North Macedonia
Make employment in North Macedonia easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in North Macedonia, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Skopje
- Currency
Macedonian denar (ден, MKD)
- Languages
Macedonian and Albanian
- Population size
2,083,193
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Skopje
- Currency
Macedonian denar (ден, MKD)
- Languages
Macedonian and Albanian
- Population size
2,083,193
- Ease of doing business
Very easy
- Cost of living index
34.15 (2021)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
18%
- GDP - real growth rate
4% (2021)
North Macedonia is a small country in Southeast Europe. It borders Kosovo, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Albania. Its history ranges from being part of many empires and kingdoms from the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, and finally to being part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, until its secession in 1991.
Like many countries, the economy of North Macedonia suffered, going down to -6.1% economic growth in 2020, but has since recovered some of its losses with a positive growth of 4% in 2021. The economy is considered upper-middle income, with chief industries being construction, wholesale trade, and retail trade.
Grow your team in North Macedonia with Remote
Looking to employ workers in North Macedonia? Companies hiring in North Macedonia must either own a local legal entity or work with a global employment platform like Remote that can legally provide employment services in the country.
Remote can employ team members in North Macedonia and keep you compliant at all times. Remote can hire, onboard, and pay your North Macedonian team so you don't have to set up local HR services in the region. Remote also makes it easy to pay contractors in North Macedonia. Sign up now to get started or talk to an expert for more details.
Risks of misclassification
North Macedonia, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in North Macedonia may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in North Macedonia
Minimum Wage
The minimum is now set at 20,175 Macedonian denar (MKD) per month.
Overtime
The standard working hours in North Macedonia are 40 per week and eight hours per day. Night work is paid at 135% of the normal salary. If necessary, overtime hours are permissible to a maximum of eight hours per week. The overtime must be no less than 135% of the normal salary. Work performed on weekends and public holidays is paid at 150% of the normal salary.
Payroll Cycle
Salaries in North Macedonia are paid monthly.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in North Macedonia fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 10 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
26 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in North Macedonia
At Remote, we’re passionate about helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in developing globally competitive benefits programs. This means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive, and your company has the localised expertise needed to attract and keep the best global talent.
Our benefits packages in North Macedonia are tailored to fulfil the local needs of employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Taxes in North Macedonia
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in North Macedonia.
9.30%
Pension
Personal income tax: 10% for income up to 1,080,000 MKD per year, and 18% for income beyond that amount.
Types of leave
All employees are entitled to fully paid annual leave of 20 days. Annual leave may be extended to 26 days if mutually agreed by employer and employee. Up to 26 days of leave can be taken by employees with 30 years of service. Part-time workers can take 10 days of annual leave. The payment for annual leave is 40% of the average of the last three months’ net salary.
Employment termination
Termination process
Employers may terminate an employment contract if the business requires employee dismissal for not fulfilling work obligations, if the employee misbehaves, if the employee lacks knowledge, or if the employee breaks the rules. If an employer intends to dismiss an employee for the fault of the employee, the employee must first be warned of the possibility of termination.
Termination is prohibited for reasons of union membership, illness, pregnancy, filing a complaint, parental leave, leave for the care of a family member, taking authorised leave, military service, or for any other reason set in the employment contract or the law.
Employers may for absence without leave of three consecutive days or five non-consecutive days in one year, misuse of sick leave, intoxication, the violation of safety rules, having drugs or alcohol at work, theft, destruction of property, or the disclosure of confidential information.
Notice period
Written notice must be given before dismissal with the reason for dismissal, the possibility of legal recourse, and the right to unemployment compensation.
For indefinite contracts, one month's notice is required. Two months of notice is required if the dismissal affects over 5% or 150 employees of the company.
Termination during probation requires a three-day notice.
Severance pay
The amount of severance is based on the duration of service with a company.
In the case of redundancy for business reasons, the employer owes employees severance payments based on their length of service. The basis is the average net salary in the last six months of employment, but not less than 50% of the average net salary per employee in North Macedonia in the month before dismissal.
One net salary for up to five years of employment.
Two and one-half net salaries for five to 10 years of employment.
Three and one-half net salaries for 10 to 15 years of employment.
Four and one-half net salaries for 15 to 20 years of employment.
Six net salaries for 20 to 25 years of employment.
Seven net salaries for over 25 years of employment.
Employees can take payment for unused annual leave upon termination.
Probation periods
Probation periods should not be more than four months.
Your company should partner with an employer of record like Remote to be sure of compliance with all of the aforementioned labour laws and any other laws and regulations in regards to remote employment in North Macedonia. Employer of record services for North Macedonia may eventually be developed, so be sure to check back. Whether you’re employing in North Macedonia or another place wherein we provide services, it is important to know the labour laws about remote employment. Remote can help you with these issues.
Fair Pricing in North Macedonia
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at US$599/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localised benefits
Contractor Management
Compliantly onboard and pay contractors
US$29
per contractor/month
Start free trialTop features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Global Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
US$50
per employee/month
Top features
Reduce costs by centralising payroll management
Ensure local compliance for every country
Direct support from in-house local payroll experts
Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience
Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app