Serbian Labour Act (Zakon o radu) in brief: scope, key articles, deadlines
Zakon o radu, Serbia's Labour Act: current citation, annual leave, dismissal, overtime, severance and deadlines, explained in plain language.
What the Labour Act (Zakon o radu) covers and whom it applies to
Zakon o radu, the Labour Act, is the general statute on employment relations in the Republic of Serbia. It governs rights, duties and responsibilities arising from employment: from the employment contract, through working time, leave and pay, to termination and court protection. When someone searches for "zakon o radu Srbija", this is almost always the statute they mean.
It applies to employees working in Serbia for a domestic or foreign employer, and to employees posted abroad by their employer (Art. 2). It applies to employees in state bodies and public services unless a special statute provides otherwise. Rights are further regulated by collective agreements, the employer's work rules and the employment contract, but those acts cannot give fewer rights than the statute.
The official citation is: Zakon o radu (Sl. glasnik RS, Nos. 24/2005, 61/2005, 54/2009, 32/2013, 75/2014, 13/2017 - Constitutional Court decision, 113/2017, 95/2018 - authentic interpretation and 109/2025 - other statute). The most extensive amendments were adopted in 2014 (No. 75/2014). The latest change dates from December 2025: a separate statute on e-sick-leave (No. 109/2025) excluded the application of Art. 103 and Art. 179(3)(2) from 1 January 2026. That is why the query "zakon o radu 2025" leads to the same 2005 Act, in the text in force today.
How the Act is structured
The Act has more than 280 articles arranged in chapters. For everyday questions the most important are:
- I Basic provisions (definitions, prohibition of discrimination, general acts)
- II Establishing employment (employment contract, probation, fixed-term work, work outside the employer's premises)
- V Working time (full-time, part-time, overtime, redistribution, night work)
- VI Rest and leave (annual leave, paid and unpaid leave)
- VII Protection of employees (maternity, maternity leave, protection of young and disabled employees)
- VIII Salary, salary compensation and other income
- XI Redundancy (redundancy programme, severance)
- XVI Termination of employment (grounds for dismissal, procedure, notice period, unlawful dismissal)
- closing chapters on exercising and protecting rights, work outside employment, trade unions, collective agreements, supervision and penalties
The most searched provisions of the Labour Act
Content of the employment contract (Art. 33). The contract must contain, among other things, a job description, place of work, type of employment, start date, working time and the monetary amount of the basic salary. If any of these is missing, that is the first sign the contract should be checked.
Probation and fixed-term work (Art. 36 and 37). Probation lasts six months at most. Fixed-term contracts with the same employee cannot exceed 24 months in total, with exceptions: replacing an absent employee, a project, a foreign national with a work permit, a newly founded employer (up to 36 months) and an unemployed person within five years of retirement.
Working time and overtime (Art. 51, 53 and 55). Full working time is 40 hours a week. Overtime cannot exceed eight hours a week, and an employee cannot work more than 12 hours a day. The employer must keep a daily record of overtime.
Increased salary (Art. 108). The Act sets minimum percentages: 26% for overtime, 26% for night work, 110% for work on a public holiday and 0.4% per year for past service.
Sick pay (Art. 115). For absences of up to 30 days the employer pays at least 65% of the average salary over the previous 12 months for illness or injury outside work, and 100% for an injury at work or an occupational disease.
Grounds for dismissal (Art. 179). The employer may terminate the contract only for a justified reason: the employee's work ability and conduct, breach of a work duty, breach of work discipline, or the employer's needs (redundancy, refusal of a contract annex).
Warning before dismissal (Art. 180) and form of dismissal (Art. 185). For a breach of duty or discipline, the employee is first warned in writing and given at least eight days to respond. Dismissal is given by a written decision, with reasons and instructions on the legal remedy.
Payment on termination (Art. 186). The employer pays all unpaid salaries and other income within 30 days of the termination of employment at the latest.
Unlawful dismissal (Art. 191). If a court finds that employment ended without a legal basis, the employee may seek reinstatement, damages equal to lost salary, and payment of contributions.
Labour Act: annual leave (godišnji odmor)
Annual leave is governed by Art. 68-76. In short:
- The right to use annual leave is acquired after one month of continuous work with the employer (Art. 68). The employee cannot waive that right, nor can it be replaced with money, except when employment ends.
- The minimum is 20 working days a year (Art. 69).
- For the year in which employment starts or ends, the employee is entitled to one twelfth of the annual leave for each month of work, the so-called proportional part (Art. 72).
- Leave may be used at once or in parts. The first part lasts at least two continuous working weeks during the calendar year, and the rest is used by 30 June of the following year at the latest (Art. 73).
- The employer decides when leave is used, after consulting the employee. The decision is delivered at least 15 days before the leave starts, and the employer may change the dates no later than five working days in advance if the needs of the job require it (Art. 75).
- If employment ends and leave has not been used, the employer pays monetary compensation equal to the average salary over the previous 12 months, in proportion to the number of unused days. That compensation has the character of damages (Art. 76).
Where to read the official text
The official consolidated text is available in the Legal Information System of the Republic of Serbia: Zakon o radu at pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs. Before relying on any article, check whether it has been amended in the meantime and what the collective agreement, the work rules and your employment contract say on the same point, because they may provide for more favourable rights than the statutory minimum.
Sources
- Labour Act (Zakon o radu, Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 24/2005 ... 109/2025 - other statute)
- Act on the Exchange of Data, Documents and Notifications on Temporary Incapacity for Work through the "e-Bolovanje - Poslodavac" software (Sl. glasnik RS No. 109/2025), Art. 13-15 (paragraf.rs)
What to do
- A probationary period lasts six months at most, and the notice period during probation cannot be shorter than five working days (Art. 36).
- Fixed-term employment with the same employee, with or without breaks, cannot exceed 24 months, apart from the statutory exceptions (Art. 37).
- Overtime is capped at eight hours a week, and total work at 12 hours a day (Art. 53).
- Annual leave is at least 20 working days, and the right to use it is acquired after one month of continuous work (Art. 68 and 69).
- The annual leave decision is delivered at least 15 days before the leave starts; the second part of the leave is used by 30 June of the following year at the latest (Art. 73 and 75).
- Salary is paid at least once a month, by the end of the current month for the previous month at the latest (Art. 110).
- Before dismissal for breach of a work duty or discipline, the employer warns the employee in writing and allows at least eight days to respond (Art. 180).
- The employer may dismiss within six months of learning the facts, or within one year of the facts occurring (Art. 184).
- An employee who resigns gives written notice at least 15 days before the termination date; a general act or the contract may set a longer period, but not longer than 30 days (Art. 178).
- Court proceedings are initiated within 60 days of delivery of the decision or of learning of the violation (Art. 195). Monetary claims from employment become time-barred after three years (Art. 196).
FAQ
Which Labour Act is in force in Serbia in 2025 and 2026?
The Labour Act of 2005 with all later amendments (Sl. glasnik RS, Nos. 24/2005 to 109/2025 - other statute). The most recent change came through a different statute: the law on data exchange for temporary incapacity for work (e-Bolovanje, e-sick-leave), published in No. 109/2025, under which Art. 103 and Art. 179(3)(2) of the Labour Act cease to apply from 1 January 2026. Those provisions required employees to deliver a doctor's sick-leave certificate to the employer themselves; the data now arrive electronically. The cut-over is tied to the date the new law starts to apply at the specific employer: employers had to register in the system by 1 January 2026, while a sole trader employing one or more people has until 1 January 2027 (Art. 13, 14 and 15 of that law).
How many days of annual leave does the Labour Act prescribe?
The statutory minimum is 20 working days per calendar year (Art. 69). That minimum is increased under criteria set in the employer's general act or the employment contract, such as work contribution, working conditions, work experience and qualifications.
How long is the notice period under the Labour Act?
When the employee resigns, the notice period is at least 15 and at most 30 days (Art. 178). When the employer dismisses an employee for not achieving work results, the notice period is between eight and 30 days, depending on the length of insurance service (Art. 189). For other grounds for dismissal the Act prescribes no notice period.
Can an employer dismiss a pregnant employee?
During pregnancy, maternity leave, childcare leave and special childcare leave the employer cannot terminate the employment contract (Art. 187). The dismissal decision is null if the employer knew of those circumstances, or if the employee informs the employer of them within 30 days of termination, with a certificate from a doctor or the competent authority.
How much is severance pay in a redundancy?
Severance is paid before dismissal and cannot be lower than the sum of one third of the employee's salary for each full year of work with the employer where the right to severance arises (Art. 158). A general act or the employment contract may provide for more.
What is the pay increase for overtime and night work?
At least 26% of the base for overtime, at least 26% for night work if it is not already valued in the basic salary, at least 110% for work on a public holiday that is a non-working day, and at least 0.4% per year of service for past service (Art. 108).