GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD IN LITHUANIA
Employ talent in Lithuania without setting up a local entity
Hire the best local or international talent in Lithuania, enter or test the market without the cost and commitment of incorporation, and scale your team as the business case develops. Acumen acts as your Employer of Record, giving you a direct route to local employment.
GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD
Global coverage
Acumen International delivers global employment solutions across 190+ countries.
Strategic markets
Hiring and compliance support across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Established jurisdictions
Lawful employment and payroll in regulated, compliance-intensive countries.
Growth economies
Expanding into new regions? Hiring support across fast-moving economies.
Risky and remote locations
Compliant employment solutions in jurisdictions with limited infrastructure.
Employer of Record in Lithuania: Vilnius and Kaunas hires without a UAB
Through an Employer of Record, your Lithuanian staff are employed by Acumen International under the Labour Code, registered with Sodra and paid through Lithuanian payroll. Day to day, they work inside your organisation, report to your managers and pursue your targets.
Options for employing in Lithuania
| Route | What it takes | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Your own private limited company (UAB) | Share capital, registration with the Register of Legal Entities, Sodra and tax registration, and a Lithuanian payroll and bookkeeping set-up | A permanent Lithuanian operation, such as a technology or service centre |
| Registering as a foreign employer | Registration with Sodra and the tax authority, with Lithuanian contracts, contributions and reporting run in-house | Companies with Lithuanian payroll expertise of their own |
| Employer of Record | A service agreement with Acumen International, which employs the team under Lithuanian law | First hires, specialist teams and the period before a UAB is worth forming |
What Acumen International takes off your hands
- No company formation before the first hire. Recruitment can begin the moment you find the right person.
- Sodra registration on time. Each employee is registered before their first working day, as Lithuanian rules require.
- The non-taxable amount calculated correctly. Lithuania’s sliding non-taxable amount changes with monthly pay, and payroll applies it month by month.
- Termination options explained in advance. Lithuania allows several routes out of an employment, each with its own notice and severance, and the cost of each is known before you decide.
- Work permits for non-EU specialists. Acumen International handles the permit or EU Blue Card application as the employer.
Roles on each side
| Acumen International | Your company |
|---|---|
| Signs the Lithuanian employment contract | Selects the candidate and sets the job scope |
| Registers the employee with Sodra and runs payroll | Directs the work and sets objectives |
| Withholds income tax and pays social insurance each month | Decides pay reviews, bonuses and equipment |
| Applies for work permits and EU Blue Cards | Gives the business reason for any change to the team |
| Handles notice, severance and exit paperwork | Approves the full cost before each offer |
Legal basis: temporary employment under the Labour Code
Lithuania’s Labour Code allows a company to employ staff and assign them to work for a client. Companies doing so must meet the Code’s criteria and appear on the list kept by the State Labour Inspectorate, which checks them every year. Assigned employees are entitled to working conditions no less favourable than those of the client’s comparable employees, including pay and working time, and the client keeps responsibility for health and safety where the work is done.
Lithuanian employment in numbers
Last reviewed October 2026.
| Item | Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Capital | Vilnius |
| Minimum wage | €1,153 a month, or €7.05 an hour (2026) |
| Employee social insurance | 19.5%, or 22.5% with optional second-pillar pension saving |
| Employer social insurance | 2.12% on open-ended contracts |
| Income tax | 20%, 25% or 32% by annual income |
| Working week | 40 hours |
| Annual leave | 20 working days on a five-day week |
| Probation | Up to 3 months |
| Employee notice | 20 calendar days |
Lithuania’s 2026 minimum wage and pay premiums
The minimum monthly wage rose to €1,153 in 2026. Collective agreements play a modest role in the private sector, so pay for professional roles is negotiated individually and benchmarked against Vilnius and Kaunas market rates.
The Labour Code sets premiums that apply whatever the contract says:
- Overtime: paid at least 1.5 times the normal rate, and limited to 8 hours a week unless the employee agrees to up to 12, with a ceiling of 180 hours a year.
- Night work: at least 1.5 times the normal rate.
- Work on rest days and public holidays: at least twice the normal rate, unless time off is given instead.
Salaries are paid at least twice a month by law, or once a month where the employee asks for it, which most office staff do.
Employment contracts and working time under the Lithuanian Labour Code
- Before the first day: the contract is signed in writing, and the employee is registered with Sodra at least one working day before starting.
- Contract types: besides open-ended and fixed-term contracts, the Labour Code offers project-based contracts tied to a specific result, job-sharing and multi-employer contracts.
- Fixed-term limits: a fixed-term contract for permanent work may run for no more than two years, or five years for a newly created role.
- Probation: up to 3 months, during which the employer can end the contract with 3 working days’ notice and the employee with 3 days’ notice.
- Working time: 40 hours a week, with no more than 12 hours a day and 60 hours in any week including overtime, at least 11 hours’ rest between shifts and 35 hours’ weekly rest.
- Right to request remote work: pregnant employees, parents of children under eight and carers can ask to work remotely, and the employer must agree unless it can show the arrangement would cause disproportionate cost or disruption.
- Non-compete agreements: possible for up to 2 years after employment ends, with compensation of at least 40% of average pay for the whole restriction period.
Termination rules in Lithuania, including dismissal at the employer’s will
The Labour Code offers several routes for ending an employment, each with its own notice and severance:
| Route | Notice | Severance |
|---|---|---|
| No fault of the employee, such as redundancy or an unnecessary role | 1 month, or 2 weeks if service is under a year; doubled or tripled for protected groups | 2 months’ average pay after a year’s service, half a month before that |
| At the employer’s will, without giving a reason | 3 working days | At least 6 months’ average pay |
| Serious breach by the employee | None | None |
| Mutual agreement | As agreed | As agreed |
- Protected groups: notice is doubled for employees within five years of pension age and tripled for those raising a child under 14, pregnant employees, disabled employees and those within two years of pension age.
- Long service: employees with five or more years’ service receive an additional payment from the Long-Term Employment Benefit Fund, financed by employer contributions rather than paid directly.
- Time to job hunt: during notice, the employee can ask for paid time off, at least 10% of their working hours, to look for a new job.
- Employee resignation: 20 calendar days’ notice, or 3 working days in specific cases such as unpaid wages.
- Fixed-term contracts: the employer must warn the employee before the end date, 5 working days ahead after a year’s service and 10 working days after three years.
Compliance exposure for employers in Lithuania
| Risk | Where it arises | How Acumen International mitigates it |
|---|---|---|
| Undeclared work | Anyone who starts working before their Sodra registration is treated as working illegally, with fines for the employer | Every employee registered at least one working day before the start date |
| Worker misclassification | Freelancers on individual activity or business certificates who work like staff can be reclassified as employees, with contributions and tax due | Long-term freelance roles reviewed and moved onto Lithuanian employment where the work is directed like a job |
| Dismissal disputes | Employees have one month to bring a dismissal claim before the Labour Disputes Commission, which can award reinstatement or compensation | Route, notice and severance chosen and documented before notice is given |
| Working time | Daily and weekly caps, overtime limits and premiums under the Labour Code | Hours and premiums recorded and paid each month |
| Remote work requests | Protected groups have a right to request remote work, and a refusal must be justified | Requests assessed promptly and decisions recorded |
| IP ownership | Economic rights in work created on the job pass to the employer for five years unless the contract provides otherwise, and service inventions carry a right to fair remuneration | Full and lasting IP assignment for inventions, code, designs and content in the employment contract and the service agreement |
| Pay transparency | Employers with 20 or more employees need a written remuneration system, and the EU Pay Transparency Directive adds new reporting duties | Pay grades and criteria documented and applied consistently |
| Taxable presence | Lithuanian staff who conclude contracts for your company can create a permanent establishment | Each role’s authority to negotiate and sign agreed with your tax adviser |
| Residence permits | Permits for non-EU staff depend on the employer, the role and the salary named in the application | Pay and role changes checked against the permit before they apply |
Work permits, the EU Blue Card and Lithuania’s shortage list
Lithuania issued 1,476 EU Blue Cards in 2024, more than any of its Baltic neighbours. Applications are filed through the Migration Department’s online system, MIGRIS.
| Route | Suited to | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|
| EU Blue Card | Highly qualified specialists with higher education or equivalent experience | A contract for highly qualified work and a salary at or above the threshold linked to Lithuania’s average gross wage |
| Work permit and temporary residence | Other roles | A decision from the Employment Service that the job may be filled from abroad, unless the occupation is on the shortage list |
| Shortage occupations | Roles on Lithuania’s list of occupations lacking local workers | No labour market test, which shortens the process |
| EU, EEA and Swiss citizens | Free movement | Declaration of residence and an EU residence certificate for stays over 3 months |
Family members of Blue Card holders can join them, and the card allows onward mobility within the EU.
Lithuanian payroll costs: Sodra, income tax and the non-taxable amount
Lithuania shifted almost all social insurance onto the employee in 2019, so the employer’s own contribution is small and most of the cost sits inside the gross salary.
| Contribution (2026) | Employer | Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Pension, health, sickness and maternity insurance | None | 19.5%, or 22.5% with second-pillar pension saving |
| Unemployment insurance | 1.31% on open-ended contracts, 2.03% on fixed-term | None |
| Accidents at work | 0.49% | None |
| Guarantee Fund | 0.16% | None |
| Long-Term Employment Benefit Fund | 0.16% | None |
Employee contributions stop at €138,729 of annual pay. Second-pillar pension saving became voluntary in 2026, and employer-paid health insurance above €350 a year is now subject to contributions.
Income tax. From 2026, annual income is aggregated and taxed at 20% up to €83,237.40, 25% up to €138,729 and 32% above that. A non-taxable amount of up to €747 a month applies at minimum wage and tapers away completely at €2,677.49 of monthly pay.
The Global Payroll Calculator shows how a gross Lithuanian salary splits into net pay, employee contributions and the employer’s 2.12%, drawing on Acumen International’s 1,500-plus official sources validated with local lawyers and accountants.
Industries recruiting specialists in Lithuania
Vilnius is home to a large fintech and technology community, while Kaunas and Klaipėda anchor manufacturing and logistics.
| Industry | Roles in demand |
|---|---|
| Fintech and payments, centred on Vilnius | Compliance, AML, risk and payments engineering specialists |
| Lasers and photonics | Optical, laser and precision engineering specialists |
| Software and cybersecurity | Backend, mobile, security and data engineers |
| Life sciences and biotechnology | Biochemists, quality and regulatory specialists |
| Electronics and advanced manufacturing, around Kaunas | Production, automation and quality engineers |
| Logistics and the port of Klaipėda | Supply chain, port operations and transport planning specialists |
Common Lithuanian hiring cases
| Case | What Lithuanian rules add | How it is handled |
|---|---|---|
| Developers working on individual activity certificates are becoming your core team | Self-employed income can carry an effective tax rate as low as 5%, so moving to employment, with 19.5% social insurance and 20% income tax, cuts take-home pay unless the package changes | Each developer’s net pay is modelled before and after the move, and the gross salary set so the switch is acceptable to them and costed for you |
| A strategy change may close a role within the year | Ending employment at the employer’s will takes 3 working days but costs at least 6 months’ pay, while redundancy needs a month’s notice and 2 months’ pay | Both routes are costed when the role is created, so the option chosen later is a known figure rather than a surprise |
| A principal engineer is offered a salary above €140,000 | Contributions stop at €138,729, but the 32% income tax band starts there, and annual income is aggregated | Net pay and employer cost are forecast across the year, including the effect of bonus timing |
| A project team includes parents of young children | Redundancy notice is tripled to three months for employees raising a child under 14 | The project end is planned with the longer notice in mind, or a project-based contract tied to the result is used from the start |
| A laser engineer from outside the EU accepts your offer | Occupations on the shortage list skip the labour market test, and the salary decides whether a Blue Card is possible | The route with the fewest steps is chosen before the contract is signed |
Benefits and payroll practice in Lithuania
Private health insurance, additional pension contributions, extra paid days off, training budgets, sports memberships and a home-office allowance are the benefits Lithuanian professionals most often compare. In technology companies, stock options are a strong draw because gains on options held for at least three years before exercise are free of income tax. Every package is built around the role and the candidate.
Payroll. Each month, Acumen International calculates pay, applies the non-taxable amount, files the income tax return with the State Tax Inspectorate and the social insurance report with Sodra, and pays both by the 15th of the following month.
Leave entitlements in Lithuania
| Leave | Entitlement | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 20 working days on a five-day week, 25 for certain groups such as single parents of children under 14; at least 10 working days taken in one block each year | Employer, average pay |
| Public holidays | 15 a year, including 16 February, 11 March, Statehood Day on 6 July and Christmas Eve | Employer, full pay for salaried staff |
| Pregnancy and maternity leave | 70 days before and 56 days after the birth | Sodra, 77.58% of compensated earnings |
| Paternity leave | 30 calendar days before the child is three months old | Sodra, 77.58% of compensated earnings |
| Childcare leave | Until the child turns three, with two months reserved for each parent | Sodra benefit for up to 18 or 24 months |
| Extra days off for parents | One extra day off a month for parents of two children under 12, two days for three or more | Employer, full pay |
| Sick leave | As certified by a doctor | Employer pays the first two days at 62.06% to 100% of average pay; Sodra from day three |
Sources
- Tax and legal newsletter, January 2026
- List of temporary employment establishments
- Notice periods to employees: Lithuania
- EU Blue Cards issued in the Baltic states
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Got questions?
We’ve got answers
Have questions about hiring globally? You’re not alone. Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions from teams expanding into new markets — from compliance and onboarding timelines to payroll and local benefits.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, our team of in-country experts is always ready to help you navigate the details.
How is intellectual property ownership handled for employees in Lithuania?
Acumen can include confidentiality, invention and intellectual-property provisions in the employment documentation, aligned with the rules that apply in Lithuania and the client’s required ownership model. Where local law limits automatic assignment, the contract is adapted rather than relying on a generic global clause.
Can Acumen bridge employment during an M&A transition in Lithuania?
Potentially. An EOR can bridge the gap between transaction completion and the point when the buyer or new business structure is ready to employ directly in Lithuania. Acumen coordinates the employment transition, while deal-specific transfer and consultation requirements are assessed separately.
Can an EOR be used only until our Lithuania entity is ready?
Yes, where the hire is suitable. Acumen can employ the person while your own entity in Lithuania is being established, then support a later move to direct employment once the entity is ready and the transition can be completed correctly.