Expand your organization into Serbia, with or without a Serbian entity
Serbia is a diverse and vibrant country in Eastern Europe, and its economy has shown great promise in recent years. Many businesses choose to expand into the country in an effort to harness some of its potential.
However, any expansion into Serbia can take longer than expected, with a different language, cultural differences, and unique business regulations all presenting hurdles.
At Horizons, our extensive set of outsourcing services help businesses and organizations of all kinds expand into Serbia more efficiently. Our professional employer organization (PEO), payroll, and employ of record (EOR) services give you the ability to outsource your administration and legal compliance work so you can focus your efforts on a rapid and successful expansion.
Additionally, our dedicated in-house recruitment experts can help you to source, hire, and onboard new employees in Serbia. If you have not yet established an entity in the country, you can use our local subsidiary as employer of record, providing all the benefits of hiring talent in Serbia but without any of the associated administration.
We can reduce your expansion costs by thousands, speed up your growth, and give you more flexibility throughout the expansion process.
Our Serbia PEO simplifies your expansion
Horizons enables your business to expand its operations into Serbia without setting up a legal subsidiary.
Rapid Market Entry
Horizons will enable you to source, hire, and onboard professionals across Serbia in as little as 48 hours.
Cost-Effective Expansion
Our PEO solution can help you benefit from cost savings of up to 85%, without the need to establish a Serbian entity.
Payroll Outsourcing
Simplified Serbia salary & payroll processing, including social security payments, tax, and any other required contributions.
Employee Onboarding
Utilize the relevant provision for all types of Serbian labor contracts, whether a fixed-term or open-ended contract.
Onsite Legal & HR Team
Full support for Serbia-specific contract renewals, terminations, annual leave management, HR, and strategic guidance.
Ensure Full Compliance
We ensure that employment contracts are fully compliant and adhere to Serbia’s labor laws and best practices.
Hiring in Serbia: Employment law overview
📝 Employment contracts in Serbia
All employers must provide employees with contracts of employment in Serbia, as it is a legal requirement. Any contract must clearly state all relevant details of employment such as benefits, working hours, compensation, and so on. Salaries and wages need to be shown in the Serbian dinar, the local currency, and the contract should be written in Serbian
⏰ Working hours in Serbia
The normal working week in Serbia is 40 hours. Anything beyond this is generally considered overtime, which cannot exceed four hours in a day. Workers are also entitled to at least one one-day break per week
📅 Public holidays in Serbia
There are several nationally recognized public holidays in Serbia. Most workers receive the following holidays off work each year:
Date | Description | 1 Jan | New Year’s Day |
|---|---|
2 Jan | Second Day of New Year’s Day |
7 Jan | Orthodox Christmas Day |
14 Jan | Orthodox New Year |
27 Jan | Spirituality Day/St Sava’s Day |
15 Feb | Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia |
17 Feb | Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia (Day 2) |
20 Mar | March Equinox |
17 Apr | Orthodox Good Friday |
18 Apr | Orthodox Holy Saturday |
19 Apr | Orthodox Easter Day |
20 Apr | Orthodox Easter Monday |
22 Apr | Holocaust Remembrance Day |
1 May-2 May | Labor holiday |
9 May | Victory Day |
20 Jun | June Solstice |
28 Jun | St Vitus Day |
22 Sep | September Equinox |
21 Oct | World War II Victims Remembrance Day |
11 Nov | Armistice Day |
21 Dec | December Solstice |
31 Dec | New Year’s Eve |
🏖 Vacation leave in Serbia
Employees in Serbia are entitled to a minimum of four weeks (20 days) of paid vacation leave each year, and two weeks have to be taken in one block.
😷 Sick leave in Serbia
Employees in Serbia can have up to 30 days of paid sick leave from work. The leave is compensated at 65% of normal pay for non-work-related sickness, and at 100% for work-related sickness.
👶 Parental leave in Serbia
Female workers in Serbia are entitled to one year of maternity leave for their first two children, and two years for their third and fourth children. During their leave, employees cannot be terminated and receive their full average salary from the previous year of work (up to a maximum limit).
Male employees are entitled to seven days of paternity leave.
💰 Terminations and severance in Serbia
Employees in Serbia are generally entitled to between eight and 30 days of notice prior to termination, but the exact length depends on how long the employee has been with the company and the terms stated in the employment contract.
Employees may also be entitled to severance payments in some cases, which is linked to the employee’s salary and length of service.
🏦 Taxation in Serbia
Employees and employers in Serbia need to contribute a percentage of salaries to various social funds. For health insurance, they must contribute 6.15% each. For unemployment insurance, they must contribute 0.75% each. For pensions, employers and employees must contribute 17.9% and 19.9% respectively.
The income tax rate in Serbia is progressive, with employees paying a higher percentage of income as they earn more. The rates range from 10% to 20%
The corporate tax rate in Serbia is 15% for most companies.
🏥 Health coverage in Serbia
Public healthcare is financed via mandatory health insurance payments from both employers and employees. For this reason, employers do not need to provide private medical insurance, but some may choose to.
💳 Serbia compensations & benefits
Compensation laws in Serbia
As of January 2021, the minimum wage in Serbia is set at 32,126 dinars per month.
Benefit management in Serbia
Setting up your Serbian benefits system as a foreign employer can be a lengthy process, with many different laws and employee protections in place.
One effective solution is to outsource your Serbian benefits management to Horizons. We will get you set up and compliant as quickly as possible, so you can focus on a rapid and successful expansion.
Request a Proposal
Horizons will help you expand your business into Serbia more efficiently
Horizons’ Serbia employer of record, PEO, and payroll services can provide your business with everything necessary to begin trading in Serbia. With help from our experts, you could start operating in as little as 48 hours, and could save up to 82% in expansion costs, whether or not you already have an entity in Serbia.
Our team can take care of your business’ expenses, payroll, benefits, and legal compliance in Serbia, as well as all HR work. As the only global PEO with an in-house recruitment team, we can also find and recruit your local employees, utilizing our Serbian subsidiary to act as employer of record so you don’t need to establish a Serbian entity.
Get in touch to learn how our outsourcing services can help you to seamlessly expand into Serbia.
