Employment in Croatia at a glance
Capital
Zagreb
Language
Croatian
Remote workers
77,490
Currency
€ Euro (EUR)
Working hours
40 hours per week
Public holidays
14 days per year
Minimum wage
1,050 per month
Tax year
Jan 1 - Dec 31
Date format
DD/MM/YYYY
Misclassification penalties
€2,654.14 per misclassified employee plus the possibility of having the business premises, devices, and equipment for work sealed by the labour inspector.
Fun fact
The number of Croatians living in their home country is close to the number of expatriates — 4.2 million.
Taxes in Croatia
Employer contributions
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Employer tax: 0%
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Social security contributions: 16.5%
Employee contributions
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Income tax: Progressive system: ~15–23% (lower band), ~25–33% (higher band)
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Social security contributions: 20% (pension)
Income tax
Gross income: Up to EUR 60,000
Tax rate: 20%
Gross income: Over EUR 60,000
Tax rate: 30%
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Use our calculator to understand what are all the employment costs you have to consider in Croatia.
Employer of Record in Croatia
What is an EOR?
An Employer of Record acts as the legal employer in a country where the company isn’t registered as an employer. However, in Croatia, the employment model requires a temp agency license. The temp agency takes care of all Croatia compliance aspects of employment, including payroll, taxes, statutory benefits, employment contracts and more.
EOR responsibilities
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Ensuring their employment is compliant with local employment laws
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Processing local payroll
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Filing employment related taxes and returns
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Issuing payslips to the employee
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Distributing salary payments
How it works
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Company
Maintains a direct relationship with the employee, allocates them work tasks, and manages their performance.
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Boundless
Takes care of payroll, taxes, benefits, ensuring the employee and the company are compliant with all legal regulations.
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Employee
Signs an employment agreement with Boundless and fulfils all of their obligations as a worker for the company.
Benefits in Croatia
Statutory benefits in Croatia
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Pension
The Croatian pension system is divided into three pillars. For the first two pillars, contributions are mandatory by employees. Employers’ contributions are optional and fall under the third pillar of the system.
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Health insurance
Croatia provides basic mandatory health insurance to all of its residents, funded through social security contributions by employers.
Common non-mandatory benefits in Croatia
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Meal
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Public transportation allowance
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Supplementary pension
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Supplementary health insurance
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Life insurance
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Cash bonus
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Flexible working hours
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Wellness
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Stock options
Rights & protections in Croatia
Written employment contract
Training
Union membership
Work flexibility
Whistleblower protection
Protection from discrimination
Protection from harassment
Data protection
Pregnancy rights
Pay transparency
Leave in Croatia
Paid time off
20 days + public holidays
Sick leave
18 months. First 42 days are paid by the employer, the rest by Croatian Health Insurance Fund (“Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje or HZZO”) at a rate between 70% and 100%. The rate could be determined by a collective or employment agreement
Maternity leave
98 days + extra time until the child turns 6 months
Paternity leave
15 days
Parental leave
4 months per child per parent for the first two children, increased to 15 months per child for subsequent children or twins
Employment conditions in Croatia
Probation
Probationary periods can last a maximum of six months, with a notice period of at least seven days during the probationary period.
Intellectual property
Employees must inform their employers about their inventions at work or related to work. If the creation is connected to the employer’s economic activity, the employee must notify the employer of the invention. They can make a written offer to the employer to assign the invention rights to them. The employer must respond to the employee’s request within one month.
Payments in Croatia
Payment frequency
Salaries are paid on a monthly basis.
Payday
Salaries must be paid no later than the 15th of the following month.
End of employment in Croatia
Permanent employment contract termination requires a justified reason, except in situations of gross employee misconduct.
Employers must present employees with a written notice of dismissal, explaining the reasons for the employment termination, and respect the appropriate notice, which varies from two weeks to three months, depending on the length of service.
Upon termination, employers must de-register employees with the Tax and Insurance Authorities and pay employees any salaries and severance that are due and for unused holidays.
Severance pay varies based on the duration of employment and requires at least two years of service. For every year of work, employees are entitled to a minimum of 1/3 of their average monthly salary in the last three months before termination, capped at six months of salary.
FAQs
Companies hiring in Croatia generally consider four approaches. You can run payroll from your HQ for short-term cases, engage contractors for project-based work, set up a local entity to hire directly, or partner with a temp agency licence holder. EOR is not a permitted model in Croatia; Boundless holds the required temp agency licence to employ staff compliantly without setting up a local entity.
Contractors work well when the relationship is project-based and the person serves multiple clients. If an individual gives their full and undivided attention to your company in Croatia, employment is the right structure under Croatian law, covering entitlements like paid annual leave, sick leave, and pension contributions. For project-based contractor engagements, Boundless’s Agent of Record (AOR) service handles classification, contracts, and payments compliantly in Croatia.
HR compliance in Croatia means your policies and procedures respect all applicable Croatian employment laws and regulations. When you hire in Croatia, this matters both to safeguard employee rights and to reduce employer risk. Compliance covers labour law, sick leave (up to 18 months), annual leave (20 days), minimum wage (€1,050/month), tax credits, and a 40-hour working week. Following these is fundamental for running the business well.
Employing in Croatia involves statutory contributions on top of gross salary. Croatian employers contribute to social security, which covers work accident insurance, pension, and family and maternity benefits. They also make mandatory contributions to the Chamber of Commerce. To view the exact percentages and amounts for the salary you plan to offer, you can use the calculator tool.
EOR isn’t a permitted model in Croatia; a temp agency licence is required, and Boundless holds one. We are the legal employer of the individual for government, tax, and employment purposes, providing a locally compliant contract, running payroll, filing employment taxes, and administering statutory benefits such as 98 days of maternity leave and 20 days of annual leave. You manage day-to-day work and fund payroll each cycle.
Boundless partners with employment lawyers and advisers in each country we operate in, including Croatia. They ensure employment contracts and onboarding documents comply with the local jurisdiction. We hold detailed discussions on specific norms such as payroll, social protection, data protection, notice periods, and work-from-home regulations. When a sensitive issue arises, our internal team engages the relevant firm promptly.
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