Croatia

Overview of Croatia

Croatia lies in the south eastern corner of Europe and has a very long drawn coastline. Its capital is Zagreb. On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the 28th Member State of the EU. Croatia has the highest number of UNESCO Intangible Goods in Europe together with Spain. Croatians have their alphabet – the Glagolitic alphabet. Over 78% of the Croatians speak another language other than their native tongue which is croatian. The population of Croatia is 4.05 million and there are almost more croatians living outisde of Croatia than in the country. Croatia is the home of the necktie. Croatia is also famous for having been the location where Star Wars and Game of Thrones was filmed.

Maintain a professional approach when doing business with Croatians. They are very friendly and lively but it takes a few meetings for Croatians to trust someone else. Always be on time for a meeting. Dress well for business as this is also a sign of respect towards your business partners. Bribery is used by both local and foreign businesses to cut through red-tape as the legal system has over a million back-logged cases.

Currency of Croatia

• Croatian Kuna

Health Insurance and the Social Security system of Croatia

Croatia provides comprehensive medical care where everybody is required to pay into the state health insurance system. The main source of the Croatian Health insurance fund (CHIF) is the mandatory health insurance that employees and employers pay.

Patients must pay forward the costs for many services but then get reimbursed. Many hospitals and doctors only accept cash.

Employer cost of Croatia

The cost for an employer to hire someone in Croatia is a plus of 16.50% to the gross salary.

Salary and bonuses of Croatia

Regular employees are paid monthly.

A Christmas bonus is common.

Commissions, incentives, and bonuses are variable and will be agreed upon directly with the employer.

Public Holidays in Croatia

• January 1^st – New Year’s Day
• January 6^th – Epiphany
• February 15^th and 16^th – Statehood day
• moveable – Easter (Easter Sunday and Easter Monday)
• May 1^st – Labour Day
• May 30^th – National Day
• moveable – Corpus Christi
• June 22^nd – Antifascist Struggle Day
• August 5^th – Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day
• August 15^th – Assumption of Mary
• November 1^st – All Saint’s Day
• November 18^th – Remembrance Day
• December 25^th – Christmas
• December 26^th – St. Stephan’s Day

Working Hours in Croatia

Office hours are from 8:00am to 7:00pm, Monday to Friday.

A regular work week is 40 hours however it can be extended to 50 per contract.

Overtime cannot be more than 180 hours per year unless agreed to in a collective agreement, in which case the maximum is 250 hours. Overtime must be paid at a higher rate but the government does not specify how much higher.

Vacation in Croatia

Croatians are entitled to a minimum of 20 days (4 weeks) of annual leave.

Sick Leave in Croatia

When one falls sick in Croatia, sick leave is paid for the first 42 days by the employer. The amount the employee receives cannot be less than 70% of the employee’s regular wage and depends on collective agreements. After 42 days, the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) reimburses the employer the sick pay.

Termination/Severance in Croatia

When terminating an employee in Croatia, notice and a written explanation for the termination is required. The reasons for a termination can be business, personal or a workers misconduct.

The notice period is as follows:

• 2 weeks for employees with a year of service
• 6 weeks for employees with two years of service
• 8 weeks for employees with five years of service
• 10 weeks for employees with 10 years of service
• 12 weeks for employees with over 20 years of service

For employee that is over 50, one adds another 2 weeks and for an employee over 55, one adds another 4 weeks.

After one has been with the company for over 2 years, one is eligible for severance pay. Minimum severance pay is one-third of the regular monthly pay per year of service with the company.