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.
Croatian Kuna
The cost for an employer to hire someone in Croatia is a plus of 16.50% to the gross salary.
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.
January 1st – New Year’s Day
January 6th – Epiphany
February 15th and 16th – Statehood day
moveable – Easter (Easter Sunday and Easter Monday)
May 1st – Labour Day
May 30th – National Day
moveable – Corpus Christi
June 22nd – Antifascist Struggle Day
August 5th – Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day
August 15th – Assumption of Mary
November 1st – All Saint's Day
November 18th – Remembrance Day
December 25th – Christmas
December 26th – St. Stephan's Day
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.
Croatians are entitled to a minimum of 20 days (4 weeks) of annual leave.
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.
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.
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.