Work conditions in Serbia

The Active Population in Figures

Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration

40 hours. A reduction of working hours may be signed between the employer and the employees with a minimum of 36 hours a week.

Retirement Age

65 for men and 60 for women, provided they have worked for 15 years.
63 for men and 58 for women, provided they have worked for 20 years.
53, provided men have worked for 40 years and women for 35 years.

Working Contracts

The employer is obliged to sign a collective agreement, unless there is no representative Union or, temporarily, if there is no agreement about the collective agreement within 60 days following the start of negotiations. In both these cases, the employer must draw up a book of rules, which must conform to the contracts and to the Law.

Any person over 15 and in good general health can be employed. The work contract may be fixed-term, for a year maximum, or open-ended. A work contract may be drawn up for part-time work, and in that case social security contributions are calculated proportionally to the time worked. It is possible to employ trainees, for a year maximum.

The law concerning work has greatly evolved over the last five years. Measures have been taken to make the labor market more flexible; up to now it had mostly favored employees : now hiring and firing have been made easier, maternity leave shortened. Amendments to labor law are expected in the coming months.

Labour Laws

Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labor regulations that apply to local entreprises.

Cost of Labour

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is around RSD 43,100 (EUR 366.04) per month in 2021 according to Eurostat.

Average Wage

In 2021, the average monthly gross earnings in Serbia is RSD 87,058 (EUR 739.58) according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.

Social Contributions

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers: 16.65% (pension and disability insurance: 11.5% and health insurance: 5.15%).
Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees: 19.9% (pension and disability insurance: 14%; health insurance: 5.15%; and unemployment contributions: 0.75%).

Social Partners

Employer Associations

CEPB - Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of Bolivia
FEPT - Federation of Private Entrepreneurs of Tarija

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners

The Confederation of Serbian Autonomous Unions is the oldest Union.

Labour Unions

United unions: Nezavisnost

Unionisation Rate

Serbia has become the legal successor to the union of the States of Serbia-and-Montenegro, which ceased to exist in June 2006, when Montenegro voted its separation from Serbia after a fiercely disputed referendum. Dissension concerning the future of the Kosovo region intensified in October when the Albanian majority in Kosovo boycotted the Serbian referendum on the constitution and the future of the region.

The EU and NATO criticized Serbia for not having caught people suspected of war crimes. However, this did not stop Serbia being admitted to the NATO Partnership for Peace Program in December. Arrears of salary continue to be a serious problem and low wages have been behind mass demonstrations of police and railway employees.

Labour Regulation Bodies

The site of the Serbian Ministry of Labor (in Serbian)
The site of the ILO