Leave in Serbia

Every employee is entitled to at least 20 working days of paid annual leave per calendar year. For leave purposes, the working week is counted as five days, and public holidays, paid leave, and sick leave do not reduce the entitlement. Employers may increase the minimum through the general act or employment contract based on factors such as length of service, qualifications, and working conditions.

• First year: Employees joining or leaving during the year receive 1/12 of the annual entitlement for each month worked.
• Splitting and carry-over: Leave may be taken in one or more parts. If split, the first part must be at least two continuous working weeks, with the remainder used by 30 June of the following year.
• Scheduling: The employer must issue a written leave decision at least 15 days before leave starts.
• Pay during leave: Employees receive their average salary from the previous 12 months, plus the mandatory annual leave bonus (regres) covered in Payments.

Employees are entitled to paid leave of up to five working days per calendar year for marriage, the birth of a child (the father), or serious illness of a close family member. The allocation between these events is set by the employer’s general act or employment contract.

In addition, employees receive:

• 5 working days for the death of a close family member
• 2 consecutive days for each voluntary blood donation, counting the donation day

• First 30 days: The employer pays at least 65% of the employee’s 12-month average salary for illness or injury outside work, and 100% for a work injury or occupational disease. In both cases, compensation cannot fall below the minimum wage.
• From day 31: The Republic Health Insurance Fund (RFZO) takes over funding at the same statutory rates. Pregnancy-related sick leave is paid at 100%, funded partly by RFZO and partly by the state budget.

Sick leave is certified electronically through the e-Bolovanje system, mandatory from 1 January 2026, replacing the previous paper sick-note submission process.

Sick leave is certified by the employee’s chosen doctor.

Maternity leave (porodiljsko odsustvo) and childcare leave (odsustvo radi nege deteta) run consecutively as one protected period:

• Total duration: One year for the first and second child; two years for the third and every subsequent child. Maternity leave can start as early as 45 days before birth but no later than 28 days before the expected due date.
• Compensation: 100% of a base calculated as the sum of the contribution bases for the 18 months before the leave, divided by 18. The monthly amount is capped at five average monthly salaries and, during maternity leave itself, cannot fall below the minimum wage.
• Payment: The employer pays the compensation and is reimbursed by the state.
• Job protection: Dismissal is prohibited during pregnancy, maternity and childcare leave, and a fixed-term contract should extends to the end of the leave.

Fathers can take paid days at the birth from the personal-leave pool described above. For the leave itself, the law splits the entitlement in two portions: the first three months after labour, which is only allowed to be taken by the mother and the childcare-leave portion, which startsthree months after the birth and continues until the end of the total period, which may be used by the father instead of the mother. The only exception for a transfer of the 3-month maternity-leave portion to the father is if the mother abandons the child, dies, is prevented from using the right (serious illness, imprisonment), or is not in employment.

Special childcare leave is available for a child needing special care, and foster parents and guardians have their own leave rights under the financial-support legislation.

• Unpaid leave can be agreed between employer and employee, with employment rights suspended during it.
• Leave for education and professional exams is typically regulated by the employer’s general act.