Employer in Macedonia

The local term for an employer is работодавач. The employer may act through a statutory or bylaw-appointed representative or through a person with written authority. The research identifies no separate employer regime by region; practical administrative access runs through the Employment Service Agency and its 30 Employment Service Centers. An employer organizes work through the employment contract, internal workplace rules and collective agreements. A small employer is described as one with up to 50 employees for the relevant organizational framework. Workplace and disciplinary rules have to be displayed where employees can see them and sent to the trade union. Recruitment can use a public vacancy, free mediation by the Employment Service Agency, direct selection from the unemployment register or a fee-based private employment agency. A public vacancy is entered electronically with the Employment Service Agency before publication. For a vacancy handled through the Agency, the employer can receive one to five candidates; if none is selected, the employer gives a reason and may consider training, retraining or further qualification. For foreign workers, the Agency checks the person's status and may issue a work permit, a short-term service certificate or an opinion for a work-related residence process. The employment contract is written, and the employee receives a copy on the day of signing. Indefinite employment is the standard form; a fixed term is possible, and a contract without a stated duration is treated as indefinite. The employer provides the agreed work, working tools, access to the workplace, pay, safe conditions and sufficient job-specific training. A probation period is optional and can last up to four months; seasonal work can have a probation period of up to three months. Training, further education, retraining and additional qualification can support business-process needs or help avoid termination. Home-based work is also available as a contractual form. The employer registers compulsory social insurance with the M1/M2 forms through the Employment Service Agency, electronically through e-Работа or directly at the competent center. Registration normally takes place at least one day before work starts, or at least one hour before the start of urgent work. The employee receives a copy or computer extract within three days. After employment ends, the employer gives the Agency the deregistration information within eight days. Employment Service Agency mediation is free, while the employer bears wage, tax, contribution, documentation and compliance costs. Full-time work is generally limited to 40 hours per week and is usually arranged over five days. Employers with more than 25 employees use electronic time records at each location; employers with 25 or fewer employees use an evidence sheet. Overtime is allowed only for reasons provided by law or a collective agreement and is generally limited to eight hours per week and 190 hours per year. The employer records it separately, shows it on the payslip and notifies the competent labour inspector in advance. The employer prepares the work schedule, and a temporary redistribution of working time is given in writing at least one day beforehand. The averaging period can last up to six months. Daily rest is at least 12 hours, and weekly rest is at least 24 hours plus 12 additional hours. Night and shift work brings additional duties for protection, transport and medical care. Pay cannot fall below the applicable statutory or collective-agreement minimum, and equal pay applies to equal work without a gender distinction. The accounting period cannot exceed one month, and payment is due no later than 15 days after that period. The employer gives a written payslip with each payment and again by 31 January of the following year. The research confirms a net minimum wage of MKD 24,379 for 2025; it does not confirm the 2026 amount. Annual leave is at least 20 working days and can reach 26 days under a collective agreement or contract, with three additional days for certain protected groups. Full entitlement arises after six months of continuous work with the same employer. At least two weeks are used by the end of the year and the remaining days by 30 June of the following year. Paid leave for personal or family reasons can reach seven days. The employer cannot discriminate in access to work, selection, promotion, training, working conditions, pay, working time, leave or termination. Protection also covers harassment, sexual harassment and workplace bullying. The employer protects dignity and privacy and processes employee data only for lawful, work-related purposes. Special protection applies to pregnancy, parenthood, young workers, older workers and workers with disabilities. Occupational safety and health remains the employer's responsibility even when authorized external specialists are engaged. The employer carries out risk assessments, prepares a safety statement, supplies safe equipment, arranges inspections, provides protective equipment and occupational medical examinations, and organizes training, fire protection, evacuation and first aid. The employer pays these costs and informs employees, including temporary, young, older and partially work-capable employees, about risks and measures. In an immediate serious danger, work stops and employees evacuate; they do not have to continue while the danger remains. A work accident, death, collective accident, incapacity lasting more than three working days or immediate serious danger is reported in writing to the labour inspectorate within 48 hours. The employer keeps records of training, inspections, exposure, medical examinations, occupational diseases, accidents and deaths. North Macedonia has no single, separately established works-council institution documented in the research. Trade unions, employee representatives and occupational-safety representatives perform related functions. Employees elect occupational-safety representatives: at least one where there are more than 10 employees, two for 101 to 500 employees and three above 501 employees, with an additional representative for each dangerous work area regardless of the total workforce. The employer provides time and resources without reducing pay and does not disadvantage the representative. Commercial companies, public enterprises and other legal persons with more than 50 employees, and institutions with more than 20 employees, provide information and consultation on the economic situation, employment, organizational changes and contract changes. Collective agreements can operate at employer, branch or sector level. The National Economic and Social Council brings together the government, trade unions and employer associations for social dialogue, wage and collective-agreement matters and peaceful dispute settlement. An employee generally begins an individual employment dispute by submitting a written claim to the employer. Employer response and remedy procedures use eight-day periods, and court protection is typically sought within 15 days. Individual or collective disputes can also proceed through agreement, mediation, conciliation or arbitration under the applicable collective agreement. The State Labour Inspectorate can be contacted by an employer, employee or trade union. An inspector can establish a violation, issue a warning or corrective order and impose administrative consequences; an appeal against an inspection measure is generally available within 15 days. A lawful strike is not a breach of contract and cannot justify disadvantage, while an employer can ask a court to prohibit an unlawful strike. A termination needs a reason based on law, a collective agreement or the employer's internal act, and the employer has to prove that reason. For inadequate performance, the employer generally first provides suitable conditions and instruction and gives a written warning. Disciplinary rules define breaches of duty. The regular notice period is one month, or two months where the statutory threshold of more than 150 employees or the applicable five-percent condition is met; seasonal work can use seven working days. A challenge to termination follows an eight-day period, with an employer decision due within eight days. When the employer changes, rights, duties and responsibility transfer to the new employer, with same-day deregistration and registration where required. Technological, economic, organizational and similar reasons can lead to organizational change. Before a business-related termination, the employer may offer transfer to another employer, retraining or additional qualification, or a new contract. A collective dismissal covers at least 20 terminations within 90 days. The employer consults the employee representatives at least one month before the process begins, considers alternatives and reduction measures, and informs the Employment Service Agency in writing at least 30 days before the termination decision; the period can be extended to 60 days. The Agency can provide placement and training support. The Ministry of Economy and Labor, the State Labour Inspectorate and the Employment Service Agency supervise or administer different parts of the system. The employer permits inspections and keeps contracts, records of working time, registration documents, payslips and occupational-safety evidence available. Depending on the breach, consequences include a warning, corrective order, administrative or fine proceedings and, in serious cases, a work stoppage. The main legal basis is the Labour Relations Law, supplemented by occupational-safety, employment and unemployment-insurance, labour-records, minimum-wage and peaceful labour-dispute laws. The consolidated 2023 text and listed 2025 amendments, including Official Gazette nos. 39/25, 74/25 and 124/25, form the research basis; a case-specific decision should use the latest Official Gazette version.