Albania Payroll and Benefits Benchmark guide

The monthly gross minimum wage is 26,000 ALL.

Employees who have worked a full year receive 20 working days of paid leave. If the worker has worked less than one year, leave is calculated on a prorated basis.

The employee can claim sick leave for the entire time of their illness until their doctor confirms that the employee is able to return.  For the first 14 days of sick leave, the employer is obligated to pay 80% of the employee’s salary.  From the 15th day onward, Social Insurance compensates the employee for 70% of their average salary of the past 6 months. 

Women are entitled to 12 consecutive months of maternity leave.  This includes a minimum of 35 days of leave before the child is born and 63 days after the birth of the child.   Women who carry more than one child are entitled to 390 days of maternity leave.

During maternity leave the Social Insurance compensates the employee for 80% of the average monthly salary from the last 12 months for the first 6 months and 50% for the following 6 months. 

There is no statutory paternity leave in Albania. 

The employee is entitled to 15 days of paid leave a year for a child under the age of 3 and 12 days for a child over the age of 3. In addition, the employee can take an additional 30 days of unpaid leave a year.  

In the event of the death of a spouse or a member of your immediate family, the employee is entitled to 10 days of bereavement leave. 

Full time employment is 40 hours a week

The payroll cycle is monthly

The last work day of the month

Overtime is work that is more than 40 hours a week at an additional 25% of regular pay.  Alternatively, the employer can compensate the employee with time off instead of additional pay. 

For work on weekends and public holidays, the employee is entitled to an additional 50% on top of their regular pay. 

If the employee is on a fixed-term contract and expires, there are no obligations from the employee or employer.

If the employer wishes to terminate the employee, the employer is obligated to deliver prior notification to the employer and within 72 hours must have a meeting with the employee to discuss the reason for termination and allow the employee to present their counterarguments.  Should the employer fail to meet within 72 hours, the employee may be entitled to compensation.

• 1 month during the 2 first years of employment
• 2 months during 2 to 5 years of employment
• 3 months after 5 years of employment

If the employee has worked more than 3 years, they are entitled to 15 days of severance pay.