Basic Facts

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.

Capital :
Pristina
Currency :
Euro (EUR, €)
Languages spoken :
Albanian and Serbian
Population :
1.81 million (2021 est.)
Minimum wage 2023 :
€250 per month
Cost of Living index :
$ (134 of 139 countries)
Payroll Frequency :
Monthly
VAT - standard rate :
18%
GDP - real growth rate :
9.1% (2021 est.)

Statutory Holidays

The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2024.

Date
Holiday Name
Extra Information
January 1-2
New Year’s Holidays
January 7 & 8
Orthodox Christmas Day
Movable, as per Orthodox Calendar
February 17 & 19
Independence Day
April 1
Catholic Easter Monday
Movable, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon
April 9
Constitution Day
April 10
Eid-al-Fitr
Movable, As per Islamic Calendar
May 1
Labor Day
May 6
Orthodox Easter Monday
Movable, as per Orthodox Calendar
May 9
Europe Day
June 16 & 17
Eid-al-Adha
Movable, as per Islamic Calendar
December 25
Christmas

Contract Sharing Time


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.

What You Need To Know


  • It is possible to terminate the employment contract during the probation period by giving a notice period of seven days.
  • Severance pay is only paid in cases of collective dismissals. There is no severance pay for individual dismissals.
  • Employees get up to 12 months of maternity leave.

Labor Conditions


Working Hours

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.

 

Overtime

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.

 

Probation Period

The probation period cannot last more than six months.

 

 

Termination Notice Period

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.

Leave / Time Off

Annual Leave

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.

Sick Leave

An employee is entitled to compensation for ordinary sick leave up to 20 working days in one year with 100% salary compensation.

Parental Leave

Absence from Work due to Special Care for the Child

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.

 

Maternity Leave

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.

 

Paternity Leave

The father of the child has the right to:

  • Two days of paid leave at the birth or upon adoption of the child;
  • Two weeks of unpaid leave after the birth or upon adoption of the child, at any time before the child reaches the age of three.

The employee must inform the employer of the intention to take leave at least 10 days in advance. 

Other Types of Paid Leave

 

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

Unpaid Leave

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.

Statutory Benefits

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%

Health Insurance

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.

Other Insurances

Accident Insurance

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.

 

Unemployment Insurance

The social protection system does not yet have unemployment insurance.

Public Pension

The pension is paid from the age of 65.

Its amount depends on:

  • Contributions paid into the insured person’s individual savings account;
  • And since January 2016, the level of education attained.

Other Statutory Benefits

Invalidity Pension

Any person may receive an invalidity pension if they are:

  • Between the ages of 18 and 65;
  • A Citizen of the Republic of Kosovo;
  • Considered by the Medical Commission to be permanently incapacitated for work (100% invalid) or recognized as war invalid.

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.

Survivors’ 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 spouse who has not remarried;
  • Children under the age of 18 or 26 if they are still studying.

The amount of the pension is equal to €75 plus 20% per dependent child.

Disclaimer

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.

Information provided in this Country Guide is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. WorkMotion Software GmbH periodically adds, changes, improves, updates, or removes information without notice, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the contents of this Country Guide. This Country Guide may contain links to other websites. WorkMotion Software GmbH disclaims all liability for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.