Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in in the Balkans in the south-east of Europe and is inoffically also known as Bosnia. The name comes from the Indo-European word meaning water as there are many waterfalls throughout the country. The capital is Sarajevo and the country has a population of 3.3 million. The official languages are Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. It gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to the last jungle in Europe with many tress being over 300 years old. The country has the 10th highest coffee consumption in the world.
Bosnians prefer to do business with people they know so be prepared to invest some time to build up a business relationship. Be patient as when it comes to decisions, be aware that these are made from the top down and may take some time. Also dress formally when meeting with Bosnians as you will be judged on how you dress. Always be on time for business meetings.
Convertible Mark
The cost for an employer to hire someone in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a plus of 10.50% to the gross salary.
Regular employees are paid monthly.
Commissions, incentives, and bonuses are variable and will be agreed upon directly with the employer.
The official public holidays in Bosnia and Herzegovina are supplemented by religious holidays that are non-working days in the respective communities.
January 1st and 2nd – New Years Day
January 6th – Epihphany
January 7th – Orthodox Christmas
January 9th – Republic Day
January 14th – New Years Day
March 1st – Independence Day
moveable – Easter Monday
moveable in April– Pesha
May 1st and 2nd – Labour Day
60 days after Easter – Corpus Christi
May 9th – Victory Day
August 15th / 28th – Assumption of Mary
November 1st – All Saint's Day
November 2nd – All Soul's Day
November 21st – Dayton Agreement Day
November 25th – Statehood Day
December 25th and 26th – Christmas
Eid ul-Adha – Islamic religious holiday for 4 days
Eid ul-Fitr – Islamic religious holiday for 3 days
Prophets Anniversary and Islamic New Year
Office hours are from 8:00am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday.
A regular work week is 40 hours.
In the case of increased workload, employee's are expected to work overtime which is a maximum of 10 hours a week in RS and 8 hours a week in FBiH.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, employees are entitled to a minimum of 20 days vacation a year and a maximum of 30 days.
When an employee falls ill in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he/she is entitled to 5 days of paid leave if the employee is with the RS and 7 days if the employee is with the FBiH.
Employment contracts can be terminated for various reasons including lack of technical skill, misconduct or on an economic basis. The notice period cannot be shorter than 30 days. A written notice must be given and the notice period starts upon delivery.
After 2 years of employment, an employee is entitled to severance pay. This is either determined by collective agreement or employment contract but it cannot be less than one-third of the monthly salary for each year of work with the employer.
Since the separation from Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina has implemented their own healthcare system. It is mandatory for everyone Bosnia and Herzegovina to have healthcare coverage. The insurance is mainly financed by the people. It is split into 2 parts – the Federation of Bosnia (FBiH) and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska (RS).
In the Federation there are 13 subsystems that provide 3 different levels of healthcare. Of the 13 sub systems, there are 10 cantonal health systems and one federal. Each canton is responsible for paying the healthcare of its citizens. Republika Srpska has more centralized healthcare system. It, like the federation, funds its healthcare through contributions by the people.