Employer in Montenegro

The employer role in Montenegro covers the organisation of work and the performance of duties toward employees. A company or another legal entity is generally organised through the Central Registry of Business Entities (CRPS). Formation or changes can require the founding act, statute, board approval where applicable, a unified registration application and original or certified copies. The usual registration fees are €5 to the Tax Administration and €3 for the Official Gazette. The eFirma service can be used for registration, changes and extracts. After registration, the employer arranges a bank account and employee registrations. An employer with more than 10 employees needs an act on the internal organisation and systematisation of jobs, called akt o unutrašnjoj organizaciji i sistematizaciji radnih mjesta. Job advertisements should use gender-neutral wording and state the starting salary or salary range and the applicable collective agreement. The employer keeps records of work, attendance, working time, leave, disability-related matters and temporary agency work. At the workplace, the relevant approvals, work registration, employment contracts and social-insurance evidence must be available. The employer signs a written employment contract before the employee starts work. The contract identifies the employer and employee, qualification, job and duties, place of work, duration and reason for a fixed term, start date, working time, leave, notice period, pay and occupational health and safety arrangements. The employee receives a copy on the starting day. If no written contract exists before work begins, the employment is treated as indefinite from the first working day. Social insurance begins on that day; the registration is submitted within eight days and the relevant copy is provided within five days. Indefinite employment is the normal form. A fixed-term contract generally cannot exceed 24 months, including interruptions shorter than 70 days. Replacement work, seasonal work and project work are recognised exceptions. Seasonal work is generally limited to eight months in a year. A probation period can last up to six months and, in a fixed-term contract, up to one quarter of the contract duration. Employment normally requires a minimum age of 15 and general working capacity. In temporary agency work, the agency is the employer, while the user company carries responsibility for occupational safety and special protection. The user company informs the trade union or worker representative about the number and reasons for agency workers at least every six months. Full-time work is 40 hours per week. Part-time work is generally at least 10 hours per week, while occupational safety conditions can justify a shorter working week of up to 36 hours. Overtime requires a written prior decision. The employer informs the Labour Inspectorate within three days and keeps the average working time within 48 hours per week over four months. Working-time redistribution normally covers one to six months and can reach 12 months in permitted cases. It can reach 54 hours in a week, or 60 hours for seasonal work only when a collective agreement and written employee consent support it. Night work runs from 22:00 to 06:00. A remote-work or home-office contract records the work organisation, schedule, supervision, equipment and cost rules. The minimum net wage is €600 up to qualification level V and €800 from level VI. The Government sets these amounts for two-year periods. The employer pays at least once a month into the employee's bank account and provides a pay statement. Monthly payroll records are kept. If wages are not paid, the employer still issues the calculation by the end of the month; that calculation can serve as an enforceable title. Payroll, tax and contribution processing follows the current instructions of the Ministry of Finance. Annual leave is at least 20 working days. The minimum is 30 working days for shortened working time and 24 working days in a six-day week. The employer prepares the leave plan by 30 April and gives the leave decision at least 30 days before leave begins. When leave is split, the first part lasts at least 10 consecutive working days and the remainder is used by 30 June of the following year. Unused leave and compensation claims are settled when employment ends. Pregnancy, maternity, paternity, parental and care protections, as well as special protections for minors and employees with disabilities, restrict how the employer can organise work or end employment. Direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and mobbing are prohibited. The employer protects employees who report wrongdoing or give evidence and safeguards personal privacy and personnel data. Pregnancy information generally cannot be demanded as a condition of employment. Dismissal because of pregnancy or maternity, paternity or parental leave is generally prohibited. Training and professional development must be organised without discrimination. The employer prepares a risk-assessment act for each workplace and prevents, removes or controls identified risks. It provides instruction when an employee starts, changes position, returns after more than one year or encounters new technology, equipment or processes. Personal protective equipment and work equipment require documentation. Employees exposed to increased risks receive preventive medical examinations. The employer maintains insurance for work accidents, occupational disease and work-related illness and appoints a qualified safety person in writing; an authorised external organisation can perform the function. Employees, their representatives and trade unions are consulted on safety. An employee may refuse work when the employer has not explained the risks or arranged a required examination. Trade unions and employer organisations may be formed and joined freely without prior approval. Membership cannot disadvantage an employee. The employer provides the trade union with premises and the necessary technical and administrative means. At least once a year, the employer informs the trade union or worker representative about development plans, business activity, staffing, wages and contributions, overtime, accidents and employment trends. The employer consults them before collective dismissals, restructuring, major changes and changes to the job systematisation. Meeting information is given at least 15 days in advance. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue maintains registers for trade unions, collective agreements and representativeness. The current register helps identify whether a sectoral collective agreement or an employer-level agreement applies. The legal order is the law, then the collective agreement, then the employment contract; a less favourable contractual term is invalid. If no employer-level agreement applies, the sectoral agreement applies, or the General Collective Agreement where no sectoral agreement covers the matter. An employee first submits a workplace dispute request to the employer. The employer gives a written response or decision within 15 days. The Labour Inspectorate can receive complaints, including through inspekcije@mrzs.gov.me. The Agency for Amicable Resolution of Labour Disputes, known as Agencija za mirno rješavanje radnih sporova, provides mediation or arbitration for individual and collective disputes; these methods are generally voluntary and confidential. Some protected claims require prior use of the legally specified procedure before court action. A strike is voluntary, and the employer and strike committee seek agreement or assistance through the agency while protecting property, health and safety. An agreement ending employment requires written notarised, court-certified or municipality-certified form. An employee's notice period is generally 30 days. An employer's decision states the reason, explanation and legal-remedy information. Collective redundancy rules apply when at least 20 employees are dismissed within 90 days. The employer gives written information and consults for at least 30 days. Alternatives can include transfer, a move to another employer with consent, training or retraining. A redundancy payment is at least one third of the average monthly net wage for each year of service. For smaller redundancy cases, the employee and trade union receive information at least five days before the decision. When a legal change or transaction transfers the employer, the successor takes over employment contracts, rights and duties. Employees receive information at least 15 days before the change and the trade union at least 30 days before it. The successor provides a contract within five days. The transfer alone is not a reason for dismissal, the previous collective agreement continues for at least one year, and the former and new employers remain jointly liable for earlier obligations. Restructuring and changes to systematisation require consultation. Montenegro has nationally applicable employment rules rather than a separate regional employer authority. Municipal differences normally concern the place of procedure or the local inspection or Ministry of Interior contact. An employer hiring a foreign national checks the temporary residence and work permit or work-registration certificate, because the permitted activity and employer are specific. The employment contract and social-insurance registration follow within eight days after the permit. A permit renewal application is made at least 30 days before expiry. Seasonal permits generally allow up to six months within one year, subject to the Government's sector- and occupation-based quota for the relevant year. CRPS registration concerns the organisation's legal setup; it does not replace employment, labour-inspection or foreign-worker requirements.