Wage structure in Bulgaria: НСОРЗ 2026 euro minimums
Analysis of Bulgaria's wage ordinance (НСОРЗ): gross wage structure, additional employment pay and the new euro minimums from 01.01.2026.
With Decree (ПМС) No. 353 of 29 December 2025 (promulgated in State Gazette No. 115 of 30.12.2025, in force from 01.01.2026), the minimum amounts of a number of additional employment remuneration items in the Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage (НСОРЗ) were restated in euro. This makes a review of the current wage structure relevant again for anyone who drafts internal rules, calculates salaries or analyses disputes over employment remuneration.
In this analysis we look at the whole ordinance systematically: from the make-up of the gross wage, through the catalogue of additional employment remuneration and the new euro minimums, to the calculation of gross employment remuneration and the content of the internal rules.
❓What does the gross wage include under the НСОРЗ?
Source: НСОРЗ, Art. 3
What the НСОРЗ regulates and when it applies
The НСОРЗ was adopted by Decree of the Council of Ministers (ПМС) No. 4 of 17.01.2007 (promulgated in State Gazette No. 9 of 26.01.2007) and has been in force since 01.07.2007. The current wording follows the latest amendment, State Gazette No. 115 of 30.12.2025 (ПМС No. 353/29.12.2025), in force from 01.01.2026. The ordinance regulates the structure and organisation of the wage, the types and minimum amounts of additional employment remuneration, and the procedure for determining and calculating gross employment remuneration.
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage (НСОРЗ)
Art. 1
The subject matter of the ordinance also marks its limits: it sets minimum standards and a procedure, while specific amounts above the minimum are agreed at enterprise level.
Official Bulgarian text
„С наредбата се определят структурата и организацията на работната заплата, видовете и минималните размери на допълнителните трудови възнаграждения, както и редът за определяне и изчисляване на брутното трудово възнаграждение.“
The scope is wide. Under Art. 2(1) the ordinance applies in four situations: when a collective labour agreement is concluded, when internal wage rules are drawn up, when employment relationships arise, change and end, and when employment remuneration and compensation are determined and calculated. Under Art. 2(2) the rules apply to all enterprises within the meaning of § 1, item 2 of the Additional Provisions of the Labour Code (КТ), regardless of the form of ownership and the way they are financed.
Universal application
Structure of the gross wage (Art. 3-6)
Art. 3 sets out the three-part make-up of the gross wage. Art. 4 clarifies that the basic wage is remuneration for performing the assigned work tasks and duties, and para. 2 expressly prohibits replacing it with additional employment remuneration. This prohibition is an important protection against the practice of keeping the basic wage artificially low while building up income through unstable add-ons.
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage (НСОРЗ)
Art. 3
Official Bulgarian text
„Брутната работна заплата се състои от основна работна заплата, допълнителни трудови възнаграждения и други трудови възнаграждения, определени в Кодекса на труда, в наредбата, в друг нормативен акт или в колективен трудов договор.“
Art. 6 distinguishes two types of additional employment remuneration: those set by a statutory instrument (mandatory for the employer) and those agreed in an individual or collective employment contract. Additional remuneration can be paid in money or in kind, but payment in kind cannot include alcoholic drinks, narcotic substances or tobacco products.
| Criterion | Set by a statutory instrument | Agreed in an ИТД/КТД |
|---|---|---|
| Source | The ordinance or another statutory instrument | Individual (ИТД) or collective (КТД) employment contract |
| Mandatory? | Mandatory for every employer | Depends on what has been agreed |
| Amount | Minimum set in the ordinance | Only higher than the minimum (Art. 14) |
| Examples | Night work, length of service and professional experience, educational and scientific degree (ОНС) | Remuneration under Art. 13: results, responsibility |
The two types of additional employment remuneration under Art. 6 НСОРЗ
This distinction has direct practical significance. Mandatory additional remuneration forms the minimum statutory floor that neither a КТД nor an individual contract can lower. Agreed remuneration is a tool for building up the pay policy in the enterprise.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
Additional employment remuneration and the new euro minimums (Art. 7-13)
This is where the amendments of issue 115/2025 are concentrated. Art. 7 refers to Art. 262 КТ for payment for overtime, with the calculation base being the basic wage together with additional remuneration of a permanent nature. The real novelty is the restatement of the minimum amounts in euro, applicable from 01.01.2026.
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage (НСОРЗ)
Art. 8 (amended, State Gazette No. 115/2025)
The minimum for night work has two components: a percentage of the minimum wage (МРЗ) with an absolute floor in euro. When calculating, the higher of the two values always applies.
Official Bulgarian text
„За полагане на нощен труд работникът или служителят има право на допълнително трудово възнаграждение в размер не по-малък от 0,15 на сто от минималната работна заплата, установена за страната, за всеки отработен нощен час или част от него, но не по-малко от 0,51 евро.“
€0.51
Night work: minimum per hour (Art. 8), but not less than 0.15% of the МРЗ
Source: НСОРЗ, Art. 8 (No. 115/2025)
€0.05
On call: minimum per hour (Art. 10)
Source: НСОРЗ, Art. 10 (No. 115/2025)
€7.67
Educational and scientific degree “Doctor”: minimum per month (Art. 11)
Source: НСОРЗ, Art. 11 (No. 115/2025)
€25.56
Scientific degree “Doctor of Sciences”: minimum per month (Art. 11)
Source: НСОРЗ, Art. 11 (No. 115/2025)
Art. 12 regulates the additional remuneration for length of service and professional experience. It is set as a percentage of the basic wage, with the right arising after at least 1 year of service and professional experience (Art. 12(9)), and the period after which the amount changes cannot be shorter than 1 year (Art. 12(10)). The minimum percentage is set by the Council of Ministers. Art. 13 leaves room for other additional remuneration, agreed in the КТД, the internal rules or the individual employment contract.
The euro minimums are an absolute floor
Permanent character and higher amounts (Art. 14-15)
Art. 14 sets a one-way rule for bargaining: through a collective labour agreement, the internal wage rules or an individual employment contract, only amounts higher than those set in the ordinance can be fixed for additional employment remuneration. A lower amount is not permitted.
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage (НСОРЗ)
Art. 15(1)-(2)
The classification “permanent character” is key: it determines which remuneration enters the base for compensation and for pay during paid leave.
Official Bulgarian text
„Допълнителните трудови възнаграждения по чл. 11 и чл. 12 имат постоянен характер. Постоянни са и допълнителните трудови възнаграждения, които се изплащат постоянно заедно с полагащото се за съответния период основно възнаграждение и са в зависимост единствено от отработеното време.“
The practical importance of the permanent character is great. Remuneration for educational and scientific degree (Art. 11) and for length of service and professional experience (Art. 12) is always of a permanent character. To these, para. 2 adds the remuneration that is paid permanently together with the basic pay and depends only on time worked. It is precisely these elements that are included when calculating gross employment remuneration for compensation and leave.
Calculating gross employment remuneration (Art. 16-21)
Art. 17 lists the components included in gross employment remuneration for determining the remuneration under Art. 177 and the compensation under Art. 228 КТ: the basic wage for time worked, remuneration above the basic wage under work norms, additional employment remuneration of a permanent nature, and remuneration for internal substitution (covering an absent colleague’s duties) under Art. 259 КТ. Art. 18(1) sets out how to calculate the average daily gross employment remuneration under Art. 177(1) КТ: the last calendar month in which the employee has worked at least 10 working days is taken.
Procedure for determining gross employment remuneration for leave (Art. 177 КТ + Art. 17-18 НСОРЗ)
Identify the base month
The last calendar month with at least 10 days worked before the leave is taken (Art. 18(1) НСОРЗ).
Add up the components under Art. 17
Basic wage + remuneration above the basic wage under work norms + additional employment remuneration of a permanent nature + substitution under Art. 259 КТ.
Calculate the average daily gross remuneration (БТВ)
The gross remuneration for the base month is divided by the days worked in it.
Adjustment for an increase under Art. 21
If the wage is increased at or after the start of the paid leave, the remuneration is recalculated by the percentage of the increase.
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of the Wage (НСОРЗ)
Art. 21
The addition in Art. 21 restores the long-standing practice that leave pay follows the increase in the wage, a mechanism also explained by the experts of the Труд и право publishing house.
Official Bulgarian text
„При увеличение на индивидуалната основна работна заплата на работника или служителя през време на ползване на платен годишен отпуск или след това, възнаграждението за отпуска се преизчислява с процента на увеличението.“
Internal wage rules (Art. 22)
Art. 22(1) provides that the organisation of the wage in the enterprise is regulated by internal wage rules. They are an internal act of the enterprise within the meaning of Art. 37 КТ, are approved by the employer and cannot contradict statutory instruments or the applicable collective labour agreement. The Labour Inspectorate checks precisely their compliance with the НСОРЗ and the Labour Code.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 37
The internal wage rules are an internal act under Art. 37 КТ, in whose preparation trade union organisations take part by right.
Official Bulgarian text
„Синдикалните организации и техните поделения по право участват в подготовката на проектите на всички вътрешни правилници и наредби, които се отнасят до трудовите отношения.“
Minimum content of the internal wage rules
A basic structure that withstands a Labour Inspectorate inspection.
General provisions and scope of the rules*
Procedure for forming the wage fund*
Systems and determination of basic wages*
Types and amounts of additional employment remuneration above the НСОРЗ minimum*
Procedure for determining and paying employment remuneration*
Compliance with the applicable КТД and with statutory instruments*
Clauses lower than the statutory minimums are void (Art. 14 НСОРЗ).
* Mandatory
Practical points for payroll specialists (ТРЗ) and lawyers
The change of the minimums to euro from 01.01.2026 requires a review and update of the internal rules and of the calculation parameters. The following checklist summarises the most common points of non-compliance.
Checklist after issue 115/2025
Updated minimums for night work (Art. 8): compare 0.15% of the МРЗ against 0.51 euro*
Updated “on call” minimum (Art. 10): 0.05 euro per hour*
Minimums for the educational and scientific degree “Doctor” (7.67 euro) and “Doctor of Sciences” (25.56 euro) under Art. 11*
Check whether permanent additional remuneration enters the base for compensation (Art. 15, Art. 17)*
Review the internal rules for conflicts with the updated minimums (Art. 14)*
* Mandatory documents
Common mistakes in calculation
The НСОРЗ remains the backbone of wage organisation in Bulgaria. Applying it systematically, from the structure of the gross wage through the mandatory additional remuneration to properly drawn-up internal rules, is both a compliance requirement and a tool for preventing labour disputes.
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