Payroll and Benefits Guide Croatia

Annual Leave (vacation)

In accordance with Article 81 of the Labour Act (OF 93/14, 127/17, 98/19) employees are entitled to a minimum of four weeks (20 working days) of paid vacation each year following completion of six months of employment.

An employee is entitled to one-twelfth of the annual paid leave for each full month of service if:

• in the calendar year in which the employment is established, no entitlement to annual paid leave has been acquired because the work lasted less than six months
• employment has been terminated before the expiry of the six months of service
• the employment is terminated before 1 July or during the calendar year, the employee has been employed by several employers

During the annual paid leave, the employee is entitled to full compensation equal to the amount of the average salary that has been paid (including salary-in-kind) within the last three months prior to the time of the annual leave.
Minor employees and employees who are subject to harmful impacts (such as firemen, mine and explosive handlers, divers, etc.) are entitled to an increased annual paid leave of five weeks (25 days).

PTO carryover

In Croatia, unused statutory annual leave can be carried over into the next year but must be used by 30 June of the following year. Employers cannot cancel or forfeit statutory leave simply by year-end — unused days that can be carried over must be scheduled and taken before that legal deadline.

Note:

• For Eurofast, carry over allowed by law for one year.

Public Holidays

Public holidays that fall on the weekend are usually lost. Employees who are required to work on a public holiday are entitled to extra pay, which is typically negotiated in the bargaining agreement.

Sick Days

An employee receives up to 42 days of sick leave per year and is paid by the employer at the rate of 70% of the regular salary. Any sickness exceeding 42 days is paid by the employer and reimbursed by Croatia’s health insurance fund (HZZO).

Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees are entitled to:
28 days of paid maternity leave before the due date (increasing to 45 days in special circumstances, based on a medical assessment).
After the birth of a child, the employee is entitled to 70 days of paid maternity leave.
After 70 days, the mother can continue the maternity leave until the child is six months old (unpaid, although employers generally do pay this as an additional benefit) or choose to share the maternity leave with the father.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave consists of 10 working days of paid paternity leave per child to fathers or equivalent second parents, regardless of their marital or family status. The leave increases to 15 working days when the working parent has twins or multiples. The 10 days of leave cannot be transferred to any other parent and may only be taken within six months from the birth of their child or the placement for adoption.  During such leave, second parents are entitled to their full salary paid by the Croatian government.

Parental Leave

Following the first six months after birth, which are covered under maternity leave, parents are entitled to parental leave. Each parent can take 4 months per child for the first two kids and 15 months for any subsequent children or twins but must be taken before the child is eight years old.