Bulgaria is a country in southeastern Europe that borders the Black Sea. Although it’s a great location to expand to and pursue business relationships, hiring without the proper preparations and support can be challenging.
Recruiting in Bulgaria
Given the complexities of recruiting and hiring internationally, leveraging the most effective recruitment channels is key to making the process as fast and successful as possible.
When it comes to sourcing talent in Bulgaria, you might want to advertise your open positions online or list them in Bulgarian newspapers. Keep in mind that you can also leverage the support and expertise of a global Employer of Record to streamline each step in the hiring process.
Laws against discrimination in Bulgaria
Bulgaria has several legal protections in place to prevent discrimination. The Bulgarian constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law, and further legislation forbids direct or indirect discrimination based on the following traits and characteristics:
- Nationality
- Race
- Gender
- Human genome
- Origin
- Ethnicity
- Citizenship
- Religion or belief
- Marital status
- Sexual orientation
- Age
- Disability
- Property status
Employers must comply with these laws throughout the recruiting and hiring processes and beyond. To stay compliant, it’s important to be selective with the language used in the job postings. Avoid mentioning protected traits, such as age, unless they are inherent requirements for the open position. You should also avoid direct inquiries about these protected characteristics, even in casual conversations with prospective employees.
Bulgaria employment laws
Bulgaria employment laws require employers to create a written employment contract for all employees they hire as well as inform the authorities of all new contracts. Most contracts extend indefinitely, but fixed-term contracts are allowed if the employment period is less than 3 years, an employee is completing a specific project, or they’re replacing an employee on legal leave such as maternity leave.
All employment contracts should include information about compensation, benefits, termination terms, and similar factors. It’s important to make sure the employment contract is in the employee’s native language and all compensation and salary amounts are in Bulgarian Lev instead of another currency.
The standard workweek for employees in Bulgaria is 40 hours, worked 8 hours daily over a 5-day period. Overtime can be performed in accordance with the Labour Code and once agreed upon by both parties.
Onboarding in Bulgaria
Every person learns differently, and every company has a specific way to introduce employees to their processes. Bulgaria employment laws do not stipulate one way to onboard employees, so we recommend following a plan that works best for your company.
We recommend providing any training the employee will need to succeed and reviewing the employment contract during their first day to make sure both parties accept all the terms of employment.
Grow globally with G-P.
G-P never forgets that behind every hire is a human being. That’s why we’ve backed our fully customizable suite of global employment products with our robust team of HR and legal experts, so we can remain at your side, ready to support you as you build your global teams. With the #1 global employment platform, you have the recruitment tools and services you need to find your perfect full-time or contract match.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you recruit, hire, and onboard anyone, anywhere.