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🇧🇬Complete Bulgaria hiring guide

Hiring in Bulgaria through an EOR (2026)

Here's what you need to know before you hire in Bulgaria: what it really costs an employer, the employment laws that shape the contract, and how an Employer of Record lets you hire compliantly without opening a local entity. Every figure below is sourced and dated.

18.9%Employer cost on top
€620Minimum wage / mo
Days, not monthsTime to hire via EOR
Robbin Schuchmann
Written by:
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Last updated: February 23, 2026

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Bulgaria's employer social security rate sits at 18.92% of gross salary, which is one of the lower burdens in the EU. You get access to a labour force of just over 3 million people, a corporate tax rate of just 10%, and a monthly minimum wage of 620.2 EUR as of 2026. That combination makes Bulgaria genuinely cost-competitive for foreign companies hiring through an Employer of Record (EOR).

The employment framework is structured but not unusually heavy. The statutory work week is 40 hours, the retirement age is 63.4, and unemployment sits at 3.5%, meaning the talent pool is fairly tight in some specialisms. An EOR handles Bulgarian payroll registration, social contributions, and compliance so you can hire without setting up a local entity.

Bulgaria at a glance

The statutory facts that drive a hire in Bulgaria. Each row shows where the figure comes from and how current it is, so you can trust the number and check it yourself.

Pay & working time

Minimum wageper month€620CurrentEurostat · 2026
Statutory work week40 hours/weekCurrentStatutory working time (national labour law) · 2024
13th-month salarynoneCurrentNational government · 2026

Employer cost & tax

Employer social securityof gross salary18.9%DatedISSA Country Profiles · 2024
Employee social securitywithheld from pay13.8%DatedISSA Country Profiles · 2024
Corporate tax rate10%AgingOECD · 2025

Termination

Notice period4.3 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Employing Workers / B-READY · 2019
Severance pay4.3 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Employing Workers / B-READY · 2019

Leave & time off

Public holidays15 daysCurrentNager.Date (open public-holiday dataset) · 2026
Maternity leave58.6 weeksDatedOECD Family Database · 2024
Paternity leave2.1 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Women, Business and the Law · 2026
Parental leave51.9 weeksDatedOECD Family Database · 2024

Labour market

Retirement age63DatedOECD Pensions at a Glance · 2024
Unemployment rate3.6%AgingOECD · 2025
GDP per capita$17,596DatedWorld Bank Open Data · 2024

What it costs to hire in Bulgaria

Salary is only part of the bill. On top of gross pay you owe employer social security and statutory contributions. Here's what an example salary of $18,000 a year actually costs you as the employer.

Gross annual salary$18,000
Employer contributions≈ 18.9% of gross+ $3,406
Total employment cost$21,406
Your EOR handles the filings

Illustrative, based on the employer social-security rate above. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of this total and runs the income-tax withholding and statutory filings, which are withheld from the employee's pay, not paid by you.

On top of every employee's gross salary, you pay 18.92% in employer social security contributions. That single percentage is the main driver of your total employer cost in Bulgaria. There are no itemised breakdowns in the current data record beyond that headline rate, but it covers pension, health, and other statutory social insurance funds as required under Bulgarian law.

Employer contributions
Social security18.9%
Employee contributions
Social security13.8%

Employment-law essentials

The rules an EOR enforces in your contracts, and the ones most likely to trip you up if you tried to hire in Bulgaria on your own.

Working time
Statutory work week40 hours/week
Pay & 13th salary
Minimum wage€620
13th-month salarynone
Leave
Public holidays15 days
Maternity leave58.6 weeks
Paternity leave2.1 weeks
Termination
Notice period4.3 weeks
Severance pay4.3 weeks

Statutory minimums shown. Collective agreements or contracts can be more generous; an EOR applies whichever is correct for the role.

Things to watch in Bulgaria

A few specifics are worth keeping in mind before you hire your first Bulgarian employee.

  • Maternity leave is long. At 58.6 weeks, it is among the most generous in Europe. Plan your team cover accordingly, because the entitlement is statutory and non-negotiable.
  • Parental leave adds more time. Beyond maternity leave, parental leave extends to 51.9 weeks. Back-to-back, these absences can run well over two years for a single employee.
  • Notice and severance are modest but fixed. Both sit at around 4.3 weeks, so offboarding costs are relatively predictable, but you cannot contract below the statutory floor.
  • Employee-side contributions are not trivial. Your employees contribute 13.78% of gross in social security. That affects net take-home and can influence salary expectations when you benchmark against local market rates.

EOR vs. opening your own entity in Bulgaria

Use an EOR when…
You're hiring one to a handful of people in Bulgaria.
You want someone working in weeks, not months.
You'd rather not own local payroll, tax and compliance.
You're testing the market before committing.
Open your own entity when…
You're scaling to a large local team long-term.
Per-employee EOR fees outweigh the cost of an entity.
You need full control of local employment and IP.

Choosing an EOR for Bulgaria

Providers with strong Bulgaria coverage onboard faster and carry less risk. A shortlist to start from:

Compare all EOR providers in Bulgaria

Common questions about hiring in Bulgaria

Common questions about hiring in Bulgaria through an EOR.

Do I need a legal entity to hire someone in Bulgaria? +
No. An Employer of Record (EOR) already has a legal entity in Bulgaria and employs the person on your behalf, so you can hire compliantly without opening your own entity. You manage the day-to-day work; the EOR handles the local contract, payroll, taxes and statutory benefits.
How much does it cost to employ someone in Bulgaria? +
On top of gross salary, employers in Bulgaria contribute roughly 18.9% in social security and statutory costs. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of that total employment cost.
What is the minimum wage in Bulgaria? +
The statutory minimum wage in Bulgaria is €620. Pay below this is not permitted, and an EOR will hold contracts to at least this floor.
How hard is it to terminate an employee in Bulgaria? +
Ending employment in Bulgaria generally requires a notice period of around 4.3 weeks and severance of about 4.3 weeks, subject to the reason for termination and the employee's tenure. An EOR runs the offboarding in line with local law to limit your risk.
About the author
Robbin Schuchmann
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Robbin is the co-founder of EOR Overview, an independent research site for Employer of Record services. He has been in the international hiring space for over a decade.
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