Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a partially recognized state in Southeast Europe. It lies at the center of the Balkans, occupying an area of 10,887 km2. Kosovo is bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west, and Montenegro to the northwest. The main economic sectors of Kosovo are agriculture, services, and imports.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Kosovo.
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Capital :
Pristina
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Currency :
Euro (EUR, €)
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Languages spoken :
Albanian and Serbian
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Population :
1.81 million (2021 est.)
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Minimum wage 2023 :
€250 per month
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Cost of Living index :
$ (134 of 139 countries)
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Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
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VAT - standard rate :
18%
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GDP - real growth rate :
9.1% (2021 est.)
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The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Kosovo is 14 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.
Full-time working hours are 40 hours per week. An employee working full-time working hours is entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes, which cannot be taken at the beginning or at the end of working hours. An employee working longer than four hours and less than six hours a day is entitled to a daily break of 15 minutes.
In extraordinary cases, with the increase of volume of work and other necessary cases, on request of the employer, an employee must work extended working hours (overtime) for a maximum of eight hours per week. An employee is entitled to 30% per hour for extended working hours.
The probation period cannot last more than six months.
Unilateral Termination of the Contract by the Employee
| Type of Employment Contract | Notice Period |
| Fixed-term employment contracts | 15 days |
| Indefinite term employment contracts | 30 days |
NOTE: An employee may cancel the employment contract without providing prior notice in a written form in cases where the employer is guilty of a breach of obligations under the employment contract.
Unilateral Termination of Indefinite Employment Contracts by the Employer
| Length of Service | Notice Period |
| From 6 months to 2 years of employment, | 30 calendar days |
| From 2 to 10 years of employment | 45 calendar days |
| Above 10 years of employment | 60 calendar days |
NOTE: The employer may also terminate an employment contract for a fixed term with 30 calendar days’ notice.
Both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to a paid annual leave for at least four weeks. The extension of annual leave is defined on the basis of work experience, whereby one day is added for every five years of service.
An employee performing tasks and duties which despite the application of protective measures contain their harmful effect is entitled to an annual leave of at least 30 working days for a calendar year.
Mothers with children up to three years of age and single parents, as well as persons with disabilities, are entitled to an additional two working days off.
An employee is entitled to compensation for ordinary sick leave up to 20 working days in one year with 100% salary compensation.
A child that requires special care due to poor health conditions and a child with permanent disabilities in the context of provisions of health insurance, respectively, enables one of the parents to work part-time, after the expiry of maternity leave, until the child becomes two years old.
An employed woman is entitled to 12 months of maternity leave.
Upon production of a medical certificate, the woman may commence the maternity leave up to 45 days before the expected date of birth. In the period from 28 days before expected childbirth, the employer with the consent of the pregnant woman may request her to begin the maternity leave if the employer finds that the woman is not able to perform her functions.
First six months of maternity leave, the employer pays compensation of 70% of the basic salary. In the following three months, the maternity leave must be paid by the Government of Kosovo with the compensation of 50% of the average salary.
The father of the child has the right to:
The employee must inform the employer of the intention to take leave at least 10 days in advance.
| Reason for Leave | Duration |
| Marriage | 5 days |
| Death of a close member of family | 5 days |
| Birth of a child | 3 days |
| Blood donation | 1 day |
An employer, at the request by the employee, may allow the employee to be absent from work without compensation of salary. During the period of unpaid absence, the employee must cease all their rights and duties from the employment relationship, apart from the rights deriving from due payment of contributions by the employee.
The current Kosovar social security system is comprised of Pension insurance (old age, invalidity, survivors). The mandatory minimum contribution is 10% divided equally between the employee and the employer. With the agreement of the two parties, a voluntary contribution of up to 30% (15% for the employee and 15% for the employer) can be deducted.
| Benefit | Employer Contribution |
| Pension Insurance | Between 5% and 15% |
There are currently no mandatory contributions toward health insurance.
The Health Insurance Act of 2014 introducing compulsory health coverage has not yet entered into force.
Benefits in kind are covered by public or private structures under the agreement.
Cash benefits were introduced by the Health Insurance Act of 2014 which recognizes work-related disabilities. This program is funded by the State and is not yet implemented in practice. Information on eligible levels of disability will be available in the by-laws.
The social protection system does not yet have unemployment insurance.
The pension is paid from the age of 65.
Its amount depends on:
Any person may receive an invalidity pension if they are:
The insured is considered disabled for a period of one, three, or five years. At the end of this period, the Commission re-examines the insured person and reassesses the disability in order to renew the payment of the pension.
The family of a deceased person who was entitled to an old-age or invalidity pension or was a pensioner receives a survivors’ pension.
Benefits from this service:
The amount of the pension is equal to €75 plus 20% per dependent child.
The information contained in this Country Guide is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. The contents of this Country Guide contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Country Guide without seeking the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content included in this Country Guide.
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