GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD IN 190+ Countries
Employer of Record in North Macedonia
Move ahead with priority hires in North Macedonia without waiting for entity formation. Acumen acts as your Employer of Record, helping you enter the market with the people you need while keeping the longer-term corporate footprint open.
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.
Employing in North Macedonia through an Employer of Record
With an Employer of Record, Acumen International is the legal employer of the people who work for your business in North Macedonia. Acumen signs the employment contract under the Law on Labour Relations, registers the employee for mandatory social insurance, pays salary, contributions and personal income tax, and carries the employer’s legal obligations. Your business selects the person and directs the work. Where the right person has not yet been found, Acumen International can also run the search, from specialist recruitment to executive search, with background and education checks before the offer.
When an Employer of Record fits a North Macedonian hire
- A business without a Macedonian company has no local employer to register staff with the social insurance funds and the Public Revenue Office, and Acumen International takes that role.
- A foreign employee’s work-based residence permit needs a Macedonian employer on the application, which Acumen International provides.
- Macedonian law links agency employment to temporary needs, so the model fits work with a defined scope or timeline while you decide whether to set up locally.
Temporary employment agencies in North Macedonia: the legal basis and its limits
The Law on Temporary Employment Agencies allows an agency licensed by the ministry responsible for labour to employ workers and assign them to a user business under a written assignment agreement, with the agency remaining the employer. These limits apply:
- Assignment is allowed to replace a temporarily absent employee, to cover a temporary increase in workload, seasonal work or project work, for specific non-continuous work outside your main activity, and for unforeseeable short-term work within it.
- An assignment for the same temporary work lasts as long as the need does, and no longer than one year.
- Agency workers cannot replace employees on strike, and cannot be assigned to work for which your business dismissed employees for business reasons in the previous six months.
- During the assignment, agency workers are entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as if your business had employed them directly for the same work, including pay, working time, rest and leave.
- Your business is responsible for health and safety at the workplace, must give agency workers equal access to training and must inform them of vacancies.
- A clause that prevents your business from later employing an agency worker directly is void.
- The agreement between the agency and your business is in writing, and copies go to the State Labour Inspectorate and the Employment Service Agency.
The one-year limit and the list of permitted cases shape long-term roles, so Acumen International sets out with you before the first hire when a position moves to your own Macedonian company or to direct employment.
What Acumen International handles in North Macedonia, from search to exit
| Stage | What it involves in North Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Search and checks | Finding the candidate where needed, with background and education checks before the offer |
| Permits | The Employment Service Agency’s opinion, the work-based temporary residence permit, the long-stay visa and family members who will move too |
| Contract and onboarding | A written employment contract, the assignment agreement with your business and registration for mandatory social insurance before the start |
| Pay | Monthly payroll in denars, with contributions and personal income tax declared on the monthly MPIN calculation |
| Time and absence | Working-time and overtime records within the legal limits, the annual leave schedule and sickness absence |
| Changes and renewals | Contract annexes, assignment dates against the one-year limit, and permit extensions filed between 90 and 5 days before expiry |
| Exit | Notice, any severance due, final settlement and deregistration from social insurance |
In practice, this replaces the separate payroll provider, labour lawyer, immigration adviser and benefits broker a business would otherwise need in North Macedonia.
Minimum wage and pay rules in North Macedonia
The minimum wage is reviewed each March and published in the Official Gazette. From 1 March 2026, the net minimum wage is MKD 26,046 a month, up from MKD 24,379.
Salaries are agreed as a gross monthly amount in denars, and contributions and income tax are deducted from it. Each hour of night work is paid at least 35% above the basic hourly rate, and work on a public holiday at least 50% above the agreed daily pay. An employee who works more than 150 hours of overtime in a year, with no more than 21 days of absence, receives a bonus of one average national salary.
Employment contracts and working time in North Macedonia
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| The employment contract is in writing and concluded before the start | Terms are fixed before the first working day |
| Probation is optional, must be written into the contract and is limited in length by law | Fit can be tested early, within a set period |
| Fixed-term employment for the same work can total no more than five years, and continuing to work after expiry makes it open-ended | Temporary roles need a clear end date |
| Full-time work is 40 hours a week, with at least 12 hours’ rest between working days and 24 hours of weekly rest | Rotas are planned around fixed rest periods |
| Overtime is capped at 8 hours a week and 190 hours a year | Peaks are possible within firm limits |
| A post-employment non-compete can last up to two years, must be in writing and requires monthly compensation of at least half the employee’s average salary | Restrictions on key staff need to be budgeted |
Ending employment in North Macedonia
An employer can end employment on grounds the Law on Labour Relations recognises, such as business reasons, the employee’s conduct or performance, with one month’s notice. Notice rises to two months where more than 150 employees, or 5% of the workforce, are dismissed. An employee who resigns gives one month’s notice, which a contract or collective agreement can extend to three. During notice, the employee may take four hours a week to look for new work.
Dismissal is not possible during pregnancy, maternity leave, sick leave or annual leave. Where 20 or more employees are to be dismissed for business reasons within 90 days, employee representatives must be consulted first.
Severance for business-reason dismissal
| Length of service | Severance |
|---|---|
| Up to 5 years | 1 net salary |
| 5 to 10 years | 2.5 net salaries |
| 10 to 15 years | 3.5 net salaries |
| 15 to 20 years | 4.5 net salaries |
| 20 to 25 years | 6 net salaries |
| Over 25 years | 7 net salaries |
Severance is based on the employee’s average net salary over the last six months and cannot be calculated on less than half of the national average net salary.
Macedonian employment risks and how Acumen International covers them
| Risk | Where it arises | How Acumen International covers it |
|---|---|---|
| Worker misclassification | A contractor working full time under your direction can be treated as an employee, with contributions and tax due for past periods | Your Macedonian team is employed under the Law on Labour Relations |
| IP ownership | Rights in work created in the job sit with the Macedonian employer unless the contracts pass them on | Contracts confirm the rights and transfer them onward to your business |
| Client liability for pay and contributions | The user business must fund wages and contributions under the assignment agreement and can be fined for failing to do so | Funding, invoicing and payment dates are fixed in the agreement before the first payroll |
| Equal pay for assigned staff | Agency workers are entitled to the same basic conditions as staff your business would employ directly for the same work | Pay and conditions are set against your comparable roles before the offer |
| Permanent establishment | An employee who concludes contracts for your company can create a taxable presence in North Macedonia | Signing authority stays with your company and is written into the role |
| Exit cost | Statutory notice and severance of up to seven net salaries after business-reason dismissal | Grounds, notice and costs are prepared before any decision |
| Sponsor obligations | The employer gives a notarised statement covering the costs of a foreign employee’s stay, and the start of work is reported to the Employment Service Agency | Acumen International acts as the employer on the application, reports on time and keeps the permit current |
| Pay transparency | North Macedonia is not bound by the EU Pay Transparency Directive, but EU-based businesses apply it across their workforce | Pay structures are documented on objective criteria |
Work and residence permits for foreign employees in North Macedonia
As North Macedonia is outside the EU, EU nationals need a permit to work there as well as nationals of other countries. Most foreign employees obtain temporary residence for work, applied for with the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the Employment Service Agency gives its opinion. The permit is tied to the job and the employer, is granted for up to one year and can be renewed for further one-year periods. Once residence is approved, the employee receives a long-stay D visa to enter.
The government sets an annual quota for foreign workers, and the Employment Service Agency checks that no suitably qualified unemployed person is available. Managers, company founders and scientists are among those exempt from that labour market check, and people working on government-designated strategic projects are exempt from both the quota and the check. Under the Open Balkan arrangement, nationals of Serbia and Albania can obtain a certificate of free access to the labour market, valid for two years.
Since the amendments in force from 26 September 2025, an extension must be filed between 90 and 5 days before the permit expires, and the start of work must be reported to the Employment Service Agency within 30 days of the permit being issued.
What Acumen International contributes
The residence application needs a Macedonian employer, including a notarised statement that the employer covers the costs of the employee’s stay. Acumen International can fill that role, prepares the contract and the application, reports the start of work on time and files each extension within the window, for as long as the person works for you.
Family members
Spouses and children can obtain temporary residence for family reunion, which is exempt from the requirement to show sufficient funds. A family member who wants to work applies to the Employment Service Agency for a work permit on the basis of that residence.
Employer cost and income tax in North Macedonia
Mandatory social contributions in North Macedonia are withheld from the employee’s gross salary, so the employer’s direct cost is the gross salary itself. The employer calculates and pays them together with net pay.
| Contribution | Rate on gross salary |
|---|---|
| Pension and disability insurance | 18.8% |
| Health insurance | 7.5% |
| Unemployment insurance | 1.2% |
| Additional health insurance for injury at work and occupational disease | 0.5% |
| Total | 28% |
Contributions are calculated on a monthly base of at least 50% of the national average salary and at most 16 times the average salary, with nothing due on pay above that ceiling.
Personal income tax
Salary is taxed at a flat 10% after contributions and a monthly personal allowance set each year are deducted. Residents, meaning people living in North Macedonia or staying there for 183 days or more in a 12-month period, are taxed on their worldwide income.
The Global Payroll Calculator turns a gross denar salary into net pay and total cost under North Macedonia’s flat-rate system, which helps when a Macedonian offer is weighed against the same role elsewhere in the region.
Sectors employing through an Employer of Record in North Macedonia
- Automotive and electrical component manufacturers operating in the Technological Industrial Development Zones need engineers, quality specialists and plant managers, often during ramp-up projects.
- Software and IT services companies employ developers, testers and project leads, mostly in Skopje.
- Contact centre and business process providers hire multilingual customer service and back-office staff.
- Energy companies building solar and wind capacity need engineers and project managers for the length of each project.
- Textile and apparel producers employ production, quality and sourcing roles for international brands.
In each case, Acumen International can employ the first people in North Macedonia for a defined project or start-up phase, before you decide whether a company of your own is justified.
Macedonian hiring cases and how they are handled
| Case | What Macedonian rules add | How it is handled |
|---|---|---|
| A project needs a team for 18 months | An assignment for the same temporary work cannot exceed one year | The transition to your own company or direct employment is scheduled before month 12 |
| An engineer from Serbia joins the team | Serbian and Albanian nationals can use the Open Balkan certificate of free access to the labour market, valid for two years | The certificate is requested instead of a quota-based permit |
| A manager from outside the region relocates | Managers are exempt from the labour market check, but still need work-based residence and the employer’s notarised cost statement | The exemption is confirmed and the application filed with the employer’s statement |
| A client project ends before the contract does | The end of the user’s need before the contract expires is not in itself a ground for the agency to end the employment | Contract terms are matched to the project from the start |
Benefits, payroll and leave in North Macedonia
Macedonian packages for skilled roles often add private health insurance, meal and transport allowances and, for people relocating, help with housing. Collective agreements can add further paid days off for events such as marriage or bereavement.
Payroll obligations
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Before the first working day | The employee is registered for mandatory social insurance |
| On each pay day | Net salary, contributions and personal income tax are paid together in one payment order |
| By the 10th of the following month | The monthly MPIN calculation is filed electronically with the Public Revenue Office |
| By 30 June of the following year | Any annual leave carried over must be used |
Leave entitlements
| Leave | Entitlement | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 20 to 26 working days a year, including at least two consecutive weeks | Employer |
| Public holidays | National and religious non-working days set by law, including Orthodox Christmas, Ramadan Bayram and Ilinden on 2 August | Employer |
| Sick leave | Salary compensation during certified incapacity | Employer for the first 30 days, then the Health Insurance Fund |
| Maternity leave | Nine months, or one year for multiple births, starting up to 45 days before the birth | Health Insurance Fund |
Sources
- Employment of foreign citizens, Employment Service Agency
- Work visas and permits, Invest North Macedonia
- Monthly salary calculation (MPIN), Public Revenue Office
- Law on Temporary Employment Agencies, Official Gazette 49/2006
- Amendments to the Law on Temporary Employment Agencies, Official Gazette 145/2010
- Amendments to the Law on Temporary Employment Agencies, Official Gazette 13/2013
- Law on Labour Relations, consolidated text
- Labour law in North Macedonia, CMS expert guide
- North Macedonia: other taxes, PwC tax summaries
- Temporary residence and employment of foreigners: 2025 amendments
- Immigration and tax guide to relocating to North Macedonia
- Minimum wage revised from 1 March 2026
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.
Can we offer benefits above the statutory minimum in North Macedonia?
Yes. Statutory entitlements form the baseline, not the ceiling. Acumen can help add supplementary benefits that fit the role and the market in North Macedonia, while keeping the package workable from a payroll, tax and administration perspective.
Can an EOR prevent a hire in North Macedonia from creating permanent establishment risk?
Not by itself. PE is driven by the client’s activities in North Macedonia, not simply by who runs payroll. Acumen can structure the employment correctly and highlight roles that warrant tax review, while the client and its tax advisers determine the corporate position.
Who manages a termination if an employee in North Macedonia is employed through Acumen International?
Acumen, as the legal employer, manages the formal employment process in North Macedonia. The client provides the business reason and supporting facts, while Acumen determines the locally appropriate process, documents, notice and timing before action is taken.