Hire employees in North Macedonia
What a foreign company needs to know before employing people in North Macedonia: whether you need a local entity, why the employer cost is essentially the gross salary when all 28% of contributions are withheld from the employee, how the net minimum wage and the monthly MPIN calculation work, which holiday allowance is mandatory, and why the private employment agency rules shape how you structure a hire. Written for CHROs, CFOs, General Counsel and founders.
Employer of record in North Macedonia: quick answers
The questions leadership teams ask first.
Do I need a local entity in North Macedonia to hire?
No. There are three routes:
- Employer of Record. Dryft Global employs the person in North Macedonia through a compliant local employer, registers them for social insurance, files the monthly MPIN calculation and runs payroll. You direct the work.
- Direct local entity. You form a limited liability company (DOO or DOOEL) through the Central Registry one-stop shop and set up insurance registration and payroll: plan for several weeks before the first payroll.
- Independent contractor. Lawful only for genuinely independent work. A contractor who works like an employee can be reclassified, with back-payment of contributions.
When should I use an EOR instead of registering locally?
Use an EOR for your first engineers or business staff in North Macedonia, when you want to start in days and do not want to build insurance registration, monthly MPIN filing and collective agreement compliance yourself. Your own entity earns its keep for a sustained team, a project in a technological industrial development zone (TIDZ) or a sales office signing local contracts.
What does an employee actually cost beyond salary?
Very little in statutory terms. All mandatory contributions, 28% in total for pension, health, employment and injury insurance, are withheld from the employee's gross salary, so there are no employer contributions on top. The employer adds the annual holiday allowance (regres) of at least 40% of the national average net monthly salary, about 1% of a mid-level IT salary. Compare offers on gross and show candidates the net figure.
How difficult is termination in North Macedonia?
Dismissal is allowed only on statutory grounds: personal reasons, fault or business reasons. The decision must be in writing with the grounds and evidence, and the employer gives at least 1 month's notice. Dismissal for business reasons requires severance of 1 to 7 net salaries depending on service, and collective redundancy applies from 20 employees within 90 days. Mutual agreement is the common clean exit.
Can Dryft Global legally employ my team in North Macedonia?
Yes. Dryft Global employs your team in North Macedonia through a compliant local employer structured for the private employment agency rules. We issue Labour Relations Law contracts, register employees for social insurance, file MPIN and pay contributions and tax with each salary, pay the holiday allowance, and manage notice and severance.
Hiring routes compared
Speed, set-up burden and liability differ by route.
| Factor | Direct local entity | Dryft Global EOR | Independent contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first payroll | Several weeks | Days to 2 weeks | Days |
| Local entity required | Yes, DOO or DOOEL | No | No |
| Insurance registration and MPIN | Your filings | Handled by Dryft Global | Contractor's own |
| Agency employment rules | Not applicable | Structured compliantly by Dryft | Not applicable |
| Statutory liability | Direct corporate exposure | Assumed by Dryft Global | High for employee-like work |
| Best fit | Sustained team, TIDZ, local sales | First hires, engineering teams | Short independent projects |
What an employee costs in North Macedonia
North Macedonia places all mandatory social contributions on the employee: the 28% is withheld from gross salary, so the employer's statutory cost is essentially the gross salary. The model below is a Skopje software engineer on MKD 150,000 gross a month in 2026.
| Component | Employer share | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pension, health, employment and injury insurance | None | Employee pays 28% in total, withheld from gross |
| Statutory contributions | 0% | Bases from MKD 34,570 to MKD 1,106,256 a month |
| Holiday allowance (regres) | ~1.2% | At least 40% of the average net monthly salary, paid once a year |
| Private health insurance | Optional | Common in IT; usually taxed as salary |
| Total statutory employer cost | ~1.2% | Above gross salary |
For an employee on MKD 150,000 a month, budget roughly MKD 1.82 million (about EUR 29,600) a year including the holiday allowance, before the EOR fee. The employee's own deductions are 28% contributions and 10% income tax after the MKD 10,932 monthly allowance, leaving net pay of about MKD 98,300 a month. The holiday allowance figure is an estimate based on the latest average net salary. Ask us for a cost model with current rates applied.
Payroll and tax
Salaries are paid monthly in denars with a payslip showing gross pay and all deductions. Each month the employer files a single calculation (MPIN) for every employee with the Public Revenue Office by the 10th of the following month. Net salary, contributions and tax are paid together through one payment order on the day salary is paid, or by the 15th if salary is not paid. Employees must be registered for social insurance for the start of work.
Income tax withholding
Personal income tax is a flat 10%, charged on gross salary minus the 28% contributions and the personal allowance of MKD 10,932 a month in 2026. Employees do not normally file a return: the Public Revenue Office issues a draft annual return by 30 April, which becomes final unless corrected by 31 May. Payroll providers reported a rebalancing of the contribution components from July 2026, with the 28% total unchanged.
Minimum wage 2026
North Macedonia sets a single national minimum wage as a net monthly amount: MKD 26,046 net from 1 March 2026, about MKD 38,507 gross, per payroll calculations; confirm the official notice. It is indexed every March by a formula linked to average wage growth and the cost of living.
Leave and mandatory benefits
- Annual leave. At least 20 working days a year, up to 26 by contract or collective agreement, with at least 2 uninterrupted weeks.
- Public holidays. New Year, Orthodox Christmas, Ramazan Bajram, Orthodox Easter Monday, Labour Day, Saints Cyril and Methodius Day, Republic Day, Independence Day, the Day of the People's Uprising, the Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle and St Clement of Ohrid, plus community holidays for adherents.
- Sick pay. The employer pays the first 30 days at a percentage of average salary that rises with the length of the absence; confirm the current rate tiers. The Health Insurance Fund pays from day 31.
- Maternity, birth and parenthood leave. 9 months (15 for multiple births), paid by the Health Insurance Fund.
- Fathers. No separate statutory paternity leave; 2 days of paid leave for a birth under the private sector collective agreement.
- Holiday allowance (regres). At least 40% of the average net monthly salary, paid by 31 December.
- Working time. 40 hours a week. Overtime is limited to 8 hours a week and 190 hours a year; night work carries at least 35% and holiday work at least 50%.
- Common extras. Private health insurance, meal or transport allowances, flexible hours and remote work.
Termination and notice periods
Probation can last up to 6 months. After that, the rules are as follows.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Employer notice | At least 1 month; 2 months where over 150 employees or 5% of staff are affected |
| Employee resignation | At least 1 month |
| Severance (business reasons) | 1 net salary up to 5 years' service, rising to 7 net salaries over 25 years |
| Collective redundancy | 20 or more employees within 90 days; no refilling the same work for 2 years |
| Unlawful dismissal | Reinstatement and lost wages |
- Statutory grounds only. There is no at-will dismissal in North Macedonia.
- Written decision. State the grounds and evidence and inform the employee of legal remedies.
- Protected periods. No dismissal during sick leave, pregnancy, maternity or parental leave, except for serious breaches.
- Severance on time. Pay severance on the termination date; a waiver is void.
- Appeal. Employees can appeal internally within 8 days before going to court.
Can I use independent contractors?
Only for genuinely independent work. Service and copyright contracts with individuals carry 10% income tax but no regular social contributions, which makes them tempting for long-running arrangements. A contractor who works set hours under your direction, on your core business and with your equipment is at risk of reclassification by the labour inspectorate, with back-payment of contributions. Placing a worker under another company's direction is regulated by the Law on Private Employment Agencies, which requires a ministry licence and equal treatment with the user's comparable staff, so the employing structure matters. For anyone who works like an employee, an EOR set up through a compliant local employer is the safe route.
The legal framework in brief
North Macedonia is a civil law system where the Labour Relations Law sets minimum terms and collective agreements, employer acts and contracts can only improve on them. A new Labour Relations Law has been drafted but not adopted, so the 2005 law as amended applies. The instruments you will hear most:
- Labour Relations Law. Contracts, probation, working time, leave, notice, dismissal and severance.
- General Collective Agreement for the private sector. Holiday allowance, overtime premium and paid leave for personal events.
- Law on Mandatory Social Insurance Contributions. The 28% employee contributions and the minimum and maximum bases.
- Law on Personal Income Tax. The 10% flat tax and the monthly allowance.
- Law on Private Employment Agencies. Two-year renewable licences and equal treatment.
- Data protection. The Law on Personal Data Protection (2020), aligned with the GDPR, overseen by the Personal Data Protection Agency.
- Immigration and right to work. Residence and work permits within an annual quota, with procedures amended in September 2025; EU citizens also need permits.
- Corporate tax. 10%, with 49 tax treaties and no treaty with the United States, and TIDZ incentives for eligible projects.
- Authorities. The Ministry of Economy and Labour, the State Labour Inspectorate, the Public Revenue Office, the Employment Service Agency and the Personal Data Protection Agency.
Where the talent is
About 1.84 million people at the 2021 census, with unemployment of 11.3% in the second quarter of 2026. The ICT sector employs about 24,000 people, with ICT services exports of EUR 664 million and an average ICT salary well above the national average. Macedonian is the official language and Albanian is co-official, with English widely used in technology. Time is UTC+1 (UTC+2 in summer). North Macedonia is an EU candidate country and a NATO member, not an EU member, and uses the denar, managed at about MKD 61.5 to the euro.
| Region | Talent and industry concentration |
|---|---|
| Skopje | Main IT and business services cluster, TIDZ zones, headquarters |
| Bitola | Engineering and IT, university |
| Tetovo | IT and services, university, Albanian-speaking talent |
| Ohrid | Services and hospitality, remote talent |
North Macedonia Implementation Kit
This page tells you the rules. The kit tells you what to do, in what order, and what goes wrong when you skip a step.
- Step-by-step checklist, from route selection to first payroll
- Contract, probation and insurance registration for the start of work
- Gross to net set-up with the 28% employee contributions and 2026 allowance
- MPIN filing calendar and holiday allowance planning
- Private employment agency and contractor risk checklist
- Notice, severance and collective redundancy pack
- Every official North Macedonian authority with direct links
Hiring in nearby markets
Employer of record and hiring guides for other countries in Europe: Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain. See all global hiring guides or compare routes in EOR vs PEO vs entity.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. North Macedonia indexes the minimum wage each March and updates the contribution bases and allowance each January, and the agency employment and permit rules are applied case by case. Confirm current figures and the employment structure with a qualified adviser or with Dryft. Last reviewed November 2026.
Ready to hire in North Macedonia?
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