Minimum Wage

General

The minimum wage in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is BAM 590.00 per month.

Payroll

Payroll Cycle

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the payroll cycle is generally monthly.

13th Salary

There is no statutory requirement to provide a 13th salary.

Working Hours

General

The standard workweek is limited to 40 hours per week, with the working week lasting five days (Monday-Friday).

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a woman working full working hours after having used her maternity leave shall be entitled to be absent from work twice daily for a duration of one hour each time for the purpose of nursing the child, until the child reaches one year of age.

In the Republic of Srpska, if a woman starts work before the expiry of the whole maternity leave period (12 or 18 months, respectively), she shall be entitled to additional 60 minutes of breaks during working hours in order to breastfeed the child.

In the District of Brcko, a woman who after maternity leave works her normal hours of work shall be entitled to be absent from work for one hour twice a day to breastfeed the child, counted as normal hours of work until the child reaches one year of age.

Overtime

All work exceeding the standard working hours a week is to be paid as overtime and is regulated by employment contract/collective agreements. When an employee is requested to work overtime or work on holidays, there is a maximum number of hours allowed. The maximum differs per region as below:

• Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A pregnant woman, mother, or an adoptive parent with a child of up to three years of age, or a self-sustaining parent or adoptive parent with a child of up to six years of age, may work overtime if s/he provides a written statement of voluntary consent to such work.
• Republic of Srpska: No overtime work shall be ordered for pregnant women, a mother of a child of up to three years of age and single parents or single adoptive parent of a child under six years of age. Exceptionally, these employees may work overtime if he/she provides a written statement of his/her voluntary consent to do it.
• District of Brsko: A pregnant women, a mother, or an adoptive parent with a child of up to one year of age, or a single parent or single adoptive parent with a child of up to two years of age may work overtime if he/she agrees in writing of his/her own free will to such hours of work.

Working Week

Monday-Friday

Leave

Paid Time Off

Employees are entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave and no more than 30 days, as stipulated in the employment contract and labor law.

Public Holidays

There are 22 public holidays.

Sick Days

Employees are generally entitled to five paid sick days per year.

Maternity Leave

Female employees are generally entitled to up to twelve months of maternity leave with a minimum number of days as below:

• In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a woman may not take shorter maternity leave than 42 days following the birth of the child.
• In the Republic of Srpska, a woman may not start work before 60 days have expired after childbirth.
• In the District of Brcko, a woman may have 7 days before the presumed date of confinement and 42 days after childbirth.

Following completion of the maternity leave, she may work half-time until her children are 2 years old, or the father may work half-time instead if the mother returns to full-time work.  The employee is entitled to maternity pay under labor law, with a salary of between 50-80% of their regular wage, dependent upon the various cantonal regulations of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Republika Srpska and the District of Brcko, the employee is also entitled to an additional 6 months of leave if she has twins or for every child from her third child on and is entitled to 100% of her regular salary compensation.

Paternity Leave

In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a father is entitled to an unpaid leave of up to seven working days in one calendar year, and in the Republic of Srpska/ District of Brsko, it is up to three working days within one calendar year.

Parental Leave

There is no other parental leave in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Termination

Termination Process

Employers can terminate a fix term contract by giving the following reasons – business, personal, or worker misconduct. It requires notice and a written explanation for the termination. If the reason is misconduct, a warning needs to be given, and the employee gets a chance to explain their actions.
Before the termination for misconduct, an employee must receive one written and two verbal warnings. If another violation is made within 12 months of the third warning, the employer can dismiss an employee without notice or severance pay.

Notice Period

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, employees are required to give a minimum of seven days’ notice, and a maximum of 30 days’ notice. Employers are required to give a minimum notice period of 14 days, and a maximum of 3 months’ notice.

Severance Pay

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, an employee who has worked for at least two years is generally entitled to a severance payment, the amount of which is usually fixed in the collective agreement. In addition, the payment may not be less than 1/3rd of the employee’s average monthly salary for each year of employment or more than 6 average salaries.

Probation Period

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, probationary periods must be no longer than six months.

VISA

VISA

A short-stay visa is issued to a foreign citizen who wants to visit Bosnia for 90 days within any 180 days period. This visa is issued for one, two, or multiple entries.  You can get a Bosnian short-stay visa for the following purposes:

• Tourism
• Business meetings
• Medical treatment
• Family visits
• Political events
• Sports events.
• Educational training, etc

With a short stay visa you cannot apply for a temporary residence permit.

A long-stay visa is issued to a foreign citizen who wants to stay in Bosnia for six to twelve months. This visa is issued with one, two, or multiple entries. A long-stay visa is issued for the following purposes:

• Work
• Study
• Medical treatment
• Business
• Family reunion
• Research work, etc

If a longer stay than one year in Bosnia is required a long-stay visa must be applied together with a temporary residence permit.

VAT

General

The standard VAT rate is 17%, and the VAT regime applies equally throughout the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There is no reduced VAT rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina.