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Our global employment products, including G-P Meridian Prime™ and G-P Meridian Core™, are backed by the largest team of HR and legal experts in the industry. We handle the growing complexities of compliant global expansion — so you can focus on opportunities ahead.
As a global EOR expert, we manage payroll, employment contract best practices, statutory and market norm benefits, employee expenses, as well as severance and termination. You’ll have peace of mind knowing you have a team of dedicated employment experts assisting with every hire. G-P allows you to harness the talent of the brightest people in 180+ countries around the world, quickly and easily.
Hiring in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) consists of 2 entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS). Each entity has its own government, president, parliament, police force, and authorities that oversee labor and employment issues.
When negotiating terms of an employment contract and offer letter with an employee in Bosnia, it may be useful to keep the following in mind:
Employment contracts in Bosnia and Herzegovina
It is legally required to put a written employment contract in place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the local language, which spells out the terms of the employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An offer letter and employment contract in Bosnia should always state the salary and any compensation amounts in convertible marks rather than another currency.
Working hours in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The workweek is generally 40 hours.
Holidays in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia celebrates 4 national holidays, but regions celebrate their own holidays in addition to these.
- Orthodox Christmas Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Ramadan Bajram
Vacation days in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Employees are generally entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave, and in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), no more than 30 days of leave.
Bosnia and Herzegovina sick leave
Employees are eligible for compensation for at least 5 sick days per year.
Maternity/paternity leave in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Expecting employees are generally entitled to 1 year of maternity leave.
- Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH): Mothers are entitled to at least 42 days of leave. Following the leave, mothers may work half-time until the child is 2 years old. Fathers may work half-time instead, if the mother returns to work full-time. While mothers are entitled to compensation under law, employers often supplement this to ensure employees receive their full salary.
- Republika Srpska (RS): Mothers are entitled to at least 60 days of leave. In RS, mothers are also entitled to an additional 6 months of leave for or for each child from the third onward. Mothers are entitled to compensation equal to their average salary from the preceding 12 months, or for the duration of their employment before maternity leave if less than 12 months.
Health insurance in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), employers contribute 4% of employees’ salary to health insurance. Employees contribute 12.5%.
In the Republika Srpska (RS), only employees contribute to health insurance at a rate of 12%.
Termination/severance in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Employees under FBiH jurisdiction are generally entitled to at least 14 days’ notice and no more than 3 months notice. Those under RS jurisdiction are generally entitled to at least 30 days of notice. There is no maximum period. For violations of the employment agreement or grave violations of work duties, no notice is needed in either jurisdiction.
In FBiH, an employee who has worked for at least 2 years is generally entitled to a severance payment, and the amount is usually fixed in the collective agreement. However, it may not be less than 1/3 of the employee’s average monthly salary for each year of employment or more than 6 average salaries.
Paying taxes in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In FBiH, employers contribute 6% of employees’ salary to social security. Employees contribute 17%. Employers and employees must also contribute 0.5% and 1.5% to unemployment insurance, respectively.
In RS, employees contribute 18.5% for social security, 0.6% for unemployment insurance, and 1.7% for child protection. There are no employer social security contributions in RS.
Why G-P?
At G-P, we help companies unlock the power of the everywhere workforce through our industry-leading global employment platform. Let us handle the complex and costly tasks involved in finding, hiring, onboarding, and paying your team members, anywhere in the world, with the speed and guaranteed global compliance your business needs.
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