The two most important things you can give to your employees are compensation and benefits. Providing a high level of compensation and giving more than just the statutory benefits will help you attract top talent and encourage employees to stay in their positions longer. Plus, meeting Bosnia and Herzegovina’s compensation laws and benefits requirements will help you stay compliant and avoid fines and delays.
G-P makes it easier to expand and provide compensation and benefits through Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits and compensation outsourcing. We’ll use our subsidiaries to help you start working quickly, and we’ll hire employees who work on your behalf. You won’t have to worry about meeting the country’s compensation laws, sourcing benefits, or managing the risk that comes with compliance regulations — our team will handle everything.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Compensation Laws
Bosnia and Herzegovina last changed its minimum wage to 650 convertible marks per month on June 1, 2022. Your employees need to be paid at least that amount per Bosnia and Herzegovina compensation laws. Employees typically work 40 hours a week at eight hours a day in the country. That said, they can work up to 10 hours a week of overtime in RS and eight hours a week in FBiH in the case of an increased work volume, earthquake, fire, flood, or similar situation. Overtime rates are usually determined by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for each industry.
Guaranteed Benefits in Bosnia and Herzegovina
It’s a good idea to start your Bosnia benefit management plan with guaranteed benefits required by law. Some of these benefits can vary by location, so you should make sure you’re following either FBiH or RS regulations depending on where you are. Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates four national holidays, and employees should take those days off. Regions celebrate their own additional holidays as well. Employees in FBiH get no more than 30 days of paid annual leave, while employees in RS get 20 days.
Maternity and paternity leave are two other important benefits that vary by region. Female employees in FBiH must take 42 days of leave, while employees in RS must take at least 60. Employees in RS are entitled to another six months of leave if the employee has twins or for every child after her third. There is no statutory paternity leave policy in either region.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Benefits Management
When you’re ready to disperse your Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits management plan, you should consider adding supplemental benefits that employees may expect. For example, you can provide performance-based bonuses, additional health care, a life insurance policy, and more. It’s a great idea to ask employees what they’re looking for and provide the benefits that would mean the most.
Restrictions for Benefits and Compensation
Companies cannot provide compensation and benefits unless they establish a subsidiary in either FBiH or RS. Fortunately, you won’t face the same restriction when you work with G-P. We provide Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits and compensation outsourcing that will allow you to work without your own subsidiary, saving you time and stress.
Bosnia Competitive Benefits Planning
If your company is growing in Bosnia, designing competitive employee benefits plans should be one of your priorities. Your program plays a key role in employee recruitment and hiring, so you’ll want to start planning early in your growth process.
Bosnia employee benefits plans
As you begin building your benefits program, ensure you consider compliance requirements and employee needs. You’ll want to address legal regulations and provide offerings that support your employees professionally and personally.
When you provide your employees with competitive benefits, you empower them to put their best work forward. The right offerings can also increase retention rates and strengthen your hiring strategy.
You can provide supplemental provisions such as these:
- Travel and housing assistance
- Mental and physical health resources
- Childcare assistance
- Advanced professional learning courses
Mandatory employee benefits in Bosnia
To stay compliant, you’ll need to include these required provisions in your plan:
- Unemployment insurance
- Pension
- Legislative leave
- Paid time off
- Eye exams
- Personal accident insurance
How to design your employee benefits program
Each country has specific regulations for benefits programs, but you can use the same fundamental strategy for successful planning anywhere.
1. Evaluate your objectives and finances
Assess key company goals for your benefits program — determine what size team you want to support and what your hiring and retention goals are. You’ll also want to evaluate your budget and establish how much money you can put toward these goals.
2. Know the labor market
Understanding the local labor market is vital to a successful growth strategy. Research what comparable companies in the region have to offer and see if you can match their benefits. Common provisions will inform job seekers’ expectations.
To learn more about what employees are looking for, interview local workers about their top benefits preferences. Pay attention to underserved offerings you could provide.
3. Set your program offerings
With the information you’ve gathered, begin designing a program that meets employee needs and the current market standards. Start by building in mandatory benefits, then add competitive supplemental provisions according to your budget.
Average cost of benefits per employee
Many unique conditions, from operational scale to region to company goals, can affect your final benefits program costs. It’s best to create a sustainable budget for your company rather than relying on a national average for your planning.
You might set a percentage of revenue to support your program each year. With this approach, you can easily scale your benefits budget with your company’s growth over time.
How to calculate employee benefits
Keep in mind that Bosnia and Herzegovina operate under two entities — the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS). You’ll need to follow mandatory benefit rates based on your company region’s jurisdiction.
You can calculate supplemental provisions based on competitive rates in your local market.
How are employee benefits taxed in Bosnia?
Most mandatory and fringe benefits are considered taxable, but tax laws may differ slightly between FBiH and RS codes. You’ll want to contact local tax authorities to confirm taxation eligibility for benefits in kind.
Employee health benefits plans
Health insurance enrollment is mandatory in the country, and each employee must provide proof of registration without 15 days of starting employment. Some private medical coverage options are also available. You may opt to provide one for your employees to supplement the national healthcare system, but it’s not a requirement.
Work with G-P to build your global team
G-P’ global employment platform helps you build and scale an international team quickly and easily, ensuring all benefits offered to candidates are compliant and in line with local regulations. Learn more about our platform and request a proposal today.