Employment contract types in Bulgaria

Working life · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

Open-ended is the default

Under the Labour Code the standard form is the open-ended contract. A fixed term is the exception and is permitted only in the situations the law lists — seasonal work, a defined task, covering an absent employee. A fixed-term offer with no visible justification is therefore something to question. Where a term has been used outside the permitted frame, the contract may fall to be treated as open-ended; that assessment turns on the actual wording and the nature of the work.

Who the probation clause protects

A probation clause must state in whose favour it is agreed, and this detail decides who may terminate without notice during the trial period. If the wording is silent, you inherit a dispute rather than a right. The maximum length of probation, and whether it can be repeated with the same employer, are capped by law — verify the current limits in the Labour Code and with the General Labour Inspectorate rather than relying on what an employer states verbally.

Employment contract versus civil contract

Clauses to read before signing

• •Parties and place of work; for remote arrangements, how the workplace is defined.
• •Job title and description — the basis for any later dispute about changed duties.
• •Working time: full-time, part-time, shift pattern.
• •Remuneration, payment date and how additional payments are calculated.
• •Paid annual leave and the notice period applying to each side.
• •Start date and, if present, in whose favour the probation clause is agreed.

Immediately after signature

1. 1

   Confirm the contract was notified

   The employer must notify the revenue agency of the contract; check that this happened.
2. 2

   Ask for the job description

   It is a separate document that must be handed to the employee.
3. 3

   Record every change in an annex

   Pay, duties and working time change by written annex, never by verbal agreement.
4. 4

   Keep your own copy

   The signed contract and annexes are your primary evidence in any dispute.

Concrete periods and thresholds published by the authorities

The values below were read on 10 October 2026 from the pages named at the end of each item. The pages carry their own, different dates, so check the current text before you sign.

• •Probation: A probation clause can be agreed in both fixed-term and indefinite contracts. The ceiling is 6 months, and 1 month for a fixed-term contract shorter than a year. The clock does not run on days of statutory leave (Labour Inspectorate notice of 12 January 2024). At EU level, Your Europe states the same 6-month ceiling and adds that a renewal for the same duties cannot carry a new probation period.
• •Ending the contract during probation: If the clause does not say whose benefit it serves, it counts for both sides. The party it favours can leave without notice; the other party gives 1 month of notice unless the contract sets a different period (Labour Inspectorate explanation of 2012).
• •A fixed term that turns indefinite: If work continues for 5 days or more after the term ends, the employer does not object in writing and the position is still open, the contract is treated as indefinite (EURES).
• •Notification: The employer records the conclusion or amendment of the contract in the employment register within 3 days and its termination within 7 days. Since 1 June 2025 the register runs under a new regulation; an entry is also required when the contract term, basic pay, job title, main economic activity, place of work, working time or paid annual leave changes (NRA questions and answers). If the deadline is missed, the entry can be made only after a binding instruction from the Labour Inspectorate.
• •Documents: According to EURES, before work starts the employer hands over a signed copy of the contract and a copy of the notification to the NRA. Under EU rules the core terms are given in writing within 7 working days of the first working day, and some information, such as annual leave and the social security institution, within 1 month (Your Europe).
• •Working time: A full day is 8 hours and a full week 40 hours over 5 days; together with an additional employment contract the weekly total cannot exceed 48 hours (EURES). Overtime supplements are at least 50% on working days, 75% on non-working days and 100% on public holidays.
• •Annual leave: at least 20 days; for a first job, leave can be taken after at least 4 months of work (EURES).
• •Seasonal farm work: a contract under Article 114a of the Labour Code is made for a day at a time and covers at most 90 days in a calendar year (EURES).

Frequently asked questions

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