Employment contracts under 114 a of the Labour Code

Legal framework:

1. Article 114a of the Labour Code.
2. Decree on the conditions and procedure for the submission, registration and reporting of employment contracts under Article 114a(1) of the Labour Code.

Article 114a of the Labour Code was created with the amendment of the Labour Code of July 2015 in order to regulate the possibility of concluding employment contracts for short-term seasonal agricultural work for a period of 1 day. Paragraph 7 of Article 114a of the Labour Code stipulates that the Minister of Labour and Social Policy issues a Decree on the conditions and procedure for the submission, registration and reporting of employment contracts under Article 114a (1) of the Labour Code.

GENERAL PROVISIONS:

The one-day contracts may only be used by employers who are REGISTERED AGRICULTURAL FARMERS AND TOBACCO PRODUCERS.

They can be used to employ labour in the main economic activity “Plant Growing” ONLY FOR PROCESSING AND MANUAL HARVESTING OF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, ROSE BLOSSOM, LAVENDER AND TOBACCO.

The nature and purpose of the contract DOES NOT ALLOW employment of workers for machine harvesting, including for harvesting of grains, corn or other agricultural produce other than fruits, vegetables, rose and lavender. THIS CONTRACT IS NOT APPLICABLE for employment of workers for collection of herbs, for processing of flowers or for activities for animal production, or for other economic activities: construction, hotels or restaurants, etc.

THE CONTRACT HAS A MANDATORY FORMAT – a form is created and, in order to be validly concluded, the contract must correspond in format and content to the template approved with the respective decree and must be registered with the relevant Labour Inspectorate Directorate (LID). Employers can receive employment contract forms from the relevant Labour Inspectorate Directorate with area of operation covering the location of the property which will be processing by hired staff, or they can generate electronically their own form through this portal.

FOR EMPLOYERS WHO WANT TO OBTAIN THE CONTRACT FORM FROM THE LABOUR INSPECTORATE: In order to request the printing of an appropriate number of forms, an employer/agent, when visiting the relevant Directorate, should bring the documents required upon the registration of the forms so as to prove the right to receive and register such employment contracts.

Form of a one-day employment contract

INFORMATION ON THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS

 

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN/REGISTER FORMS:

1. The registration card of the agricultural producer/farmer issued and validated by the relevant Regional Directorate of Agriculture (RDA). The Regional Directorate of Agriculture validates the farmer’s registration card for a period until 28 February of the following economic year.

First name and surname

Address (registered address)

Personal No

UIC

Unified classifier of administrative-territorial and territorial units (UCATTU) at registration

Director of the RDA

farmer

 

2. Questionnaire for registration of a farmer/producer where at least one of the crops that can be harvested manually is ticked: Damascus rose and Lavender, or at least one of the following products: Tomatoes – open field, market garden, greenhouse; Cucumbers: open field, market garden, greenhouse, Beans, Peas, Potatoes; Peppers – open field, market garden, greenhouse; Green Beans; Other vegetables; Pumpkins; Watermelons; Melons; Cherries; Sour Cherries; Apricots; Peaches; Plums; Apples; Pears; Chokeberries; Strawberries; Raspberries; Other berries; Walnuts; Almonds; Hazelnuts; Chestnuts; Vines – table grape, wine-grape; Cultivated mushrooms.
3. Receipts/payment documents for advance payments made under the Social Insurance Code (KSO) and the Health Insurance Act (ZZO) for one or more forms. The receipts should indicate that social security contributions have been paid in advance for persons who will conclude one-day contracts as well as the number of the contracts.

It should be borne in mind that the advance contributions are paid to the relevant competent Territorial Directorate (TD) of the National Revenue Agency as follows:

• the territorial directorate at the permanent address of the individuals, including the sole proprietors;
• the territorial directorate at the registered address of the local legal entities.

The list of the bank accounts of the respective competent TD of the NRA for payment of social security contributions for the State Social Insurance (SSI), the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Supplementary Compulsory Pension Insurance in a Universal Pension Fund (SCPI in a UPF) can be found on the website of the NRA – https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/payment/bank.accounts.

Осигурителните вноски се внасят в компетентната ТД на НАП в размер, не по-малък от посочения за един договор, авансово, като заплащането е условие за заверяването на образците и законното сключване на такъв договор.

social security contributions for account of an employer and a worker for a one-day contract (the amounts paid by the employer) – for 2024 for 8 working hours per working day
group of months:	18 worker days	19 worker days	20 worker days	21 worker days	22 worker days	23 worker days
SSI for those born before 1960: 19.8 +0.9%	BGN 10.73	BGN 10.16	BGN 9.65	BGN 9.20	BGN 8.78	BGN 8.40
SSI for those born after 1960: 14.8 + 0.9%	BGN 8.14	BGN 7.71	BGN 7.32	BGN 6.98	BGN 6.66	BGN 6.37
SCPI: 5 %	BGN 2.59	BGN 2.46	BGN 2.33	BGN 2.22	BGN 2.12	BGN 2.03
NHIF: 8 %	BGN 4.15	BGN 3.93	BGN 3.73	BGN 3.55	BGN 3.39	BGN 3.25
minimum daily wage:	BGN 51.83	BGN 49.11	BGN 46.6	BGN 44.43	BGN 42.41	BGN 40.57

 

social security contributions for account of an employer and a worker for a one-day contract (the amounts paid by the employer) – for 2024 for 4 working hours per working day
group of months:	18 worker days	19 worker days	20 worker days	21 worker days	22 worker days	23 worker days
SSI for those born before 1960: 19.8 +0.9%	BGN 5.36	BGN 5.08	BGN 4.83	BGN 4.60	BGN 4.39	BGN 4.20
SSI for those born after 1960: 14.8 + 0.9%	BGN 4.07	BGN 3.85	BGN 3.66	BGN 3.49	BGN 3.33	BGN 3.18
SCPI: 5 %	BGN 1.30	BGN 1.23	BGN 1.17	BGN 1.11	BGN 1.06	BGN 1.01
NHIF: 8 %	BGN 2.07	BGN 1.96	BGN 1.87	BGN 1.78	BGN 1.70	BGN 1.62
minimum daily wage:	BGN 25.92	BGN 24.55	BGN 23.33	BGN 22.21	BGN 21.20	BGN 20.28

Where employment contract forms are obtained/certified by an authorised representative, the authorised representative produces, in addition to the documents referred to in points 1–3, an original power of attorney showing that he/she is authorised by the employer – registered farmer to obtain/validate the forms of the employment contract.

OTHER SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE EMPLOYMENT THROUGH CONCLUSION OF ONE-DAY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS:

• The procedure for the registration of employment contracts at the TD of the NRA does not apply to the conclusion and termination of the one-day employment contracts!
• No job descriptions are prepared or given to workers.
• These contracts are not terminated by a separate order.
• The working hours under such a contract do not count as length of service.
• Every day for which workers are hired under this procedure, a new employment contract is concluded, including where the parties remain unchanged.

The wages are paid personally to the worker at the end of the working day against a receipt, which is an integral part of the contract form and has the following content:

The social security contributions are paid in advance to the competent TD of the NRA before the conclusion of the employment contract.  The social security contributions paid in advance are a condition for the certification of the employment contract forms under Article 114a of the Labour Code by an official of the relevant Labour Inspectorate Directorate.

Contributions for these workers are paid to the Pensions Fund, the Accidents at Work and Occupational Disease Fund, for Supplementary Compulsory Pension Insurance - to a Universal Pension Fund (for those born after 31 December 1959) and - for health insurance - to the NHIF.   

PROCEDURE FOR RETURN OF REGISTERED FORMS:

Any unused employment contract forms may be returned personally by the employer or through an authorised person by the end of the calendar year to the Labour Inspectorate Directorate where they were received. The following must be returned: two original duplicates of each contract, each bearing a Unique Identification Number and a stamp of the relevant LID, or generated through the electronic portal! When the forms are returned, the official receiving them issues a report, one copy of which is given to the submitting person.

It is not allowed to return only 1 (one) copy of a form or to return a form to another Labour Inspection Directorate or to the central administration, or by post.

No report is issued to the submitting person if the forms of employment contracts are not returned in compliance with the appropriate procedure.