two months for health-related termination after five years, 
• Two months for retirement under 10 years’ service (six for 10 or more), and 
• At least four months for mutual agreement.

For a regional comparison, see our guide to employment laws in Hungary.

Payoneer Workforce Management helps hire employees in Bulgaria

Payoneer Workforce Management supports companies engaging talent across 160+ countries and payments in 70+ currencies. The platform helps you onboard, pay, and manage workers in Bulgaria without setting up a local entity. 

Further, it takes care of workforce management in Bulgaria, including contracts, payroll, statutory contributions, and benefits administration. All of it runs through local compliance expertise on the ground.

Even if you are engaging contractors instead of full-time employees in Bulgaria, Payoneer Workforce Management can handle it. 

Our contractor management system supports classification, contracts, and timely payments in Euro. 

For broader thinking on how global hiring models are shifting, see our perspective on global market expansion and compliance.

Book a demo to see how Payoneer Workforce Management can support your hiring process in Bulgaria.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)