Albania is a southern European country located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. It extends over an area of 28,703 km2. About half of the economically active population is employed in agriculture, which contributes about one-fifth of Albania’s GDP. Greece, Germany, and Turkey are Albania’s biggest foreign investors, providing about three-fourths of its external investment.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Albania.
Capital : Tirana | Currency : Albanian Lek (ALL, L) | Languages spoken : Albanian |
Population : 2.84 million (2020 est.) | Minimum wage 2023 : ALL 40,000 (monthly) | Cost of Living index : $$ (99 of 139 nations) |
Payroll Frequency : Monthly | VAT - standard rate : 20% | GDP - real growth rate : -4% (2020 est.) |
The holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2023.
When the official holiday day is on a weekly rest day (Saturday or Sunday), the holiday is postponed to the next working day (Monday or Tuesday).
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Albania is 7 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
The working time cannot exceed eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. The daily break is at least 11 consecutive hours within the day or within two consecutive days in case of need. The weekly break is at least 36 hours, within which 24 hours are without interruption.
Every hour worked over the eight-hour limit per day or 40-hour limit per week is considered an additional hour of work. The amount of overtime pay depends on what day the overtime takes place as follows:
Overtime is compensated with a 25% surcharge on working days, or 50% on rest days, or compensatory time off.
For fixed-term contracts, the parties should provide in writing for a probationary period not exceeding three months. For indefinite contracts, the first three months of work are considered a probationary period, unless the parties have entered into a contract for the performance of the same work.
Termination notice periods in Albania depend on the contract stage and employment length as follows:
| Contract Stage | Employment Length | Employer Notice Period |
| During probation | Up to 3 months | 5 days |
| After Probation | Up to 6 months | 2 weeks |
| More than 6 months and up to 2 years | 1 month | |
| More than 2 years and up to 5 years | 2 months | |
| More than 5 years | 3 months |
The duration of annual leave is at least four calendar weeks during the current working year. The salary paid for the annual leave is what the employee would have benefited from even if they did not take the leave.
Employees are entitled to employer-paid sick leave of 14 days with at least 80% of their salary. From the 15th day, the social insurance scheme pays for sickness benefits for up to six months. The employee certifies their inability to work through a medical report issued by the doctor.
The employee, who has more than one year of uninterrupted work with the same employer, is entitled to an unpaid leave of at least four months until the child reaches six years of age.
Pregnant employees are entitled to a compulsory maternity leave of 35 days before childbirth and 63 days after childbirth. In case of multiple births, the pregnant employee is entitled to a compulsory leave of 60 days before childbirth and 63 days after childbirth. For the birth of one child, the maternity benefit period is up to 365 calendar days, including a minimum of 35 days before childbirth and 63 days after childbirth. The benefit is paid by social security.
In the case of childbirth, the spouse or cohabitant benefits from three days of paid leave from the employer.
The mother, who adopts a child up to one year of age and who has been insured for at least 12 months, is entitled to a postpartum leave from the day of adoption for a minimum of 28 days. The leave is paid by social security.
In the case of a marriage, the employee benefits from five days of paid leave from the employer.
In the case of the death of the employee’s spouse, cohabitant, ancestors, or direct descendants, they benefit from five days of paid leave from the employer
An employee who is absent from work due to fulfillment of a legal obligation is entitled to a paid leave of up to 14 working days by the employer.
In case of serious illness of family members, cohabitants, ancestors, or direct descendants certified by a medical report, the employee benefits from a maximum of 30 days of unpaid leave.
The Albanian social protection system consists of contribution-based social security benefits and tax-financed social assistance and services. The Social Insurance Institute (Instituti i Sigurimeve Shoqerore, ISSH) is responsible for the administration of old-age, disability, and survivors’ pensions, employment injury benefits, sickness benefits, and maternity benefits.
Employers contribute a total of 16.7% to social insurance, while employees contribute 11.2%. The detailed breakdown is as follows:
| Benefits | Employer Contributions | Employee Contributions |
| Pension (Pension) | 12.8% | 7.8% |
| Sickness (Sëmundje) and Maternity (Barrëlindje) | 1% | 1.7% |
| Health insurance (Fondi i Sigurimit të Detyrueshëm të Kujdesit Shëndetësor, FSDKSH) | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| Accidents at work and occupational diseases (Aksident në punë e sëmundje professional) | 0.3% | – |
| Unemployment (Papunësinë) | 0.9% | – |
| Total | 16.7% | 11.2% |
Employers and employees each contribute 1.7% to health insurance.
The compulsory health insurance finances benefits such as:
Employers contribute 0.3% to accident insurance.
Employment injury benefits are payable to insured workers who suffer work accidents or occupational diseases, including:
Only employers contribute 0.9% to unemployment insurance. Unemployment benefits are payable to unemployed workers who have contributed at least 12 months prior to unemployment.
The employer contributes 12.8% to the pension, while employees contribute 7.8%. The pension system in Albania is largely based on three main schemes – statutory, supplementary, and personal.
The retirement age is being gradually raised to 67 years old for both men and women by 2056; while the required insurance period for claiming an old-age pension is extended to 40 years by 2032. The current retirement age is 65 years of age (for men) and 61 years and 4 months (for women).
The social pension is a benefit given to every Albanian citizen who has reached the age of 70 or permanent resident residing in Albania for at least the last five years, and does not meet the conditions for any type of pension from the compulsory social insurance scheme and has no income that benefits from any other source. The benefit is financed by the State.
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